TechEd && d-code : First Timer

[jdloranger]

I will be attending TechEd && d-code this October, in Las Vegas, for the first time in my SAP career.  I am really looking forward to the opportunity to rub elbows with like minded SAP developers and other SAP professionals.

For several years I have been trolling SCN for solutions to one problem or another.  I can safely say that with SCN, a handfull of classes, and the seat of my pants, I have learned to become an ABAP developer.  Most ot the time, I was working on what felt like an island, as I did not have any ABAP collegues close at hand.  That has changed significantly within the past year and now I have the opportunity to attend this conference, of which I have read a great deal about and watched presentations from prior years.  I am looking forward to taking another step forward in my professional career and taking in everything the conference has to offer.

My Plan...

The highlights are:

Session	Title
DEV262	Evolution of the ABAP   Programming Language
TEC102	A Comprehensive Introduction to SAP HANA
DEV264	Custom ABAP Code – Get Ready for SAP HANA!
TEC201	Time to Rethink Your Code Patterns – New Boundary Conditions in Application
DEV212	How to Architect ABAP Applications for SAP HANA
DEV165	Code Better with ABAP in Eclipse
TEC202	Overview and Road Map of SAP NetWeaver 7.4
SEC105	SAP Runs SAP – How to Hack 95% of all SAP ABAP Systems and ow to Protect

The hardest part is trying to put together an agenda that captures everything you want to learn about.  I understand now, where others have said, you need to clone yourself.  As you can see from above my interests lie deeply in the development world but I'll be sprinkling in some other sessions in pertaining to data management and user interfaces.  As it has been suggested, I probably will add in a few overlapping sessions for alternatives.

Looking Forward To...

Learning about using ABAP in Eclipse which I read so much about here on SCN.  I have yet had the opportunity to use it first hand.  Plus, there seems to be so many new enhancements to the ABAP language with the most recent release, I need learn more about this.

HANA is another area of interest.  My company has recently implemented it for BW/BI purposes but not yet for other development.  So my understanding of the platform is limited.  I want to walk away with a much deeper understanding of HANA.

Also, never been to Las Vegas, so I am going to take in a few sites and shows with my wife.

Advice to first timers...

I'll be able to answer that better next year!  But to echo some advice I've already seen posted.  Wear comfortable shoes and keep in mind the time between sessions.  A colleague did tell me that making sure to get your schedule settled and as soon as possible, as seats do fill up for the workshops.

Thank you and look forward to meeting some of you experts in Vegas!

Regards,

Justin Loranger