expertise

Web development

I have been developing web sites and applications for over ten years, with the last four of those at a commercial level. As such I have worked with virtually every technology and language commonly found powering websites but today find myself specialising with a few core technologies and techniques:

PHP

PHP is my first language when it comes to web development – an old, reliable friend that always able to help me out of sticky spot. I develop PHP solutions using fully Object Orientated PHP5 and more often than not, the Zend Framework. I have experience working with databases, file handling, graphics, SOAP services and network programming. I have developed solutions using a variety of applications and API’s, both commercial and open-source, including SugarCRM, Moodle, phpBB, Paypal and Facebook.

ASP.Net

ASP.Net, and in particular C#, is my current language of choice for developing more demanding web applications, if for no other reason than development using Visual Studio is nothing short of a continual pleasure. I have worked to develop both Forms based ASP.Net solutions as well as utilising the new MVC framework. I am also a big fan of LINQ To SQL, which completely removes the pain from developing database driven applications.

HTML,CSS & JavaScript

This unlikely trio form the core of every web application, and with the craze for dynamic “Web 2.0″ sites, JavaScript in particular has never been so important. I have practical experience of developing cross-browser JavaScript solutions including implementing AJAX functionality on sites, both using entirely hand-crafted solutions as well as employing frameworks such as J-Query, script.aculo.us and Prototype. I also deliver cross-browser, standards compliant HTML and CSS in my solutions, ensuring the end product consistently looks stunning, regardless of platform or browser

Consultancy

I am able to offer consultancy and advice on web applications at any stage of the development cycle. I have experience of managing the full life-cycle of projects in a corporate agency environment, including requirements gathering, architecture and design, development, testing, release and maintenance. I am particularly interesting in application architecture and database design, including the auditing of existing applications to improve performance etc. I also possess extensive knowledge of building and deploying solutions based on SugarCRM – from the most basic (default installation with a theme) through to the most complex (entirely custom data model): it is one of the best open-source applications available and is extremely flexible to work with.

Other bits and pieces

I also have a working knowledge of many other areas associated with web development and a general IT environment. I have practical knowledge of configuring and administering Linux web / database servers, setting up source-control with SVN and managing network environments (firewall / switch / load balancer configuration, network backups etc.).