Software Development

C++

I am available for C++ design, coding and objective code review work on *nix and Windows platforms.

I am experienced in MFC GUI programming and use of STL, as well as performance tuning. As a member of ACCU and subscriber to DDJ, I make sure to stay up to date with the current C++ tools and techniques.

Tools available:

• Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0
• Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2003

Java

I spent several years leading a team that developed a large three-tier Web application, written in Java technologies (servlets, applets and JSPs). This also involved the use of UML, SQL, XML (and numerous other three-letter acronyms!).

The majority of new development work I do is based around Java.

Open Source

I am a firm believer in the benefits of Free/Open Source software for certain applications. While there is still a role for closed source development, particularly in niche areas, it can be an expensive and inefficient way to produce software.

I have written code for the following Open Source projects:

• Avida: In Avida, Darwinian evolution acts on populations of self-replicating computer programs with a Turing complete genetic basis. These "digital organisms" experience natural selection through random mutations and competition for limited resources.
• SPlATT: Superior PLanning And Tracking Tool (SPLATT) is a project management utility that supports the use of objective metrics for estimating how long tasks will take, and manages progress tracking against them, displaying the results visually as graphs.

Please contact me if you need a software developer to make modifications to an Open Source project, since I am particularly keen to undertake this type of work. Everyone benefits: you get the new feature or bug fix you need, I get paid for doing interesting work, and the software community folds in the changes for a better project.

Other Technologies

I also have a good working knowledge of (X)HTML, javascript and DHTML, python, SQL, UML and XML (including XSLT, XSL:FO and DocBook).

My most useful skill is the ability to quickly get to grips with any new technology — this flexibility is the key to my ability to deliver high quality complex projects on time.

Hidden Help Files

How often have you spent ages scouring the Web, looking for some information about software development, knowing that what you need has been done thousands of times before, but unable to find the guidance you need? I've set up a blog, called the Hidden Help Files as my repository for answers to these questions; it will hopefully prevent other people from having to waste lots of time to find simple answers to simple questions.