Over the past week or so there have been some conferences and workshops announced that look outstanding. They are mostly focused on the front end, but the last one on this list will have a lot of great sessions on Node.js and other back end topics.

Framework Summit 2018

I’m really excited about this one! Instead of a conference that focuses solely on React or Angular, for example, Framework Summit is open to speakers on any JavaScript framework. There is already a great line up, with more to be announced as sessions are submitted. The speakers so far:

  • Chris Fritz (Vue core team)
  • Tyler McGinness (React trainer)
  • Sean Larkin (webpack)
  • Merrick Christensen (former ng-conf organizer)
  • John Papa (Microsoft developer advocate)
  • Lin Clark (Mozilla)
  • Dan Wahlin (trainer, consultant, speaker)
  • Richard Feldman (author, Elm expert)

The location for the event is Park City, Utah, which is absolutely beautiful. It’s being held October 2nd and 3rd (Looks like October 1st will be pre-conference workshops). Early bird tickets are $650 and are available until May 1st.

I’m seriously considering this one, so if you’re going to attend and want to grab a drink or what not, let me know!

Workshop.me

When I saw the line up for this one, I was super impressed. Workshop.me is actually a series of workshops that will be held across the United States and taught by some of the highest profile folks in the JavaScript community.

Want to learn Vue from its creator, Evan You? That one is happening in New York, April 19th and 20th. Or maybe learn pro Angular with Todd Motto? Todd is teaching his workshop in July. This series of workshops really makes me wish I had a larger training budget!

Some of the other instructors include:

  • Kent C. Dodds
  • Sarah Drasner
  • Ken Wheeler
  • Ryan Florence (the guy behind Workshop.me)
  • Sean Larkin

It’s a great line up, and if you really want to learn one of the topics being covered, these workshops will be hard to beat. You can view the full schedule here.

JS Interactive

Last year this event was called Node.js Interactive, and, as the name suggests, it focused primarily on Node topics. I attended and it was a lot of fun. This year the Node.js Foundation is teaming up with the JS Foundation and broadening the scope of the conference to bring you JS Interactive. This one is a bit cheaper, only $250 for the early birds. Also, it’s being held in Vancouver BC, which is a great city. If you love seafood, then you’re in for a real treat because Vancouver has an abundance of amazing seafood restaurants.

How to Decide?

All three of these sound pretty great, right? How do you decide which one to attend? Well, it depends on what you want to get out of it. Last year when I attended Node.js Interactive, it broadened my horizons because I work mostly on the front end. That said, workshops are typically a better learning experience.

For example, if you’d like to learn Vue, how can you beat a two-day course with Evan You where you spend the first day going deep on Vue.js core and the second on building scalable enterprise applications? You can’t!

Conferences can be great learning experiences, and many have pre-conference workshops (for an extra fee), but they are mostly about community and connections — and great parties! If you’re in it to learn, the workshops are probably your best bet.

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Until next time, happy coding…