If you ’re a Mac developer , then Apple ’s annualWorldwide Developers Conferencemay be the single most crucial outcome on your calendar . It ’s where you ’ll see Apple ’s modish additions to OS X , get one - on - one time with Apple engineers ( more than 1,200 Apple engineers , in fact ) , get advice on bringing your program to marketplace , consult with human interface designers , get help with artwork and media in your apps or making your code head for the hills quicker , and attend a wide - range natural selection of instructive presentations . There aresix distinct tracksandmore than 240 sessions and labsthis twelvemonth . In unretentive , it’stheplace to be ( and be encounter ) for developers from all over the world — and there are more than 5,000 of them here .
So what ’s a business major andMacworldwriter doing here , wearing his WWDC Attendee badge and sit in on sessions with people much brighter than he ?
As it turns out , even if you do n’t make a living building software , the WWDC can be an enlightening experience . I thought I ’d apportion exactly what goes behind the scenes at WWDC . Keep in mind that thecontentof the league is protect by a non - disclosure agreement , so I ca n’t indite about that . Instead I ’ll focus on the event in ecumenical , how it feels to be the least - technical mortal in a way of C , and what I think I ’ll take off at the death of the week .
The event itself
Moscone West play host to the 5,000 attender and 1,200 Apple engineers for the week . On the ground floor is the readjustment area and a huge room that take for the dining hall ( hundreds of table ) , and it also materialize to be where I ’m sit now as I typecast this shipment . This room also holds the hands - on labs where developer get one - on - one help with their code , a paries of power strip for recharging while computer science , and a play area with about 25 Macs networked together . The Macs are running a variety of games , include Quake 4 and Redline Racing — and no , that ’s not all I ’ve been doing ! The play area is a popular destination for between - session time , and all machines have earpiece , so the room does n’t fathom like some over - sized video colonnade .
The second and third floor are where you ’ll find the session . The really huge rooms are on the third floor , where Monday ’s keynote room ( Presidio ) is used for the more pop sessions — there are butt for literally thousands of people , and I ’ve see those seats mostly full for a few sessions .
Apple developers , as you might expect , are not a passive group — several times I witnessed roars of approving that rivaled those you ’ll hear during a Jobs tonic . As a Mac drug user , I find it reassuring to see so many developers interested in ( and intelligibly excite by ) the platform and its future direction . The smaller rooms are still large , seat hundreds of hoi polloi . Every room has an fantabulous acoustic projection and sound system , so get a line and insure the presentations is n’t a problem .
Due to the multi - floor layout , I ’d probably say the most - utilize tool at WWDC is n’t a Mac or a cellular telephone phone , but rather the escalators , which stick around busy all day long , shuffling attender between the cafeteria and the two academic session floors . ( The cafeteria is heavily used , as food and drink are included in the price of admission . )
Stranger in a strange land
There are sentence when I sense like I ’m a fairly technically - orient Mac user . I can form my way through Terminal command , I ’ve written a couple flyspeck AppleScripts , I can handle Excel and Word macros , and Automator is one of my favourite OS X 10.4 program . That feeling promptly vanishes , though , when I baby-sit down in one of the WWDC Roger Huntington Sessions , where the Brobdingnagian majority of the content goes flying by , way above my head . So precisely why do I go , and what do I get out such sessions ?
The main matter to realize is that WWDC school term launch the gamut from extremely technical to high - stage overview . For instance , I did n’t bother to advert the academic term on Fundamentals of Kernel Debugging , get it on that I ’d get absolutely nothing out of it . However , session such as good Widget Creation with Dashcode , Creating lead - boundary 2 - ergocalciferol Graphics with Quartz , and Design Innovation behind Apple.com are a different story . Dashcode , for instance , is a tool ( available as apublic beta for 10.4 ) that make it quite simple to make basic Dashboard widgets , even for non - technical folks like myself . So while much of the session will still be over my top dog , I ’ll be able to learn a second more about how Dashcode works , which will aid me write some canonic doojigger for my own use , as well as sharing that noesis with others through future articles .
Other session , such as Time Machine In - Depth , are utile for see just how new features in OS X are going to work , and how they came to be . Sometimes by listen to the engineering screen background behind a yield feature , I gain useful knowledge as a user of that technology . Knowing how Time Machine works , for instance , may vary how I choose to store my files , or what kinds of course of study I choose to use , or my overall backup strategy .
These academic session also put up an appreciation for just how much engineering work plump into a give feature . Consider Time Machine from a exploiter ’s perspective : “ Oh cool , I can keep backup copy of all my data chop-chop and well . That ’s neat ! ” But behind that seemingly - simple operation , there were a pile of very unmanageable question to address : How do we address data file that are update while the backup is running ? How do we make this work such that it wo n’t interfere with the user ’s normal use of the auto ? What happen if a file is busy when it ’s metre to back it up ? How do we lie with what files have been changed on the scheme without searching through all 2 million of them every meter ? As user , we never think about such doubtfulness , but that ’s because the engineersdospend time — a fate of it — guess about them !
In the WWDC Roger Sessions , you learn how the Apple railroad engineer addressed these challenges , and what changes they may have had to make to OS X to get everything act upon . You apace find out that it ’s really , really heavy to make something as complex as Time Machine well-to-do for the distinctive user to understand and practice . You also see that Apple engineers have a clear passion for the things they ’re working on — they’re activated about the unexampled features in Leopard , and want to help developers put them to use in their own applications .
As someone whoworks with OS Xfor a living , make out these behind - the - scenes details will help oneself me in the future tense . With a deeper cognition of how Time Machine works , for example , I may be capable to better reply exploiter ’ question , or to recommend programs that ferment well with its technology .
But make no mistake — this is averytechnical group discussion , and it ’s clearly place at those who make their living developing bone decade software . So in a very real sense , I do palpate like a stranger in a strange land , and quite privileged to listen in on the conversations , even if most of them are well beyond my acquisition level .
Conclusion
attendant pay for the perquisite of take care WWDC , and it’snot an inexpensive tag . But the cost of the tag gives Mac developers fantabulous access code to Apple engineering science resource , a form of targeted technical discourse , and science lab clock time to help solve their most vexing issues . As but one example , I had lunch today with a one - person development shop , and he was quite aroused about his upcoming laboratory time with the human port mathematical group . He does n’t survive anywhere near Cupertino , so WWDC is his once - a - year opportunity to get one - on - one help with his port questions , straight from those who should know the best . It ’s meeting time that he values highly , and that would otherwise be quite hard to set up .
For me , though , this week is all about the future . It ’s a great chance to peach to developer about what they ’re working on , to top out behind the curtains at the next version of OS X , and with any luck , to leave with some real mankind noesis I can put to good use once Leopard ship this free fall .
It ’s also a great way to get rejuvenated about the Mac platform : after pass a week with 6,200 - plus Mac - focused somebody , it ’s laborious not to leave feeling good about our platform of selection and its future . Between the improvements Apple is make up to OS X in 10.5 , and the things that these developer will be able-bodied to do with those improvements , the hereafter of OS cristal looks quite strong .
