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Swing on by for a visit!

We’ve added another Rails Studio to this fall’s lineup. Registration is now open for our flagship Rails training on September 12-14 in Reston, VA.

Hope to see you there!

Before you head out on that summer vacation or spin up a new project in the fall, make an investment in the hottest tools and trends around by registering for one (or more!) of our upcoming events. In addition to bringing back the popular Rails Edge conference, we also have four Studios open for registration.

The Rails Edge Conference

August 23-25 in Chicago, IL

Learn the latest techniques from industry experts, catch up on the hottest tips and tricks, and exchange ideas with fellow Ruby and Rails enthusiasts! This single-track conference includes 19 sessions on timely topics presented by an all-star lineup of speakers to keep you productive on the leading edge.

Looking to improve your web design chops? We’ve added a pre-conference tutorial on Web Design for Rails Developers.

Register by July 1st and save $100!

Agile Developer Studio

Sept 12-14 in Reston, VA

Learn what being agile is all about by experiencing first-hand how to do it! You’ll also learn how to transition your project or organization from conventional approaches to agile development practices that save time and money.

Ruby on Rails Studio

Sept 19-21 in Denver, CO

Build up a solid foundation for developing full-featured, industrial-strength web applications in our three-day flagship Rails training.

Register by August 3rd and save $200!

Advanced Rails Studio

Oct 24-26 in Denver, CO

Take your web application to the next level by mastering the cutting-edge techniques used by experts to build killer Rails apps with confidence and efficiency.

Advanced Ruby Studio

Nov 12-14 in Denver, CO

Dive deep into the source of Ruby’s power and learn advanced Ruby features that will make you and your project shine!

When you choose to work with opinionated software, passion comes with the territory. Rails developers in particular are a passionate bunch. And in many ways the Rails community mirrors the personality of Rails. They care about writing beautiful code. They care about getting their application on the web as soon as it provides value to people. They care about continuing to deliver features at a sustainable pace. And they care about being happy while they do these things.

But don’t take all that fervor about web development to mean that Rails developers are self-centered. They deeply care about a lot more than themselves. And at this year’s RailsConf, they proved it.

On Thursday, Pragmatic Studio gave an all-day Rails Guidebook tutorial and instead of charging for it we simply asked attendees to make a minimum donation to a charity wish list. Over 100 fine folks turned up and contributed over $12,000 to charity! This exceeded last year’s contributions by $4000, and we were incredibly pleased with the turnout. But then in typical Rails fashion, the community took this "framework" into their own (opinionated) hands to do something incredible.

On Friday morning, Chad Fowler opened the conference with an impassioned keynote and challenged the 1600 attendees to continue giving throughout the conference. At the end of the day, donations were up to around $18,000. On Sunday morning, Gavin Stark threw down the gauntlet by pledging to add $2000 if the level of giving reached $20,000. It did within the hour and continued to rise.

Individuals reached into their own pockets and gave from $10 to $1000. Companies, including Zaadz, also made generous contributions. O'Reilly had the brilliant idea of "selling" extra t-shirts, which added over $1,700 to donations.

At the closing keynote Sunday afternoon, donations were up to $26,000. Roy Singham of ThoughtWorks graciously pledged an additional $3000 if the total reached $30,000. And it did!

We’re pleased and humbled to report that the Rails community raised over $33,000!

This is simply amazing and everyone should be very proud of the impact you’ve made. But we know it didn’t begin or end here. On a daily basis, Rails developers give of their time, talent, and money to support:

• the growing Rails community by writing patches, plugins, documentation, etc. to keep Rails a productive and sustainable environment to work in
• the online community by using the power of Rails to build applications for non-profit organizations and other worthy causes
• the physical world by using their financial resources, combined with employer matching programs, to support a variety of charities

Indeed, the Rails community cares and Rails is about what you can do!

We’re excited to announce that registration is now open for The Rails Edge conference in Chicago, IL on August 23-25.

The Rails Edge has a significantly different format and focus than our Studio training courses. The Rails Edge is a three-day conference to help you stay on top of your Rails and Ruby game with

• 10 experts speaking on timely topics in and around Ruby and Rails, including REST, Active Resource, JRuby, deployment, testing, and more!
• a single-track environment with around 20 sessions and 30-minute breaks in between so we can all learn from each other
• around 150 fellow Rails and Ruby enthusiasts chatting, hacking, and exchanging ideas

We think it’s a lot of fun and a great way to stay up to date on these ever-changing technologies! As one Rails Edge attendee noted: "Awesome conference, well worth the money. Not only was it well organized but the talks where just loaded with useful information."

Sign up by July 1st to take advantage of the early bird discount.

We hope to see you there!

As programmers, we’re no strangers to change. Requirements change, technologies change, customers change, and in turn we have to change to stay relevant. Indeed, our ability to continuously adapt to change is paramount to the success of our projects and careers. Some people call this being agile. But what sets agile, productive teams apart from teams reacting to daily fire drills?

Today we’re excited to announce the Agile Developer Studio, designed exclusively to help you and your teams succeed through agility. This Studio isn’t a series of lectures about what you should do, leaving you to figure out how to actually do it. Instead, you’ll learn what agility is all about, by actually doing it! And you’ll be coached by the best: Andy Hunt (of the Pragmatic Programmers) and Venkat Subramaniam, co-authors of "Practices of an Agile Developer". Drawing from their vast project experience, they’ll help you become a better, more agile, developer.

Over the course of three days, you’ll learn how to apply agile practices throughout the life cycle of your project with both programmer-level and project-management examples and labs. After this Studio, you’ll be able to:

• prevent normal project pressures from turning into disasters,
• keep project teams working in harmony, and
• consistently deliver quality software on predictable schedules.

The Agile Developer Studio will be held in Reston, VA on Sept 12-14, 2007. Register today to take advantage of the early bird discount.

Thanks for your continued support, and we hope to see you in this Studio!

We love Ruby, and we’re excited to announce a new advanced Studio focused exclusively on Ruby! Join Dave Thomas and Chad Fowler for three days as they take you deep inside the Ruby language and its accompanying tools.

We’ve also opened up another Rails Studio location, this time in the Bay Area.

Advanced Ruby Studio

July 18-20, 2007 in Reston, VA

Whether you’re writing libraries or utilities, automating your software project, building dynamic web applications with Rails, integrating systems in your enterprise, or anything in between, you owe it to yourself to truly master Ruby’s advanced features. After this Studio your productivity will soar as you write more readable and more maintainable Ruby programs.

Ruby on Rails Studio

June 18-20 in Sunnyvale, CA

Build up a solid foundation for developing full-featured, industrial-strength web applications with our 3-day hands-on Rails training.

We look forward to seeing you in Pragmatic Studio!

If you’ve been wondering what happens at The Rails Edge conference, Bob Payne is releasing a series of interviews from last month’s show. In the first interview, Bob talks with Mike Clark about conferences, training, and other Pragmatic Studio offerings on the horizon.

Registration is now open for two more Studios this spring.

Advanced Rails Studio

April 18-20 in Dallas, TX

Take your web application to the next level by mastering the cutting-edge techniques used by experts to build killer Rails apps with confidence and efficiency.

Sign up by March 12th and save $200 on early registration!

Ruby on Rails Studio

April 30 - May 2 in Denver, CO

Build up a solid foundation for developing full-featured, industrial-strength web applications with our 3-day hands-on fundamental Rails training.

Sign-up by March 16th and save $200 on early registration!

We look forward to seeing you in Pragmatic Studio. More announcements coming soon!

Thanks to everyone who joined us in Reston for the second The Rails Edge conference! We hope y’all had as much fun as we did.

It’s great to hear that folks enjoy the atmosphere, speakers, and little touches we work hard to put into the show. Jamie Orchard-Hays, for example, had these kind words to say:

"I can honestly say that it was the best workshop or conference I have attended… this is the first conference I have attended where I was not disappointed by a single presentation."

That’s what we like to hear!

To get a feel for what The Rails Edge experience is like, check out more reviews and pictures.

Please stay tuned for more dates and locations…

If you’ve been wondering what happens in a Pragmatic Studio, and if it’s right for you, consider lending your ear to this podcast. Dan Benjamin interviews Mike Clark about the Studio experience, Ruby, Rails, and more.

Today we opened registration for the following Pragmatic Studios:

• Advanced Rails on March 12-14 in Chicago, IL
• Enterprise Ruby on March 28-30 in Reston, VA

We also still have a few seats open for Ruby on Rails on February 12-14 in Bellevue, WA, but they’re going quickly…

Special thanks to the folks who pre-registered for these events! We appreciate everyone’s continued to support, and look forward to spending time with you in 2007.

A big thanks to everyone who turned up for the first The Rails Edge conference in Denver! It was a lot of fun meeting and chatting with everyone, and we’re thrilled with the reviews. This one really captures the environment we were aiming to provide:

"It is a great event for Rails developers. You spend three days in the same room with with the leading experts, authors, and a core team member. This single-track format with ample breaks between sessions gets you much closer to the experts and gives ample opportunity for one-on-one time. Get specific questions or feedback that you are not as likely to get at big conferences like RailsConf, etc. …the presenters attend the entire conference with you. They are not off in the hallways taking calls or hiding out in a secret Presenters-Only room."

To get a feel for what The Rails Edge experience is like, check out Dave’s pictures.

If you weren’t able to attend, we hope you’ll consider joining us in Reston, VA on January 25-27, 2007 for the next Rails Edge conference. Register by January 4th and save $100.

To help you plan when you might visit us for Rails and Ruby training next year, we’re excited to announce the Pragmatic Studio schedule for the first quarter of 2007. The January offerings are now open for registration, and you can pre-register for later Studios.

The Rails Edge Conference

January 25-27 in Reston, VA

Learn the latest techniques from industry experts, catch up on the hottest tips and tricks, and exchange ideas with fellow enthusiasts at our regional Ruby and Rails conferences. Early registration is still open, so sign up today and save $100!

Ruby on Rails Studio

January 10-12 in Minneapolis, MN

February 12-14 in Bellevue, WA

Build up a solid foundation for developing full-featured, industrial-strength web applications with our 3-day hands-on Rails training. Registration for Minneapolis is now open.

Advanced Rails Studio

March 12-14 in Chicago, IL

Take your web application to the next level by mastering the cutting-edge techniques used by experts to build killer Rails apps with confidence and efficiency.

Enterprise Ruby Studio

March 28-30 in Reston, VA

Extend the reach of your application by learning advanced Ruby features, then use that power and expressiveness as your enterprise "glue".

Ogino Junya (from Japan!) won the grand prize at RubyConf this weekend: a complimentary pass to any of our upcoming The Rails Edge regional Rails/Ruby conferences.

Here’s the actual screenshot from the web app that randomly chose him as the big winner, though you’ll have to imagine his name pulsating in Ruby red in front of 350 attendees:

Congrats, Ogino!