Onward! PapersSPLASH 2012

Do you have an idea that could change the world of software development? Onward! is the place to present it and get constructive criticism from other researchers and practitioners. We are looking for grand visions and new paradigms that could make a big difference in how we build software in 5 or 10 years.

Accepted Papers

Call for Research Visions

Do you have an idea that could change the world of software development? Onward! is the place to present it and get constructive criticism from other researchers and practitioners. We are looking for grand visions and new paradigms that could make a big difference in how we build software in 5 or 10 years. We are not looking for research-as-usual papers - conferences like OOPSLA are the place for that. Those conferences require rigorous validation such as theorems or empirical experiments, which are necessary for scientific progress, but which unfortunately can also preclude the discussion of early-stage ideas. Onward! also requires validation: mere speculation is insufficient. However Onward! accepts less rigorous methods of validation such as compelling arguments, exploratory implementations, and substantial examples. It bears repeating that we strongly encourage the use of worked-out examples to substantiate your ideas.

This year, Onward! is reaching out to graduate students. You have been taught that conference papers, key to your career, must be solid bricks of incremental research, with scientifically sober claims. But why are you doing research in the first place? You want to change the world with your ideas! You can't talk about that in conference papers. Onward! gives you the chance to spread your wings and share your dreams. We want you to inspire us with your ideas, and perhaps in the process better inspire yourself.

This call is also directed at practicing programmers who are deeply dissatisified with the state of our art and who have thought long and hard about how to fix it. The committee encourages you to share your hard-won wisdom about how to reform software development. Many practitioners have dismissed computer science conferences as sterile academic exercises. Onward! is different, and asks you to join the conversation for the good of our field. How else can we ever make progress if we don't share what has been learnt from practical experience? We suggest that to best communicate your ideas you avoid sweeping principles expressed in general terms, especially terms you have coined yourself. It is often more effective to present serveral detailed examples of how your approach would yield concrete benefits, while also revealing what offsetting disadvantages it may entail.

Selection Process

Onward! papers are peer-reviewed, and accepted papers will appear in the SPLASH proceedings and the ACM Digital Library. Papers will be judged on the potential impact of their ideas and the quality of their presentation.

Submission

SIGPLAN Proceedings Format, 10 point font. Note that by default the SIGPLAN Proceedings Format produces papers in 9 point font. If you are formatting your paper using Latex, you will need to set the 10pt option in the \documentclass command. If you are formatting your paper using Word, you may wish to use the provided Word template that provides support for this font size. Please include page numbers in your submission. Setting the preprint option in the \documentclass command generates page numbers. Please also ensure that your submission is legible when printed on a black and white printer. In particular, please check that colors remain distinct and font sizes are legible. There is no page limit on submitted papers. It is, however, the responsibility of the authors to keep the reviewers interested and motivated to read the paper. Reviewers are under no obligation to read all or even a substantial portion of a paper if they do not find the initial part of the paper interesting. The committee will not accept a paper if it is not clear to the committee that the paper will fit in the SPLASH 2012 proceedings, which will limit accepted papers to 20 pages. SPLASH 2012 submissions must conform to both the ACM Policy on Prior Publication and Simultaneous Submissions and the SIGPLAN Republication Policy.

For More Information

For additional information, clarification, or answers to questions please contact the Onward! Papers Chair, Jonathan Edwards.