#DevTO 19 - Connecting Things & CoffeeScript with Node.js

Anita Katakkar - Connecting Things

Steve Jobs describes the creative process as “connecting things”. Similarly, the creative process when collaborating can be described as connecting things that come from different origins. Software developers collaborate each time they work with individuals from varied backgrounds or when they develop systems that need to communicate. Similarly, musicians are creating more unique collaborations than ever before as the granularity in labelling music genres increases. Often these collaborations mean travelling unchartered territory. During this session, Anita will discuss similarities in her experiences of collaborating in music and software design, discuss some basic principles of collaboration and demonstrate these principles in musical practice.

Anita Katakkar is classically trained in playing "tabla", a drum that originates from India. With Indian/Scottish roots in multicultural Toronto, Anita Katakkar’s music practice represents a link between her heritage and community. She has performed, toured internationally and recorded with the Toronto Tabla Ensemble and Jeff Martin and has toured nationally with The Tea Party. In her latest fusion project “Rakkatak” ( http://www.rakkatak.com ), Anita has teamed up with local Toronto musicians to create an atmospheric backdrop for her tabla compositions.

Faisal Abid - CoffeeScript with Node.js

Node.js is kick-ass, but when writing large scale apps Javascript does get messy. Learn why Dropbox said F-u to their Javascript and went to CoffeeScript, and how you can too! We will cover the basics of CoffeeScript and Node, then jump right into why CoffeeScript and Node.js are like Peanut Butter and Jelly!

Faisal is an author published by Manning (at age 17) and O’Reilly and has also appeared in leading publications with articles on ColdFusion and Flex. Faisal also teaches Android development at the Rich Media Institute, as well as give presentations at FITC, Riadventure and other conferences on Android, Node.js, CoffeeScript and various other topics. Previously Faisal served as the CTO for MatchFuel and its predecessor AndSpot. From server-side and database challenges to the the front end issues, Faisal loves solving problems and strives to create software that can make a difference. Currently, he is a Software Engineer at Kobo on the Android tablet team.