SPUG: Meeting Announcement -- Commands::Guarded - 18 January 2005

Andrew Sweger andrew at sweger.net
Wed Jan 12 08:33:40 PST 2005


         January 2005 Seattle Perl Users Group (SPUG) Meeting
         ====================================================
  
       Title: Better Scripting with Commands::Guarded
     Speaker: Trey Harris

Meeting Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 
Meeting Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (networking 6:30 - 7:00)
    Location: Amazon.com Pac-Med Building
              
        Cost: Admission is free and open to the general public
        Info: http://seattleperl.org/

             ===========================================

(Read this next line in a dramatic voice, like a radio announcer. Do this
out loud if you're working in a cubicle right now.)

See below for amazingly astounding information on...

    - Speaker Background
    - Presentation Description
    - RSVP
    - Pre-meeting Dinner
    - Internet Access at Meeting
    - PGP/GnuPG Key Exchange
    - Directions to Meeting

(I'll try to get the web site updated by tomorrow. I have an urgent matter
at hand -- the sound of dripping water were there should not be.)

Speaker Background
==================

Trey Harris is a system administrator and system architect with over
twelve years of experience at academic, financial and technology sites,
including Morgan Stanley, VA Linux Systems, and the University of North
Carolina.  He has been an enthusiastic user of Perl for the entire time --
his first paying job in technology was modifying Tom Christiansen's
"vacation" script to work in an Andrew File System environment.  He is
currently a Senior Systems Engineer at Amazon.com in Seattle.

Presentation Description
========================

Programming methodologies have been researched for decades, and some (e.g.
abstract datatypes, object orientation, design-by-contract) have stood the
test of time.  But what about this thing called a "script"?  Is it just a
term for a sloppily-written program?  If not, are standard programming
methodologies applicable to scripting?

This talk will argue that scripts are qualitatively different from
general-purpose programs and that they need a different methodology. The
methodology presented, Procedural Test-Oriented Scripting, encapsulates a
script as a series of "steps" that have states that must be ensured, along
with actions that will bring the state about.  A module implementing this
methodology, Commands::Guarded, will be introduced to illustrate.

A script written with Commands::Guarded is more resilient, more useful,
and easier to write than its conventional equivalent.  Examples of such
scripts will be shown.

Finally, the internals of the module, written in pure Perl and available
on CPAN, will be discussed.  As a module that munges Perl's syntax by
introducing a new control flow construct, the ideas may be of interest
even to those Perl programmers who do not spend a great deal of time
scripting.

RSVP
====

If you've signed up and RSVP'd on Meetup.com, great. If you emailed me,
great. If you emailed C.J., great. If you haven't done any of that, great.
Just show up. But it would be really nice if you took a couple minutes to
sign-up on Meetup.com and indicate if you'll be attending. It's not
required, but it is immensely helpful to planning and makes things move
slicker 'an grass through a goose.

If you personally feel that you have a 50% or better chance of showing up
at the meeting, please RSVP. Toward that end, I have setup a Perl
Meetup.com group,

  http://perl.meetup.com/86/

Please consider signing up and joining the SPUG meetup.com group. Through
the website, you may manage your RSVP for the meeting and request
automatic reminders be emailed to you personally.

Pre-meeting Dinner
==================

Last month, we met at Hing Loon (awesome food, awesome company). This
month we'll meet a couple doors to the west at Pho Hoa at 5:30. Please
join me for some of the best Vietnamese beef broth noodle soup south of
Than Brothers. It's just under a mile away from the Amazon.com office just
across the Dr. Jose P. Rizal bridge. Go ahead and email me by 3:00 pm, 18
January, if you're pretty sure you'll make it. But don't let that stop you
from showing up. Do try to show up by 5:45 because this place fills up.

    Pho Hoa II
    618 S Weller St
    (206) 624-7189 (restaurant phone)

    Map:        http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?Pyt=Typ&tuid=10488072&ck=1891460387&tab=B2C&tcat=8903827&city=Seattle&state=WA&zip=98133-7119&uzip=98133&country=us&msa=7600&cs=9&ed=lRzNlK160SzczSFU3T4PJw1VLUcmpFrkhEW2BVlEha_U7d8JRroNqEidMfosvNoffKFxYWVrtx_pFhe9&stat=:pos:0:regular:regT:10:fbT:0
    Directions: http://maps.yahoo.com/dd_result?&csz=Seattle+WA+98144-2734&ed=.JMEaK1v1CyvAEYsmBcrhiGmwCqnyHjvmHYTQV0EYEWZStSrTQG12pK9CSFgG3cgCN7DgUt4eP9uFx1bGb9B7vHp1eKzmBNX2VbfJxkIBXCzKSTX.STDwDpT7WgDi6COUlXQdVG.C3W4H853FBM.yDJnqQ--&country=us&tcsz=Seattle+WA+98104&tcountry=us&tcs=9&tname=Pho+Hoa+II&tdesc=(206)+624-7189

Internet Access at Meeting
==========================

A link to the Internet will be provided at the meeting (provided you have
suitable equipment). Tables, power strips, and Ethernet hubs will be
available in limited quantity. 802.11g WiFi will be available. Please use
the SSID: SPUG. The beacon will be broadcasting. No WEP/WPA. Please note
that the provided network services are _not_ secure. As I'm sure most of
you know, it is a trivial matter to "sniff" network traffic. Please use a
secure application encryption protocol or other secure VPN solution to
protect sensitive information. Use of the the provided network services is
at your own risk. Be a good network citizen. The network services are
provided gratis by our hosts. Access can be revoked at any time without
prior notification.

PGP/GnuPG Key Exchange
======================

If you want to exchange PGP/GnuPG signatures, please contact me directly
with your public key (now!) and I'll bring fingerprint checklists for
participants. Contact me if you want to know more. Oh, and you have to
show up at the meeting to exchange ID's and all that, please. Otherwise
this whole key exchange thing doesn't work.

Directions to Meeting
=====================

Please let me know if you find errors or a better route. Thanks.

I-5 (from North or South)
-------------------------

On I-5, take the S Dearborn St exit and turn West on Dearborn (I-5
Southbound: turn right; I-5 Northbound: turn left) and proceed
approximately one or two blocks.

Turn right on 8th Ave S (the first light) and proceed North for three
blocks.

Turn right on S King St and proceed East for approximately five
blocks. You will pass under I-5.

Turn right on 12th Ave S and proceed South for approximately five blocks.
Along this way, you will cross over the Dr. Jose P. Rizal bridge and you
should see the Pac-Med tower directly ahead.

At this point, notice that you have been going in a circle.

Skip to Pac-Med Building below.


I-90 (from East)
----------------

On I-90, take the Rainier Ave S (hwy 900) exit Northbound and proceed
approximately six blocks.

Turn left on S King St and proceed West for approximately two blocks.

Turn left on 12th Ave S and proceed South for approximately five blocks.
Along this way, you will cross over the Dr. Jose P. Rizal bridge and you
should see the Pac-Med tower directly ahead.


Pac-Med Building
----------------

Turn right at Charles St (the light after the bridge). The Amazon.com
Pac-Med building is visible ahead and on the left as you make the turn and
proceed South on Charles (Charles borders the West side of the
building).

The North parking lot entrance will be the second drive way on the left
(the first has a Do Not Enter sign). The parking lot is on the left just
past the parking attendant booth. The "carpool only" spaces should be okay
to park in after 6:30.

Walk to the South entrance of the tower. There is stair next to the
parking garage structure that leads to a convenient path that goes around
the building to the main entrance on the South side of the building.

Enter building and go to the security desk. Sign in and wait to be
escorted to the meeting room (just like when we met at Safeco in the
U-district, more or less).


Yahoo! Maps:

  http://us.rd.yahoo.com/maps//maps/extmap/*-http://maps.yahoo.com//maps_result?csz=Seattle%2C+WA+98144-2712&state=WA&uzip=98144&ds=n&name=&desc=&ed=uVHuJep_0TqNClJbk4iFOtDnYtddbn81hKmaNuXswR2pUy1qXnoKfGK_rtqkypGYq5f_zb5ghVDwhYc8gzs3td4sOl73q3BVDyr7btbB3VI4IrVR&zoomin=yes&BFKey=&mag=9

MapQuest:

  http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&countryid=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=address&searchtype=address&address=1200+12th+ave+s&city=&state=&zipcode=98144&search=++Search++





More information about the spug-list mailing list