Perl 6, Perl 5, Python, Ruby, Lua, JavaScript, Java, C#, and many other languages use virtual machines as their execution environments. Instead of compiling directly to machine code, they rely on the presence of an ideal machine built specifically for the language – porting the language to a new architecture often means only porting that virtual machine.

Does that sound complicated? It's not. Some of the details of very efficient and effective virtual machines are, but the general ideas are simple.

This talk explains the important components of a virtual machine and how they fit together. Examples will come from the world of Perl 5, Parrot, and Perl 6, but the concepts apply to many languages and VMs.

You may never need to hack the guts of your favorite language, but understanding how they work can help you become a better programmer.

As always, the meeting will be followed by social hour at the LuckyLab.

Docker and Linux Containers are the next generation of technology for developers and sysadmins.

Let's get together to discuss all things container related:

• Docker
• Rocket
• CoreOS
• etc.

The evening will include presentations about container projects by folks in the area. Presentations are TBD still (We'll post updates here), and if you have a presentation that you'd like to make, please feel free to contact us to let us know!

Food and drink (alcoholic and non) will be provided.