What we’re about
Julia is a modern programming language that is getting traction and followers around the world thanks to its ease of use and some very interesting design features. It looks and feels like a script language, but is actually as fast as a close-to-the-metal compiled one (https://julialang.org/blog/2012/02/why-we-created-julia).
The first feature-complete version of the language came out in August 2018 and v1.2 arrived recently. If you do a casual search on the Internet, you will notice lots of people talking positively about it and many more jumping on its bandwagon every day.
This is the perfect moment for you to learn Julia, regardless of your background! Currently there is no employer that can demand you to have the proverbial "3-year experience" in this tech. Julia looks ideal for hobbyists as well as professional programmers who need a powerful, productive, yet easy way to express their computational ideas in modern code (https://julialang.org/research/julia-fresh-approach-BEKS.pdf).
Freiburg, albeit its strong local community of Computer Science enthusiasts, does not have a dedicated user group to support and promote the use of Julia. Let's rectify this. It is probably the best time to start learning the language, understand its strengths and weaknesses, and create an unofficial support network in South Baden for its implementation.
I will strive to plan meetings in local common rooms once every two months in order to introduce people to Julia and build up a circle of enthusiasts. Everyone, regardless of background, is invited. Channels of communication as well as repositories will be made available in order to share expertise and code.
The first Meetup is planned for October-November 2019.
