The ng-conf is described as a “three-day immersion into everything Angular.” I was excited to travel to Salt Lake City to attend, and in this blog, I’ll give some thoughts and impressions of the industry’s premier event about the web app framework.
It could have just been the excitement of going to a conference after nearly three years of the pandemic, but this conference felt very different from others. There was a level of comradery between the attendees and presenters that I hadn’t seen before; it was more than just a group of like-minded folks coming together to learn new technical skills. It felt like a tight-knit community or a group of friends; everyone was connecting (or reconnecting), chatting, and generally having a good time.
There were over 50 speakers, many from Google but also Apple, Microsoft, Mercari, Nrwl, and more. Of course, many more Google Developer Experts attended. As folks stopped by the Syncfusion booth, I had some lively discussions about a variety of topics. I think I talked one person into emigrating to the US!
Developer Experts were often speaking to individuals or small groups in the hallways and around tables. As I walked by, it sounded like there was a lot of code review and informal education going on. I think that’s exactly what the conference organizers wanted.
Over 200 attendees stopped by our booth to learn about Syncfusion. When I gave them our sample browser, many went straight to the accordion and our text input controls. The fact that Syncfusion controls are self-contained pieces of functionality written in vanilla Typescript seemed to make everyone happy. There were many questions about the limits of our stylings. We don’t like to do limits, and developers are free to edit our CSS as they want, which many view as a huge plus.
I met two members of the NG core team who were visiting and talking to the exhibitors. From them, I learned that Angular is part of nearly every Google app. When there’s a new release of Angular, all Google apps get the same update at the same time—just like R for any developer’s app using Angular. Everyone is using the same code base of Angular. The fact that Angular has such an extensive usage and support team helps to explain the framework’s popularity. It seems that Google is very willing to offer support to everyone using Angular. That was apparent from the conference.
I was interested in a few sessions: “Accessibility! is! important!” and “Angular: A Design Review 10 Years Later.”
Accessibility is a problem we are looking at as we try to expand access to our tools to all end users. Not only is it important to make sure our tools help as many end users as possible but creating more accessible interfaces has been a huge driving force in widely-used innovations, from subtitles on TV shows to automatic doors. When you design for everyone, you benefit everyone.
A large part of the overall vibe of the conference was surely due to the conference organizers: a group of Google Developer Experts who worked hard to “create an environment where developers of all disciplines and backgrounds feel welcome.”
The show was at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s a beautiful hotel with plenty of space for presentations, sponsors and exhibitors, networking, and anything else that could possibly be needed. The show organizers also made sure to include lots of entertainment—morning yoga, as well as evening events such as karaoke, coaching, a hackathon, board games, trivia, and more karaoke. There was even a Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) play viewing (nerds rejoice!). These fun sessions certainly contributed to the light mood of the conference. Finally, the food was fantastic—that’s always a plus and definitely not a guarantee at conferences!
I came away from the show with a strong sense of community. From the folks on the Angular team, to the Developer Experts, to the rank-and-file developers, everyone seemed motivated to ensure each other was successful with their Angular apps. I’ve already put in my request to attend the next ng-conf!
