Web developer / designer
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See more about other skills and my development values.
I started working with HTML markup in 1995, and have been building websites with it ever since.
I favour the use of XHMTL - its ease of parsing improves the speed and quality of production, and it's a minor step toward future-proofing.
These days the heart of XHTML is semantic markup: applying markup based on the nature and significance of the raw content, regardless of visual layout concerns.
I've used CSS since it first became usable in the late 1990s.
For the RSVP Personals network I've developed CSS for more than 20 distinct brands, co-brands and layout styles, all using a common core of XHTML.
CSS is a remarkably powerful and flexible display technology that underlies the visual layout and style of any well-built site.
I have worked with Javascript since 1997, and seen it develop into a sophisticated object-oriented language that is at the heart of today's web applications.
For RSVP Personals I have built and maintained extensive Javascript, including maintaining and extending a text-based one-on-one instant messaging system to support Skype calls and profile display, in addition to various Ajax enhancements.
I have worked with XML since 1998, both in schema definition and as part of many different messaging systems.
In RSVP Personals I have used XML extensively as the basis for internal messaging between tiers and other services within the server architecture.
In the client-server arena I have developed JSP/Java server code that delivers XML to the client for use in a range of Ajax features.
I have built Ajax features since 2006.
This has included design of complex features with the speed and convenience of Ajax while allowing non-Javascript and non-Ajax user agents (browsers) to function well.
Example: location selection in the RSVP Personals search system.
I have worked with Flash and its ActionScript scripting language since 1998, and with its predecessor Director since 1994.
Drawing on my background in film and television, I developed Flash-based games for Access Gaming Systems, and I have developed and maintained several Flash productions since.
I have coded professionally with Java since 2000, and since 2004 I have had primary responsibility for maintaining and developing the J2EE system supporting the RSVP Personals Europe network - a codebase of over 500,000 lines of Java.
This is a multi-server, multi-tier system that uses Hibernate and an inter-tier framework developed in-house. It has supported a user base of over 1.2 million as well as the requirements of customer support staff and reporting to management.
Since 2004 I have been responsible for technical oversight of a small team of Java developers.
I first worked with JSP in 1998 at Access Gaming Systems, developing online gaming sites, and subsequently at RSVP Personals, developing online dating sites.
At present I have primary technical responsibility for the JSP-based system at RSVP Personals International, comprising over 110,000 lines of JSP, including scriptlet code as well as custom and JSTL taglibs.
While I have not used PHP professionally, I have studied it and kept abreast of it, and have used it for developing personal projects and experimentation since 2005.
I have used Perl only to a modest extent professionally, mainly in creating small file-processing utilities.
I haven't used Ruby on Rails professionally, but I have developed personal sites with it, including a player database and management system for the Dugout-Online massively multiplayer football management game (no longer online).
I am an admirer of Python, and I have used it to develop a three-way English - Tok Pisin - Nalik dictionary system which includes an administrative interface for translators.
I have used SQL professionally since 2000, primarily with Oracle 9i and Oracle 10g but also with MySQL.
This has included being responsible since 2004 for technical oversight of database access code and schema design for the RSVP Personals network, a system with over 180 tables that has supported over 1 million users.
Since 2004 I have been responsible for maintaining and developing a custom-built Java-based content management system (CMS) serving high demand levels on the RSVP Personals network.
In addition to the ongoing development of the CMS code itself, I have been responsible from time to time for creating and managing content for delivery.
I have developed multi-language and multi-locale sites and systems since 1998.
Most of this work has been with Unicode-encoded translations deployed on Java and JSP-based sites for Access Gaming Systems and RSVP Personals.
This has included designing online systems for translator access, and overall design and development of a customisable core of JSP-based XHTML, Javascript and CSS to support sites currently presented in 14 languages across a range of brands and locations.
I have worked in a wide range of operating systems (Windows, MacOS, Linux, Solaris) and network environments, and utilised many different applications in the development process.
I have worked in large, highly planned and structured software development systems, and in small teams using agile development approaches.
Regardless of the level of planning and documentation, I am an enthusiast for the use of version control and issue tracking as invaluable components of any development system, along with other supporting information systems as appropriate to the scale and context of a team's work.