I recently attended the 78th PyStok meetup in Białystok. As a Data Science student, I love these events because they show me how Python is used in the real world. This time, the atmosphere was great, the room was full, and there was a lot of energy!
New Technology: dbzero
The first speaker was Wojciech Kozłowski, who introduced a project called dbzero. It is an open-source project created right here in our city! It’s a new way to handle data in Python.
What is dbzero?
It is a technology that uses the concept of “infinite memory.” Instead of sending data to a separate database (like SQL), it lets you work with data as if it were always in Python’s memory.
Understanding dbzero:
The Pros (Why it’s cool):
- Very fast development: You don’t need to write complex SQL or ORM code. It saves a lot of time.
- Native to Python: It feels very natural. You work with data just like you work with Python objects.
- Infinite Memory: It handles the storage for you behind the scenes.
The Cons (The challenges):
Smaller community: Traditional databases have been around for decades, so they have more tutorials and tools available right now.
New project: Because it is fresh, it still needs more testing for very specific or complex cases.
The Truth About “Vibe Coding”
The second talk was by Sebastian Burzyński. He spoke about “Vibe Coding.” This is when people use AI (like ChatGPT or Copilot) to write code very quickly without really checking if the architecture is good.
His message was clear: AI is a great tool, but it is not a replacement for experience. If you focus only on speed, your system might crash in production!
Pizza and Networking
After the presentations, it was time for the best part: pizza and networking! The Q&A session was very active. Many people asked great questions, and the organizers gave away free PyStok hoodies and T-shirts as prizes. Even though I didn’t win a hoodie this time, I won a lot of new knowledge.
I stayed until the very end to talk with other developers. It was also great to see my friends from my Data Science postgraduate studies.
Back to Reality
Right now, we are all busy writing our final assignments after the first semester. It was nice to take a break, grab some pizza, and talk about our projects with people who already work in the industry. It’s funny how the problems we study in class are the same ones experts discuss at meetups!
I’m going back to my studies now, feeling very inspired. If you are in Białystok and love Python, you should definitely join the next PyStok!