Php[world] Conference
About
php[world] is a conference like no other. Designed to bring together the various sub-communities that are linked by the PHP programming language. Drupal, WordPress, Joomla!, Magento, Laravel, Zend Framework, Symfony and CakePHP all have strong independent communities, but together as the PHP community, the sum is greater than the whole.
The landscape of PHP is always evolving. Right now, a staggering 82% of the Web runs on PHP. At the same time, the use of content management systems and pre-built application frameworks has skyrocketed as well. For example, 22% of all websites in the world are built on WordPress. Other frameworks – such as Joomla!, Drupal, and Magento – trail not far behind. More often, while PHP is the actual programming language powering websites, it isn’t ‘raw’ PHP doing it, but one of these frameworks instead.
This has led to the growth of very large, but disparate communities. Each of these separate application systems has their own community that has evolved around them, completely separate from the large PHP community that already existed. More and more, people are using PHP, but the community is fragmenting.
A few years ago the team behind php[architect] magazine wanted to create a conference designed to bring these separate communities together and reunite them. Hence, the idea of php[world] was born. A conference that is designed to bring the entire world of PHP together in one place, to encourage cross-pollination of ideas and sharing of ideals.
We want to have a conference that has tracks designed to appeal to Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, and Magento developers, as much as the Zend Framework, Symfony, CakePHP, and Laravel communities, as well as to PHP developers everywhere.
The result was a success as many different communities came together, worked, shared information, held an impromptu PHP-FIG meeting and more. This year they plan on repeating it and making this the biggest PHP conference in terms of both scope and attendees!
LOCATION & HOTEL
This year’s php[world] conference will take place once again at the Sheraton Premiere at Tyson’s Corner in the Washington, D.C. area. This hotel is located a convenient short cab ride from the Dulles International Airport. It also is situated directly next to the Spring Hill Metro stop on the new Silver Metro Line stop! By using the Silver Line, you are able to get from the Reagan International Airport directly to the hotel as well. (Plus, you will be able to use the Metro to go to downtown DC for site-seeing). The Sheraton is a newly renovated hotel with some great amenities for us!
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
Tuesday Evening
Open Social
The open social takes place at Brix & Ale, the restaurant inside of the Sheraton, starting at 5:30 PM. This is a place to see old friends, catch up, and meet some new faces in a relaxed, stress-free environment. The restaurant has an excellent selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as a full menu of delicious options. So join us for some fun and relaxing before the conference swings into full gear.
Drupal NOVA User Group Meeting
Before the main conference starts, we get a free presentation from Larry Garfield at the Drupal NOVA User Group meeting. This will take place at the venue and is open to the public. Come join us in Ash Grove B as we get a presentation about making your code do it’s job!
Women Who Code NOVA User Group Meeting
Also on Tuesday evening, we get a free presentation from Samantha Quiñones at the Women Who Code NOVA User Group meeting. This will take place at the venue and is open to the public. Come join us in Ash Grove A as we get a presentation about hacking the human interface!
Karaoke
We aren’t sure exactly what evening this will take place, maybe Wednesday, maybe Thursday. But either way, it will happen! The team at EngineYard have offered to sponsor a Karaoke outing one evening. Plans are currently in the works, and this page will be updated with more details once we finalize it.
Wednesday Evening
Opening Night Reception
Join us in the Atrium to kick off the first night of the conference. Hang out with friends new and old to discuss the great talks of the day and unwind a bit. This is also a superb time to talk with our generous sponsors and get your swag. Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic will be available.
Meet the php[architect] Authors
During the first hour of the opening night reception we will have four php[architect] book authors set up with copies of their books. Bring your book to have it signed, ask questions, or just chat with the authors about their book. Don’t have a book? You can purchase one there and have it signed.
DCPHP User Group Meeting
Let’s keep the learning going! Join a meeting of the DCPHP Developer’s Community for a presentation by Fabien Potencier – the creator of the Symphony framework. (This event is open to the public and all conference attendees holding any ticket type.)
Jerks Talk Games (A Live Podcast Recording)
Get your gamer geek on! Two of our php[world] speakers, Gary Hockin and Chris Tankersley, will be recording a session of their podcast: “Jerks Talk Games.” Hear about the games they are playing and past games they have enjoyed. Games range from retro to modern, and across nearly all computer systems and platforms.
Thursday Evening
Evening Reception
Join us again in the Atrium to wind down from the second day of sessions. Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic will be available. Don’t forget to visit the sponsors if you haven’t done so yet.
WebNEXT NOVA User Group Meeting
Let’s keep the content coming! Join a meeting of the WebNEXT NOVA user group for a presentation. (This event is open to the public and all conference attendees holding any ticket type.)
Capital Laravel User Group Meeting
More interested in Laravel instead? At the same time, we’ll be having a User Group presentation on Presenting Data from your Laravel Application from Capital Laravel. Come join us for either of these UG meetings this evening. Both of them open to the public!
Board Game Night
Time to sit back and relax with your fellow conference attendees. The conference is getting close to winding down, and it’s time to kick back and relax a bit. From 8 PM until everyone is exhausted, we will break out the board games (and maybe hook up an Xbox as well) for attendees to join each other, and hang out until late. Find a game you love, a game that’s new to you, or just hang out with new friends. Extremely low key and enjoyable for all.
Friday Afternoon
WurstCon
The team behind WurstCon (the traveling un-conference designed around eating hot dogs & sausage) are planning an outing after the conference has concluded on Friday. Watch Twitter or look back here for more details in the coming weeks!
