黑料网

It鈥檚 6:30pm on a Tuesday evening in Dublin鈥檚 Science Gallery and the place is buzzing with people exploring the exhibitions. What they may not know, however, is that hidden behind one of the inconspicuous white doors on the gallery鈥檚 top floor is a community of an informal and collaborative聽techies talking mobile app development.

The Xcake Mobile App Development meetup has been going strong for the last seven years. Oisin Hurley, one of the longest standing members and organisers, explains: 鈥淲e started this soon after the first iPhone came out and people were interested in it. There was a small group put together by Dermot Daly and Damien O鈥橲ullivan 鈥� the sort of old guard of developers in Dublin! They鈥檝e been doing app development on iPhone since it was first possible.鈥�

The group have been meeting up ever since. Although they鈥檝e grown significantly from their humble beginnings in the local pub, the welcoming atmosphere has remained key. Oisin says: 鈥淭he group was very small and then it grew to a much bigger thing. We try to make people feel as welcome as possible. We have a load of regulars and we get loads of new people as well.鈥�

What to Expect

The event usually opens up the floor to allow developers to share their experiences and most talks take a practical approach. Oisin explains: 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a few of those 鈥楲earn From My Fail鈥� type presentations which are extremely valuable 鈥� like when someone says, 鈥榃hatever you do don鈥檛 do this!鈥� That can be really helpful.鈥� It鈥檚 not just developers in attendance either. Oisin notes: 鈥淲e also have people from the creative arts doing presentations because they use these things as tools and the apps are important to them, so we try to get a little bit of that in as well.鈥�
Occasionally, the events veer from their usual structure when a new product or piece of hardware is launched. Oisin says: 鈥淚f there鈥檚 an announcement in Apple or if they鈥檙e unveiling a new piece of hardware, we鈥檒l invite everybody in and we can all watch the announcement together.鈥� These events are usually lots of fun. Oisin explains: 鈥淚t鈥檚 better fun than just watching it on your own. Karl does a buzzword Bingo, like the phrasing, what they鈥檒l wear, whether the shirts will be tucked or untucked. It is kind of nerdy 鈥� but it鈥檚 nerdy in a good way!鈥�

On The Night

On the night we attended the theme was 鈥楲ooking to the Future鈥�. Nevan King gave a talk called 鈥楽tarting SiriKit,鈥� in which he shared his experience using a new technology that lets Siri control third party apps. He delved into everything you鈥檒l encounter in the INTENTS framework, noting: 鈥淪iri seems like magic but it鈥檚 actually really ordinary and prosaic when you get down to it.鈥�
Next up was Raul Riera, whose presentation was titled 鈥楾he Messages Extension Gold Rush鈥� and focused on the importance of creating iMessage applications. This was another practical presentation and Raul discussed the pitfalls and opportunities, while demonstrating that they represent a unique viral approach.

Interested in Attending?

If you鈥檇 like to see what it鈥檚 all about, the group welcome new members. Karl, one of the organisers, explains: 鈥淭he group meet on the second Tuesday of every month. It鈥檚 usually in the except for when they change exhibits, which is about once a quarter. Then we go to a different location.鈥� You can find out more about the meetup here. And why not come early and have a wander around Dublin鈥檚 Science Gallery while you鈥檙e waiting?

Interested in working in the thriving Irish tech industry?

Find out more about .