The question they always ask at Toronto-based Unspace, the local heroes behind such get-togethers as Toronto’s Rails Pub Nite, RubyFringe, FutureRuby and Throne of .js is “Is there a better way to do this?” Their quest for better ways to do things extends to finding better development tools, which led to their early adoption of Ruby on Rails, and more recently, JavaScript-based frameworks (hence their Throne of .js conference last summer). Having been to several Rails Pub Nites, RubyFringe and FutureRuby, I can also say that they also do developer gatherings better than most.
Embergarten!
Unspace have announced their next developer get-together: Embergarten, a workshop where beginner and intermediate Ember developers can learn how to use Ember.js, the JavaScript framework whose site describes it as “a framework for creating ambitious web applications” and which developer Joachim Haagen Skeie (author of the upcoming book Ember.js in Action) describes as “web applications done right”.
The event will take place over two days, with the Beginner day taking place on Saturday, May 18 and the Intermediate day happening on Sunday, May 19. Unspace will be working with the development/consulting/training shop Tilde, Jeff “Coding Horror” Atwood’s excellent discussion forum Discourse, and the wonderful coworking space Foundery to make Embergarten a top-notch learning experience. Here’s their proposed syllabus:
- Beginner – Day 1 (Saturday, May 18)
- Basic app structure, routing and (of course) conventions
- Ember’s object model
- Ember MVC
- Simple debugging
- Intermediate – Day 2 (Sunday, May 19)
- Managing data and persistence
- Performance strategies
- UI modelling
- Testing
The sessions will come with pre-training packages and take-home materials, and there will be on-site mentors to help you as you build your first Ember.js application. If past history is any indicator, it will be fun, and there may even be some take-home swag.
The registration fee for each day is $400, or $700 if you want to attend both. If you’re serious about attending, register soon — Unspace events are popular and have a tendency to fill up rather quickly.
The Afterparty!
Ain’t no party like an Unspace party!
Photo by Andrew Louis. Click to see the original.
It wouldn’t be an Unspace event without a party, and this is no exception. Whether you’re attending Embergarten or not, you can RSVP for the Embergarten Afterparty taking place at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 on Unspace’s lovely rooftop patio, and it’s free-as-in-beer. Sign up quickly, as these slots are likely to vanish!
Getting Started with Ember.js
If you’re curious about Ember.js, here are some resources to get you started:
- The Ember.js site: The first place you should go. Download Ember, read the docs, take it for a spin!
- Emberwatch: A continually-updated listing of Ember.js resources.
- Ember.js – Web Applications Done Right: An InfoQ article that walks you through the building of a photo album app in Ember.
- Getting into Ember.js: Rey Bango’s tutorial.
- Ember.js in Action: An upcoming book on Ember. You can get a regularly-updated advance copy via Manning’s MEAP program.
- Why Discourse Uses Ember.js: Discourse developer Robin Ward — who’ll be one of the teachers at Embergarten — explains all.