About us
We’re bringing PyData events back to Johannesburg! These are events for everyone who loves Python or data or good people. No Sales, No Recruiting, just technical talks.
📣 Our call for speakers for 2024 is open! Submit your talk here: https://sessionize.com/pydata-johannesburg
Our past presentations can be found at https://github.com/pydata-johannesburg/meetup-presentations
The global PyData network promotes discussion of best practices, new approaches, and emerging technologies for data management, processing, analytics, and visualization. PyData communities approach data science using many languages, including (but not limited to) Python, Julia, and R.
We aim to be an accessible, community-driven conference with novice to advanced-level presentations. We value the participation of each member of the PyData community and want everyone to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Accordingly, all members are expected to show respect and courtesy to each other at all times.
PyData is an educational program of NumFOCUS, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the United States. PyData provides a forum for the international community of users and developers of data analysis tools to share ideas and learn from each other. The PyData Code of Conduct governs this meetup. To discuss any issues or concerns relating to the code of conduct or the behaviour of anyone at a PyData meetup, please get in touch with NumFOCUS Executive Director Leah Silen (+1 512-222-5449; [leah@numfocus.org](mailto:leah@numfocus.org)) or the group organizer.
Upcoming events
2
Generating Code Faster Than You Can Debug It
BBD Johannesburg (Rosebank) - News Cafe Entrance, The Zone Boulevard, Cnr Cradock , Tyrwhitt Ave, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196, JOHANNESBURG, ZAGenerating code faster than you can debug it?
You’re not the only one.
Velocity is up.
Clarity hasn’t caught up.
PyData is where we compare what actually holds up in practice.
No sales pitches—just people building real systems and sharing what works (and what doesn’t).
If you’re trying to write code you can reason about, maintain, and trust—you’ll fit right in.18:30 – 18:55
Welcome & Community Update — Charles Fourie and Luis de Sousa
A quick read on what’s moving in the local data ecosystem before we get into the main session.19:00 – 19:55
Talk: Sheena O'Connell
Powering up Django development with Claude Code
Description
Kernighan’s law still holds:
debugging is harder than writing the code.
LLMs don’t remove that problem—they amplify it.
We’re now generating code that:
works, but is hard to reason about
introduces hidden design trade-offs
accumulates technical debt faster than we notice
The question isn’t whether you can use these tools.
It’s whether you stay in control when you do.
Sheena walks through how she uses Claude Code in real Django projects:
structuring prompts to guide output
applying guardrails to avoid drift
knowing when to trust vs verify
spotting failure patterns early
Practical patterns that hold up in real projects.Terms & Notes
Free, community-run event
Limited space—please cancel if you can’t attendCall for Speakers
Built something that actually held up under pressure?
Submit here: https://sessionize.com/pydata-johannesburg/37 attendees
Past events
38
Group links
Members
2,306
