GOTO – a word on language divercity

One of the things that makes GOTO special for me is that it is the one conference i visit every year where I run into developers with so many different backgrounds. Most conferences are in one way or another centered around one platform and one programming language. Even though GOTO started as a Java conference back when it was called Jaoo, this is no longer the case, with Microsoft being regulars on the speaker list, and with tracks on languages like Elixir, Pearl and NodeJS being a regular occurance in the past.

This year the language track includes Swift, R, Kotlin, C# and Elixir, so I am glad to see them continue this focus on different languages - which is extra important in countries in Denmark where we tend to develop what in practice is almost a mono-culture. I mean, look at the job market and how dominant C# and Java has become, especially when compared to what you see in the US and Silicon Valley.

One thing is getting the chance to look at new languages, which I do think is important, but even with the participants being mostly C# and Java programmers it is also a special setting when it comes to networking - simply because both “camps” are persent. This in itself is something I enjoy every year, because it sparks interesting conversational subjects, and you meet people from the other side of the fence.