What we’re about
==== Overview ===
This is a group for anyone, of any skill level and background, interested in the development, engineering, and craft of building and designing software. Topics may include code katas, SOLID design discussions, TDD, agile development, various programming languages and frameworks, code retreat events, volunteer work, mentoring, and anything the group is interested in as we move forward.
If you have a topic that you'd like to present (be that for 15 minutes, an hour, or whatever you need) let us know and we'll set it up! The skills and interests of our regular members range from .NET, Android, and front-end design, to embedded programming, Azure, game development, Ruby, clean code and beyond. We welcome everyone!
I started this group to meet other people interested in software development in the valley, to learn and grow, and to provide a place for beginners to come to get started in programming and software engineering. By building up the community we'll each be able to improve and help others grow along the way. I'm looking forward to meeting more Software Crafters in the area!
Software Crafters are people who write software and care about self-improvement, quality, continuous learning and helping one another. These people come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Together we can help each other learn and grow. Companies like 8th Light promote this type of mentality and use the "Software Crafter" job title which is why I chose the name "Kalispell Software Crafters". A number of other meetups around the world also use the "software crafters" name.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns feel free to message me (Travis) or Skyler anytime!
Kalispell Software Crafters is dedicated to a harassment-free experience for everyone. Be that at an event or within our Slack/Discord community. Our anti-harassment policy can be found at: https://github.com/kalispell-software-crafters/code-of-conduct
This meetup is part of the Azure Tech Group community. Please also review their code of conduct: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-tech-groups/code-of-conduct
==== Meetings ===
We typically have three meetings during the month: a focused topic presentation, a social event, and a lightning talk night. We swap things around when necessary but below is our general schedule. Our presentation and lightning talk nights are done virtually with Zoom and our social events are in-person.
Focused Topics are on the first Wednesday of the month from 6:00 to 8:00pm MT. Social Events are on the following week's Saturday (between the first and third Wednesday meetings). Typically these are from 11:30 to 1:30pm MT. The Lightning Talk meeting is on the third Wednesday of the month from 6:00 to 8:00pm MT.
Focused topic meetings range from presentations, videos, and workshops with group discussions and can vary in exact length depending on the content. The lightning talk meeting gives people a chance to give shorter presentations on software, technology, and industry related topics. It's also just a great opportunity to come hang out and talk about the software industry and ask questions. These two meetings each generally end with a book club discussion for those that are interested. Sometimes we have several book clubs going and focus on a specific book at each meeting. So check the event description and the Book Club section below for more information.
We have a social event on the second Saturday between our regular meetings. We typically have lunch together for these events but sometimes we do things like game nights, outdoor activities or longer planned events (like the Global Day of Coderetreat in November).
=== Book Club(s) ===
Current Book(s)
Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppman
The main content of our focused topic and lightning talk meetings will wrap up around 7:20pm and the focus will switch over to a book club discussion for the last 30 minutes or so. Check the next event page for details on which chapter we'll be reviewing.
Past Books
Clean Code by Robert C. Martin
99 Bottle of OOP by Sandi Metz
The Rust Programming Language by Steve Klabnik and Carol Nichols
Grokking Simplicity by Eric Normand
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software: Second Edition by Charles Petzold
Scrum and XP from the Trenches - 2nd Edition by Henrik Kniberg
=== Beginners ===
You're more than welcome to attend any meeting we have and bring your questions along! We also have a regular Lightning Talk meeting which is a great place to have your questions answered (from general questions to specific problems you're dealing with as you learn). We also have a Slack group where you can ask questions too!
You might also try checking out freeCodeCamp.org, code.org, or Khan Academy to get started in learning more about computer programming (links below). There's even a local freeCodeCamp group on Facebook to get help from others (search for freeCodeCamp Kalispell - https://www.facebook.com/groups/free.code.camp.kalispell.mt.
We've held freeCodeCamp meetings in the past. If there's interest in doing that let us know.
Resources for beginners:
freeCodeCamp
freeCodeCamp is a free online resource for learning how to program. The website introduces beginners to web development from HTML and JavaScript to MongoDB and unit tests. Learn more from the official site: https://www.freecodecamp.org. You can sign up for the local Facebook group as well if you'd like: https://www.facebook.com/groups/free.code.camp.kalispell.mt/
code.org
From their website, "Code.org® is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities." This is another great place for anyone of any age to start as code.org focuses on bringing computer science to schools from K-12. Learn more here: https://studio.code.org/courses
Khan Academy
Khan Academy has a ton of educational content available including computer programming. They offer a lot of exercises that gradually teach concepts to you as you progress. To learn more, check out their computer programming section: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming
==== GitHub ====
Some presentations and events include code samples. Check out our page on GitHub for some of our past projects (search for Kalispell Software Crafters or follow this link https://github.com/kalispell-software-crafters).
If you need access to the organization to upload a project or work on anything let us know!
==== Slack and Discord ====
We also have a Slack group if you're interested in joining that and discussing about our meetup and chatting. Ask us and we'll get you set up! We have used Discord for online meetings or for voice chat during video games days in the past. We are now using Zoom for our online meetings.
Slack: https://slack.com/
Discord: https://discordapp.com
Zoom: https://zoom.us/
