Julia2925: learn a fast and intuitive programming language in two workdays

Introduction

The Julia language has taken the scientific computing community by storm. In Julia, the user can write high-level code that is easy to write but also blazingly fast. Its type-based dispatch system allows creating versatile code in a few lines of elegant code. It has gained enormous popularity in numerical computing, statistics, machine learning, etc.

This two-day course gives an in-depth introduction to the Julia programming language. The first day will introduce the essential elements (variables, printing, plotting, looping, collections, etc.) of Julia programming along with a peek behind the curtains of the type system. On the second day, we will cover the type system comprehensively and discuss its relation to multiple dispatch and illustrate how this translates into extensible and user-friendly programs. We cover the subject matter interactively in notebooks. In the afternoon sessions, we guide you through larger synthesis projects to solidify your knowledge.

Course content

Day 1

1. The basics of Julia
2. The basics of Julia (extra)
3. Collections
4. Exercises

Day 2

1. Introduction to the type system
2. Composite types
3. Synthesis exercise
4. Metaprogramming

Who is this for?

We mainly cater to PhD students in sciences and engineering, especially those who have a computing aspect in their research (large or small). The course is relevant to researchers who need to write complex high-level code that has to be performant. Importantly, this course is not meant as a first introduction to programming. Participants are expected to have basic experience in at least one high-level programming language such as Python, R, Matlab, or Perl. We aim to start gentle enough so that novice programmers can get acquainted with the language while following a learning curve that will keep serious hackers interested. At the end of the course, you will have learned the tools to write fairly sophisticated Julia programs.

Date and venue

The course will take place on the 7th and the 8th of February 2023. Tt will take place in a PC-room at Campus Coupure. If we can not meet on-site, the course will be taught online with maximal interactivity.

Registration and fees

Registration can be done via the following link here. For external members and master students, please contact the organisers to enroll.

Admission prices are:

• for UGent Doctoral School members: free of charge;
• UGent members (not member of the Doctoral School): EUR 50;
• external members: EUR 250 (priority of participation will be given to PhD students of Ghent University).

We also provide a limited number of free slots for master students. Please contact the organisers if you want to join.

Organizer information

This course is organized by Michiel Stock (UGent), Daan Van Hauwermeiren (elegent), and Bram De Jaegher (Fluves), three postdocs originating from the Department of Mathematical Modelling and Data Analysis of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering. They have ample experience using Julia for both research and education and are (co-)authors of several Julia software packages.

Contact

More information? Unsure if this course is relevant to you? Reach out to the organisers!