AmiWest 2014 Programming Seminar

In previous years we have taken a more formal approach with seminars and fixed topics. Given the wide range of programming experience on the part of participants, we will try a more free-form approach this year.

The AmiWest Programming Jam!

The programming days will start with a Thursday morning (October 23) presentation by Mr. Steven Solie, AmigaOS Development Team Lead, on the status of the AmigaOS, the SDK and AmigaOS API.

For beginners, we will continue on with a group discussion on the coding process. We will touch on how to organize a coding project, how to break a project into manageable pieces, how to get help and how to debug a one's work.

We'll wrap up our discussion with a review of possible programming projects. The goal is to pick projects to work on in small teams or individually over the following days. Here are some ideas we've come up with:

• address book
• screen blanker
• calendar
• doodle pad (simple drawing on a raster)
• notepad (simple text editor)
• image viewer
• sound/music player
• file manager
• internet clients

For the remainder of Thursday and Friday we'll work with the teams on the projects you select. Throughout, assistance and tutoring will be provided by a number of developers with varied skill levels - all the way up to a number of core AmigaOS developers. No question will go unanswered!

Our hope is to help you get started, figure out how to approach your projects and overcome coding challenges. As we encounter important topics for the group, we'll take breaks to review them with impromptu seminars.

But wait, there's More!

The programming sessions will not end Friday afternoon. A section of AmiWest show floor will be reserved for those who want to continue hacking on their code. The Amiga devs will also be on-hand throughout the weekend to assist with people who want to keep working on their projects.

By the end of the AmiWest and the programming jam, we hope to be able to sit with each participant and review their work, evaluate where they are headed and explore how they can keep moving forward. Unabashedly, the goal of these programming days has been to initiate more people into the Amiga development community.

Where do I sign up?

More information about this event can be found at the official AmigaOS Programming Seminar at @AmiWest 2014 web site.