ECOOP 2002 is the 16th edition of ECOOP, and will happen in Málaga, southern Spain, organized by the Department of Lenguajes y Ciencias de la Computación of the University of Málaga, and the Department of Informática of the University of Extremadura. ECOOP 2002 will be hosted by the School of Informatics of the University of Málaga. All events will happen at the School premises.

More than 600 people are expected to participate in this event, that will gather the most representative group of professionals and researchers in all areas related to OO technologies, from theory to practice, from industry to academy. Definitely, this is the right place to be if you are using or working on these technologies, or interested in them.

For fifteen years, ECOOP has been the premier European forum in the field of object technologies, and this year we have planned again a comprehensive program to meet all participants' expectations. In addition to the main conference, that runs from Wednesday to Friday and in which the latest technical experiences and advances will be presented, ECOOP will feature a number of different events. The first two days (Monday and Tuesday) are devoted to workshops and tutorials. Workshops serve as a forum for exchanging late breaking ideas and theories in an evolutionary stage. Tutorials cover late-breaking technologies and offer an in-depth coverage of the most relevant topics in object orientation. Tutorials are usually delivered by "the" experts in each field.

Panel discussions, poster presentations, and invited talks will take place during the main conference, together with the technical program. Simultaneously, live exhibitions of object-oriented products and techniques will be displayed and demonstrated. The exhibitions will be set up next to the main conference area, where participants have the opportunity to visit the stands.

This year we also want to allow "birds-of-a-feather" (BOF) meetings to happen. They provide an easy and informal means for letting people interested the same topic discuss, and for meeting people with the same interests. Since most of the people related to OO technologies will be in the conference, why not providing them with facilities for working together and discussing face-to-face? Although BOF meetings are usually arranged during the conference, anybody interested in organizing in advance any specific BOF meeting and advertising it in the ECOOP 2002 web site can contact us . Likewise, if you have any other ideas or suggestions that you want to share with us, please do! We'll be glad of helping everybody enjoy the conference.

ECOOP provides a unique chance for you to meet people related to OO technologies, and to discuss and share experiences with them. Please consider this opportunity, specially when this year ECOOP also happens in Málaga, the capital of the Costa del Sol -- the best place to be in June!

See the Useful to Know page for more details.