Unbelievably, the 5-day CppCon 2014 was over in a flash. Not only did I have a great time but the conference kept me so busy throughout the week that the days just flew by.
To sum it up in a word: inspiring. If you considered going this year and decided not to, I would recommend it for next year. You can even put it in your calendar right now because CppCon 2015 has already been announced for September 20-25.
Amazingly, I am home here on Wednesday night during the week after and I am still thinking about the conference quite a bit. I’m glad most of the slides are already available because after that whirlwind week, I need to look back to better digest some of the more interesting material.
I could go on and on about the talks, but I particularly liked the keynotes. Having Scott Meyers open the conference and Herb Sutter close it was a perfect way to bookend the week. As someone who loves science, astronomy and C++, I really enjoyed Mark Maimone‘s talk about C++ on Mars. (This guy drives the Curiosity Rover!) Mike Acton gave a good, thought-provoking talk and was a great contrast to the other keynote speakers.
The talk given by Bjarne Stroustrup was particularly notable for me. Not only is he the creator and original implementor of C++, but his talk showed me that the language, even in its modern form, is keeping with his vision. We have a safe, modern C++ that is more welcoming to newcomers than ever and yet is still expert-friendly and delivers better performance than ever.
After Scott’s keynote on Monday, I spotted Bjarne chatting with some other attendees, I joined in, mostly curious about the topic. Before leaving, he was gracious enough to take a picture with me. I don’t care about meeting any particular celebrity, but I was elated to be in his presence. What I forgot to do was specifically thank him for creating a programming language I love to use every day.
In addition to Bjarne Stroustrup, I found that most of the speakers and fellow attendees were approachable and easy to talk to. This was a conference; we were there to talk to each other and I think the atmosphere was perfect for it.
Needless to say, if I have to opportunity to go again next year, I’ll be there in 2015!
