TEK·X Day One

Day one of TEK·X here in Chicago got off to a great start with Josh Holmes’ Lost Art of Simplicity keynote. I agreed with pretty much everything that Josh had to say. As software developers, we’re often all too eager to start building a complex solution to what may be a simple problem.

Following are some short notes on the other sessions I attended today:

  • I’m always amazed at the Apache web server’s capabilities and Rich Bowen didn’t disappoint with his Apache Cookbook talk.
  • Joël Perras’ talk on Graphs, Edges & Nodes was a useful introduction to an important concept in today’s world of social networking and linked data.
  • David Strauss gave the audience a ton of helpful information about creating a scalable LAMP infrastructure.
  • Scott MacVicar talked about some upcoming features in the PHP language itself.
  • Bill Karwin gave a very clear presentation on SQL Injection Myths and Fallacies. This is a topic any web developer must have a good handle on since SQL injection is one of the most common security vulnerabilities.
  • Ben Ramsey talked about creating Desktop Apps with PHP and Titanium. I found this to be a very intriguing, albeit bizarre, technology.

The evening wrapped up with a social event and open bar sponsored by Zend and Echolibre. This was a great opportunity to catch up with others from the PHP community. I’m looking forward to another full day of sessions tomorrow.