PHP7 Feature roundup + Getting started with WordPress development

With PHP7 set to be released later this year Gareth McCumskey from Savemoney.co.za will give us a heads up on what to expect in;

PHP 7 is on its way: Find out about the big new features and quality of life improvements we can expect later this year when PHP 7 is finally released!

Gareth McCumskey has had his head deep into the world of web development and PHP since he was 18, over 15 years ago, dropping out of studying Geology at WITS to pursue his passion. Having worked for numerous companies in Gauteng, he has now taken the plunge and moved himself,his wife and as yet unborn child to the Mother City to seek new adventures. Currently, he leads the development team at Savemoney.co.za (http://savemoney.co.za/) in Green Point.

2nd talk is;

Getting started with WordPress development
WordPress is an incredibly powerful platform and framework for development, but until you learn how to use it you won't be able to make full use of its flexibility. In this session you will learn the core principles of WordPress development that will enable you to start taking full advantage of everything that it offers.

Hugh Lashbrooke
Hugh cut his teeth as a web developer more than a decade ago by building bespoke web applications for a local agency. Since then he has worked on various products and PHP applications ranging from custom builds and cross-platform integrations to CMS modifications. After discovering the flexibility and power of WordPress as a development platform, he moved to full-time WordPress development and now works at WooThemes (http://www.woothemes.com/) where he has built numerous plugins and worked on many different products. He is currently managing WooThemes' relationship with the broader open-source community while continuing to work on his own plugins (https://profiles.wordpress.org/hlashbrooke#content-plugins).

WooThemes
WooThemes designs and develops cutting-edge commercial themes & plugins for WordPress. In 2011 WooCommerce was launched allowing anyone to turn their WordPress website into an online shop thanks to this free, open source eCommerce plugin. WooCommerce is now one of the fastest growing eCommerce platforms available with a catalog of hundreds of commercial extensions and themes catering for all sorts of businesses and verticals.

Thanks to sponsors, Spree (http://www.spree.co.za/) for drinks and venue and BetTech (http://www.bettech.com/) for the snacks