Training is our specialty here at ThirstyHead -- public, private, customized, you name it. Contact us to schedule your class today.

Tech Spikes

ThirstyHead Tech Spikes are one-day classes. They are the quickest way for you to get up to speed with the latest technology.

AJAX and JSON in a day In one day, you'll take a deep dive into JavaScript. Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) will become valuable tools in your web development toolkit.
Amazon Cloud Computing in a day In one day, you'll get a real-world, tangible example of "Cloud Computing" using the Amazon technology stack. You'll spin up a virtual server using Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) and an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), set up RESTful persistence using Simple Storage Service (S3) and the Elastic Block Store (EBS), and much more.
CouchDB in a day In one day, you'll learn the ins-and-outs of CouchDB. This NoSQL "database" was built from the ground up using proven, powerful web technologies -- JSON and HTTP REST.
Facebook API in a day In one day, you'll incorporate Facebook features into your website. Whether it's something as simple as adding a "Like" button or displaying an activity feed, or more advanced features like offering single sign-on and harvesting the Facebook Graph API, you'll be using the Facebook API in no time.
Google Maps in a day In one day, you'll learn all about the Google Maps API. You'll go from displaying simple static maps to writing full interactive mapping applications, and along the way learn a bit about geocoding, KML, and more.
HTML5 in a day In one day, you'll see what all the buzz is about in HTML5 -- new tags and form elements, offline support, local storage, the Geolocation API, and (of course) the new video support. We'll talk about how to implement tomorrow's features today, for both tomorrow's browser as well as yesterday's.
jQuery in a day In one day, you'll learn all about the jQuery library and writing unobtrusive JavaScript. There is no easier way to select, traverse, and manipulate HTML documents. We'll also deal with event handling and jQuery UI.
NoSQL in a day In one day, you'll learn how the new NoSQL persistence solutions stack up against traditional relational databases. See how CouchDB, Cassandra, MongoDB, and Google's BigTable offer a robust and flexible solution to storing your data.
Twitter API in a day In one day, you'll see how easy it is to integrate your website with Twitter -- from using the RESTful API to using OAuth to authenticate, you'll be using the Twitter platform in no time.

Classroom Training

There are no shortcuts to becoming an expert, but ThirstyHead training can get you started the right way. Hands-on, lab-driven classes give you the confidence and experience you need to be successful in the long run.

Behavior-Driven Development with easyb easyb is a behavior-driven development (BDD) framework for the Java platform. By using a specification-based DSL, easyb enables executable yet readable documentation.
GIS for Web Developers Google Maps revolutionized web mapping. "Slippy maps" (Ajax-based web maps) are now commonplace. So what if you want to create a "Google Maps"-like website without using Google Maps? What if you want to create a standards-based solution using only free data and an open source technology stack? This class -- based on the book of the same name -- walks you through the process step-by-step.
Mastering Grails (Advanced) Getting started with Grails is easy -- you can literally have your first application up and running in minutes. Thankfully, Grails grows in sophistication as you do. Just as Groovy allows you to do everything you can do in Java (and then some), Grails allows you to bring your existing experience with Spring and Java Enterprise Edition along for the ride and take it in new directions. Standards-based web technologies like CSS and RESTful web services are fully supported so you don't have to unlearn a thing. Come to this class to bring your web development prowess up a notch.
Mastering Grails (Beginning) Grails is a Java- and Groovy-based web framework that is built for speed. First-time developers are amazed at how quickly you can get a page-centric Model/View/Controller (MVC) web site up and running thanks to the scaffolding and convention over configuration that Grails provides. Advanced web developers are often pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to "shell out" of the framework and get to the Spring and Hibernate underpinnings.
Practically Groovy "Java is dead -- Long live Java!" Each new programming language du jour claims to be the next big Java-killer, and yet after nearly 15 years Java continues to be one of the most popular platforms for business development. Groovy changes this refrain by focusing on deep, seamless integration with your existing Java code instead of imploring you to "burn the boats" and rewrite everything from scratch. Based on the book "Groovy Recipes: Greasing the Wheels of Java", you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll be up to speed with this next generation Java language.