Sun may directly support the Czech Java community

Are things finally looking up? That’s exactly what I asked myself after yesterday’s 
email exchange with Roman Strobl (a NetBeans evangelist). Our conversation suggested that Sun might start supporting the Czech Java community. Nothing is official yet, but several things point to what may be coming.

A note to head off any national squabbles. When I refer to the Czech Java community here, of course I include our Slovak colleagues.

• Setting up a Java User Group in Prague
• NetBeans talks at CTU by the people who develop NetBeans

I welcome the effort to set up a Java User Group (JUG). I think it’s an excellent way for developers to share information. I see a JUG as the link between people who can and want to offer what they know and those who want to learn it. It hardly matters whether that happens through talks, presentations or panel discussions.

If a JUG does take shape, I’d push for us Java developers 
to have a community site directly tied to it. I really like
Vývojář.cz, which I think does a good job 
of bringing the Czech .NET community together.

Here’s what I’d put at the heart of a community site.

• Discussion forums
• Publishing in two forms, the site’s own content (articles, news and events) and blog hosting
• Job listings and job seekers’ posts
• JUG support (hosting presentations and the Podcast . Thanks, Lukáš!)

Of course I told Roman I was willing to take part in any 
 collaboration that would enrich the community. So I picked up 
 the proverbial gauntlet.

Before we can get started, we need to get a clearer picture of the Czech 
Java community. Colleagues have already given me a few bits of information. Do you know of 
any formal or informal groups organized around Java? We’d like to see what’s out there 
and offer help where we can, for example through seminars 
or meetings with people who work on Java or NetBeans.

If you have an idea, suggestion or observation, send it our way so we can get things moving.

Related

• Sun will directly support the Czech and Slovak Java community