Code Camp Demystified

Code Camps..

A concept that has been fermenting in my mind, ever since the day I joined Sun Microsystems in December 2005. The blossom has finally bloomed and we launched the Code Camps with a bang on 19.June.2007 under the primary flagship of Dr. Stefan Schneider, CTO, Sun Microsystems in Walldorf, Germany. Its interesting to see your dreams become a reality and this Code Camp is one of them.

What are Code Camps?

 Code Camps are the technology transfer programs targeted at Sun partners and ISVs, primarily aimed at the Developer Community and Engineering Managers with a flair for deploying the products on the world's cutting edge technology and innovation offered by Sun Microsystems. Code Camps are a separate class in itself. The traditional transfer of know-how is via lectures and seminars. I was a student myself till a couple of years and I know how this works. The human concentration factor is not something that we could boast of. A normal human has a concentration phase of 10-20 minutes after which the fatigue or boredom sets in. This is the critical phase of any such event. Its hard to keep the concentration alive, especially when dealing with advanced technology. We tried various means and chalked out a neat methodology. The humans have always liked doing things, be it building something or maintaining it. We need to keep ourselves occupied all time.

Codecamp Methodology 

The classical teaching mechanism uses a block of seminar or lecture, where the theory is discussed. Once enough theory has been discussed, the practical sessions follow. Rather than doing these two things as blocks, we split the entire framework into smaller modules and interleaved them. Now, the theory session lasts not more than 30 minutes in any case - Good enough for the participants to stay awake and assimilate the concepts we deal with as well as grasping the key areas we emphasize. Following this would be the practical session, where we try the things that we have just learnt! Great! So, the retention factor has been greatly increased.

Where we are going today! 

 The main reason why we had to use this approach is that we are trying to build a community of Sun Technology apostles. There are lots of developers and engineers I meet on a daily basis, who just love Sun for our business model. Not to forget, Sun has been chosen as the most or perhaps, one of the "Most Ethical" companies in the world. With our recent decision by our CEO and directors to make Java Open Source, we are attempting at the next opportunity to grasp the developers worldwide and show them what Open Source could really mean to doing business. The era of closed source has slowly started to die. With Open Source Java. this is going to make it happen.

Keeping in pace with the developers, there are still certain areas where we need some polishing. Sun Microsystems as a company, has led innovations after innovations in its history. The recent trends in DTrace, Zfs, Zones, upcoming Xen, etc... the list is long and the rate at which innovations happen at Sun far exceed the rate at which the Developers or Engineers could grasp and use the technology. Its not that they care inefficient or incapable of doing that. Sun has leveraged the businesses of several start-ups and the Engineers there in these firms strive to innovate on the Sun platforms for a better technology. The divide between innovating their own technology and using the innovations from Sun leads to a grey zone. Its sometimes the need of the day to use the technology out of the box and play with it before hacking into the internals and building over it. Thats what the Code Camps are aimed at.

What we do, we do together 

 During the Code Camps, we provide these fine Engineers with the tools they use on a daily basis. We show them how the things should be done, why they should be done that way as well as training them on the best practices. This way, they take a day off from their busy schedule and join us in enjoying the Sun technology. We do not bite more than what we could actually chew. We show them the right place to start with and get the ball rolling. Thats it. 99% of the time, its the start that poses a major blockade to the technology adoption. We just get over it with our lectures/seminars as well as giving them the opportunity to try these technologies hands-on. Its all about getting the feet wet!

Not to forget- A journey of thousand miles begins with the first step. We just provide this hand-holding for these first few steps before you walk those long miles towards your destination, closer and closer with each foot taken with this security, reliability and innovation offered by Sun Microsystems and out products.

Posted at 05:08PM Jul 22, 2007 by mithun in Sun  |  Comments[0]