3rd Annual Conference on The Pattern Languages of Programs

3rd Annual Conference on The Pattern Languages of Programs

[Douglas C. Schmidt]

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		   Announcement and Call for Papers

                      Third Annual Conference on
                  The Pattern Languages of Programs
        
                        September 4-6th, 1996
                      Monticello, Illinois, USA

	  http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/jointPLoP-96.html

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IMPORTANT DATES

        o Submissions due                       June 10th, 1996
        o Notification to authors               July 15th, 1996
        o Final pre-conference draft due        July 29th, 1996
        o Conference                            September 4-6th, 1996   
        o Proceedings draft due                 October 14th, 1996

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Program Chair: Douglas C. Schmidt, Washington University
Conference Chair: Brian Foote, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Bruce Anderson, IBM
Kent Beck, First Class Software
Frank Buschmann, Siemens Research
Ward Cunningham, Cunningham & Cunningham, Inc.
Erich Gamma, IFA Consulting
Ralph Johnson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Doug Lea, SUNY Oswego
Robert Martin, RCM consulting
Linda Rising, AG Communication Systems
John Vlissides, IBM Research
Others to be announced soon...

OVERVIEW

Patterns capture the essence of successful solutions to problems that
arise when building software systems.  A pattern describes a family of
solutions to recurring problems.  Patterns form a language when woven
together to provide a sequence or a process for the orderly resolution
of problems.  Such pattern languages guide analysts, designers, and
programmers to produce workable software that solves common
organizational and development problems.

Mature engineering disciplines draw from a collective vocabulary of
successful solutions to known architectural problems.  Automobile
designers don't design cars using the laws of physics, they adapt
adequate solutions from among those known to work well enough.  The
extra few percent of performance available by starting from scratch
typically isn't worth the cost. 

Patterns can form the basis for such a shared architectural consensus.
If software is to become an engineering discipline, successful
practices must be systematically documented and widely disseminated.
Once expressed in the pattern form, solutions may be recast in new
contexts to facilitate the widespread reuse of (micro-)architecture,
detailed designs, algorithms, implementations, and organization
structures. 

Patterns are important tools for documenting successful practices and
improving software quality by addressing fundamental challenges in
software system development.  Challenges addressed by design patterns
include communication of architectural knowledge among developers;
accommodating a new design paradigm or architectural style; resolving
non-functional forces such as reusability, portability, and
extensibility; and avoiding development traps and pitfalls that have
traditionally been learned only by experience. 

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 supportive fellow pattern enthusiasts. 

In addition to intensive pattern review sessions, participants at the
conference will have many opportunities to discuss other aspects of
writing, teaching, and applying patterns.  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."

In the past two years, the international conference on Pattern
Languages of Programming has been held solely in Allerton Park,
Illinois in the United States.  However, patterns are a hot topic in
the software community around the world, particularly in Europe.
Therefore, this year the Pattern Languages of Programs conference will
also be held in Kloster Irsee, Germany, July 10-14, 1996.  Both PLoP
conferences will be closely coordinated.  There will be a joint
program committee and authors can decide which conference they like to
submit their papers. The editing process of the proceedings will also
be coordinated. The proccedings will be published by Addison-Wesley in
their Pattern Languages of Programming Design series.

Complete information on both PLoP conferences is available at:

http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/jointPLoP-96.html

CONFERENCE TOPICS

All aspects of programs and their development are suitable topics for
review at the conference.  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,
organizations, and individuals.  Patterns may or may not be specific
to a domain or programming language.

The PLoP conference will focus on concrete patterns and pattern
languages spanning a range of topics, including (but not limited to)
the following:

	o Organization and development processes
	o Domain-specific software architectures
	o Human/computer interface design
	o Real-time systems
	o Distributed and parallel processing
	o Client/server programming
	o Effective programming practices
	o Simulations

We will make a particular effort at PLoP '96 to begin to better
integrate the patterns that have emerged over the last two years at
PLoP, and elsewhere.  Submissions that refine, extend, connect, and
integrate this body of work are encouraged.  We hope as well to
encourage collaboration among people that share common architectural
interests.

CONFERENCE FORMAT

The centerpiece of PLoP will once again be a series of writer's
workshops.  At a typical conference, the author of a paper presents
his or her work, while the audience silently observes.  In contrast,
during a writer's workshop, the author silently observes, while the
workshop participants discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each
paper, accentuating positive aspects and suggesting improvements in
content and style.

Based on experience and feedback from PLoP attendees during the past
two years, the PLoP writer's workshop format has been remarkably
effective for both authors and workshop participants.  This year, we
plan to supplement the workshops with other activities such as:

      o How to present patterns effectively -- e.g., we'll examine
        writing, typographic issues, as well as electronic media, such
        as the World Wide Web.

      o How to teach patterns effectively 

      o Lessons learned applying patterns in production software 
        environments 

We strongly encourage attendees to submit papers in order to benefit
from the insights and constructive feedback from their peers.
However, the PLoP conferences are open to everyone.  Over the last two
years, roughly half of the participants at PLoP were not pattern
authors.

HOW AND WHERE TO SUBMIT PAPERS

Authors should submit an electronic copy of the full paper, in
English, to the program chair by no later than June 10th, 1996.  Email
to plop96@cs.wustl.edu.  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.
  
We will notify you as to whether your paper will be reviewed at the
conference by July 15th, 1996.  Revisions for draft distribution to
registrants are due July 29th, 1996.  Final versions for papers
selected for publication in the proceedings are due 14 October, 1996,
roughly one month after the conference .  Our publisher requires that
papers accepted for publication in the proceedings be in Microsoft
Word format. 

The conference prefers papers written in the pattern form.  However,
we 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. 

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.

CONFERENCE LOCATION

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 will be provided on-site.  Additional accomodations
will be available in the nearby village of Monticello or in
Champaign-Urbana.  Airport limousine service between Champaign's
Willard Airport and the conference site will be provided.

QUESTIONS

General conference questions:

Brian Foote
foote@cs.uiuc.edu
Dept. of Computer Science
University of Illinois 
1304 W. Springfield Ave. 
Urbana, IL 61801 
(TEL): (217) 333-3411
http://www.cpl.uiuc.edu/~plop

Submission questions:

Dr. Douglas C. Schmidt 
schmidt@cs.wustl.edu 
Jolley Hall, Room 536 
Computer Science Dept
Washington University 
Campus Box 1045 
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4899 
(TEL): (314) 935-7538
(FAX): (314) 935-7302 

-- 
Dr. Douglas C. Schmidt 			(schmidt@cs.wustl.edu)
Department of Computer Science, Washington University
St. Louis, MO 63130. Work #: (314) 935-7538; FAX #: (314) 935-7302
http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/