Call for Participation

PLoP '95

Second Annual Conference on the Pattern Languages of Programs

Wednesday-Friday, 6-8 September, 1995
Monticello, Illinois

Consult the PLoP '95 Reservation & Travel pages while you make arrangements.

Mature engineering disciplines have handbooks describing adequate solutions to known problems. Bridge designers don't design bridges using the laws of physics, they adapt solutions from the handbook known to work well enough. The extra few percent of performance available by starting from scratch simply isn't worth it.

Patterns can be the basis for the handbook of software engineering. They encode adequate solutions to problems known to arise while building systems. A complete pattern language would guide developers to produce workable software solving ordinary problems.

PLoP invites you to add your expertise to the growing corpus of patterns. PLoP's focus is improving the expression of patterns. You will have the opportunity to refine and extend your patterns with help from knowledgeable and sympathetic fellow pattern enthusiasts.

Topics

All aspects of programs and their production are suitable topics of pattern languages. Patterns might be so specific as to name particular objects, interface elements or implementation structures in a solution. They could describe configurations of hardware, software or even people. Patterns may or may not be specific to a domain or programming language. This year we are particularly interested in the experiences of teams adopting pattern languages to guide development. Reports of experience should still adhere to PLoP's bias for the discussion of particular patterns over theoretical or abstract topics.

Papers

The conference prefers papers written in the pattern form but will accept some papers discussing aspects of the form or experience using it. The actual subject of patterns need not be original. Rather, preference will be shown to authors best able to exploit the form in the field of computing. Very liberal revision policies will insure authors can fold ideas gained at the conference into the published proceedings.

Authors should submit an electronic copy of the full paper, in English, to the program chair by no later than 12 June, 1995. Email to plop95@parcplace.com. Papers must be formatted in Postscript with only the most comprehensive pattern languages to exceed 10 pages. Submissions must be prefaced with ascii text containing the paper's title, authors' names, contact name, email address, postal address, phone number, and a 100-word abstract. Papers must not be published or under consideration elsewhere in the same or similar form. Obtain guidelines for authors or assistance in electronic submission from the conference or program chair.

We will notify you as to whether your paper will be reviewed at the conference by 17 July, 1995. Revisions for draft distribution to registrants are due 7 August, 1995. Final versions for papers selected for publication in the proceedings are due 16 October, 1995, roughly one month after the conference. Our publisher requires that papers accepted for publication in the proceedings be in Microsoft Word format.

Conference

The conference will be held at Allerton House, a mansion on a large, mostly wooded estate that is owned by the University of Illinois. Accommodations are available on site, in the nearby village of Monticello or in Champaign-Urbana. Airport limousine service is available to the conference site. In addition to single track presentations, the conference will offer discussions of patterns in a workshop setting. Every effort will be made to provide an informal and creative atmosphere. The committee is open to out-of-the-ordinary submissions (write first) so long as they, like patterns, celebrate that elusive quality called good design.

General conference questions:

Richard Gabriel
Conference Chair
ParcPlace Systems
999 E. Arques
Sunnyvale, CA 94086 USA
v: +1.408.481.9090
f: +1.408.481.9095
e: rpg@parcplace.com

Submissions:

Kent Beck
Program Chair
First Class Software, Inc.
P.O. Box 226
Boulder Creek, CA 95006 USA
v: +1.408.338.4649
f: +1.408.338.1115
e: 70761.1216@compuserve.com
submissions: plop95@parcplace.com

ward@c2.com