From July 18 to 22, the Apache Software Foundation presented in cooperation with Software & Support Media the ApacheCon Europe 2005 in Stuttgart. Supervised by renowned developers from the Apache and Open Source community, several compelling tutorials and sessions covering all relevant topics from the core basics to the latest developments and technologies.
The Apache Software Foundation ranks among the best-known Open Source organizations in the world, with an annual summit organized in the United States. ApacheCon Europe 2005 in Germany has been the first event in Europe in five years.
“I am glad that we are back in Europe with ApacheCon,” says Lars Eilebrecht, Co-Founder and Member of the Apache Software Foundation. “It has been a big step forward to strengthen the European Apache Community.”
Over 350 attendees from 30 countries selected from more than 70 seminars, keynotes, and birds-of-a-feather sessions that provided them with news from the Apache Community and the open source area. Topics such as the legendary Apache HTTP Server, scalable Web architecture, Web services, PHP, mod_perl, Java, XML, Subversion, and SpamAssassin were featured on the agenda. As a precursor to the main conference – July 18 and 19 – participants had the option to choose from a range of in-depth tutorials, delivered by Apache professionals.
The speaker list included renowned international experts: Zak Greant, Jim Rivera, Carsten Ziegeler, Brian Fitzpatrick, Noel Bergmann, and Derick Rethans are just a few names. One of the highlights included Horst Zuse’s (son of Konrad Zuse, the inventor of the calculating machine Z1) keynote on the “Origins of the Computer”. Danese Cooper presented a lecture on “Open Source in the Developing World” and Jan Wildeboer talked about the history and current state of “Software Patents in Europe”.
Besides a diversified program, the community aspect was a major part of the conference. “A unique feeling of community descended over ApacheCon, as many participants were found initiating discussions about their own Apache projects, sharing their wealth of knowledge, and seeking opportunities to cross pollinate their projects and knowledge. The conference was a true reflection of the vibes within the Apache community and their quest for excellence”, said Masoud Kamali, CEO of Software & Support Media, the producer of ApacheCon Europe. There is a blog that attendees used to report on their experiences at ApacheCon: http://blog.apachecon.com.
Companies like MySQL and thawte gathered in the exhibition area as well as Open Source organizations, such as CAcert, Debian, FFII, PostNuke & PHP-Nuke, Wikipedia and the Apache Software Foundation.
In addition the department of business development, Stuttgart, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Baden-Württemberg supported ApacheCon.