September Meetup

Talk 1 - "Functional Programming in C#"
with Simon Painter (@madSimonJ)

Functional Programming is becoming increasingly popular and relevant with each year that goes by. With so much discussion around languages such as F#, Haskell, and Erlang - it can seem as though getting started with Functional programming would mean first learning a whole new syntax... but what if it didn't?

Most .NET developers are familiar with the use of Linq, and basic constructs such as IEnumerable, Func delegates, arrow functions, and ternary expressions - but did you know that you can use all of this to implement some of the most powerful patterns and techniques from the world of functional programming?

This talk will demonstrate how, using only familiar features available in out-of-the-box C#, to write Functional code that is:

• More robust
• Easier to read
• Easier to maintain

As well as these benefits, Functional code is a great enabler for the use of concurrency with Async functions and Serverless applications with technologies such as Azure Functions.

This talk might be of interest to anyone looking into moving to a new platform, or in improving the scalability of an existing application, or even just interested in seeing what Functional Programming is all about, but all within the comfort of a familiar language.

We might even attempt the impossible, and explain what a Monad is!

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Talk 2 - "How to make your boss(es) happy - and be allowed to do the things you want"
with Mark Taylor (@RedFolderMark)

It's a wonderful time to be in IT - so many exciting technologies, tools and practices out there. So why is it so hard to be allowed to use them?

We in IT are a creative lot. We just can't help ourselves from finding new ways to solve problems. So much so, that as an industry we are constantly learning, re-evaluating and challenging that learning over and over.

Which is great for the industry.

But it can also be a massive frustration for those organisations that rely on us. As an industry we are still struggling to bring our executive team along with us. Is it any wonder that this results in friction?

In this talk, Mark shares how he uses return on investment as a model to help executive teams to understand the need to change to a more accepting & open culture for long term success.

Expect how to take away from this this;

• Generate a sense of urgency in changing the culture
• How to dispel some of the myths of traditional IT
• How to raise alternatives and excite the executive

This talk is for anyone that believes they can improve their organisation through technology - but are struggling to get buy-in from the owners of the purse strings.