Put open source to work
July 16–17, 2018: Training & Tutorials
July 18–19, 2018: Conference
Portland, OR

Considering Crystal

James Thompson (Mavenlink)
11:50am12:30pm Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Emerging languages
Location: E145
Level: Intermediate
Average rating: ****.
(4.00, 1 rating)

Who is this presentation for?

  • Software engineers

Prerequisite knowledge

  • Familiarity with Ruby or Python (useful but not required)

What you'll learn

  • Learn the key benefits of Crystal, how to start a Crystal Shard (library), and how to get involved making Crystal better

Description

Imagine a language with the syntax of Ruby but an order of magnitude faster. That’s the short pitch for Crystal, a statically typed compiled language with a syntax that is directly inspired by Ruby. In fact, it is so close to Ruby in some respects that some Ruby code can run unmodified on Crystal. But Crystal is not a language that should be viewed in the shadow of Ruby; it’s a compelling choice for anyone who cares about both the aesthetics of code and performance.

James Thompson takes you through the history and the current state of Crystal and explains how to use it effectively and where it needs your help. You’ll also discover how to create a Crystal Shard (library) and explore popular tools and Shards available right now.

Photo of James Thompson

James Thompson

Mavenlink

James Thompson is a principal software engineer at Mavenlink, where he is committed to helping engineering teams become more deliberate in how they build software through developing strong learning cultures, principled engineering practices, and holistic architectural thinking. He has worked with web technologies since 2003.