Colin Hume: Programming/Analysis

Synopsis

Very experienced programmer/analyst in several languages/systems: Paradox/PAL, Borland Pascal, Borland Delphi, ASP, Dot.Net, C Sharp (C#), Windows, PL/I, IBM 370 Assembler, MVS JCL, CLIST, ISPF internals, UCSD Pascal, 6502 Assembler.
Experienced lecturer on programming and other computer-related topics including website design.
Works well with a mimimum of supervision.
Experienced in Structured Program Design (Jackson Method).
Calm, methodical, determined, self-motivating.
Can write clear English free from jargon.

Website Design

These days I'm mainly writing web sites. If you're looking for a website designer who won't charge the earth and won't put in all sorts of complicated things you don't really want, why not Contact me and I'll see what I can do for you. Many websites just contain static text — every time someone clicks on the page they see the same thing unless you have manually updated it. More complicated websites are dynamic — the user inputs some information and the results of a calculation are displayed. I can do both of these. For static websites I use HTML (Hypertext Markup Language — the standard language of websites since the web started) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets — so that you can change the style of all your web pages in one place rather than having to search through all the pages for purple titles because you've decided you prefer blue ones). I also use JavaScript as necessary. For dynamic web sites, in addition to all this I use Microsoft's ASP (Active Server Pages) or its successor ASP.Net (coding in C#) and for database work I use Microsoft Access or SQL Server, though I'm happy to use other databases.

I don't use DreamWeaver or FrontPage — I create the web pages myself — which means I understand what's going on and I can explain it to you. There are lots of very pretty websites out there which have been professionally designed but the owners have no idea how to update them — or every time they try, something goes wrong. I won't leave you in the lurch like that!

If you want a web site designer who is more of a graphic designer using tools like PhotoShop you probably won't be interested in me. But if you want something simpler, or if you need the dynamic stuff, I'm probably your man.

Here are some websites I have created or worked on.

http://www.colinhume.com
Well of course I wrote my own site! It's mainly static, but I have a Feedback button at the foot of most pages which calls a simple ASP script (about 250 lines of code) which updates and displays entries in an Access database and also sends off an email to me. Another ASP script provides a Search facility in my Instructions section so that you can put in a word or a few letters and it will find all the dance titles containing this string. There's some ASP.Net code so that when you click the “Music” button against one of the Dances in the Instructions section it pulls out the ABC code from a text file, modifies this somewhat, then uses another website to generate the musical notation in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format for the user to print out and in MIDI format for the user to listen to. And if you click the “Print” button it pulls out the instructions for just that dance and prints them.
http://www.letchworthsettlement.org.uk
The Settlement is an educational and social centre about one minute's walk from my house. Some of this is static, but everything in the Activities, Courses and Organisations sections is generated from database tables. The Settlement Administrator can logon, update the information and then click a button to regenerate all these pages. Secretaries of the various groups are given a UserId which allows them to update just their own page of information — so they can change the contact details and add/modify events as required. You can get an idea of the database structure by clicking the “Find” menu item.
www.myqualities.com
An astrological site involving a lot of complicated calculations. I'm no longer in control of it, so don't tell me if you find any bugs!
www.yourmatchmadeinheaven.co.uk
This developed from the previous site and you will need to register (which is free). The Compatibility program has been enlarged to compare your details with all the people on the database of the specified sex, and it will list them with compatibility score. You can then (once you have paid) send an email anonymously to some of the people — and if they are interested they will allow the program to send you their email address and vice-versa.
http://www.availableforplumbing.co.uk
A very straightforward static site, including a photo gallery.
Rhythms of the World — Archived version
This is the version of the site that I worked on. At that time it was the biggest free music festival in the UK. I didn't design the site, but I did a lot of work changing and improving it. I set up the Performers|Archive section using ASP and a database, but now I'm no longer involved with the site it's static text — which is a lot more work for the people who have to update it. Click here for the current version
http://www.sifdsummerschool.org
A simple site for the Society for International Folk Dancing to publicise their Summer School — static.
http://www.kafoozalum.co.uk
I didn't write the site originally, but I did a lot of tidying up and converting it to use CSS.
http://www.fieldsofhealth.co.uk
I rewrote all of this site.
http://www..diannelang.com
I didn't write the site originally, but I did a lot of tidying up and converting it to use CSS. I rewrote every page so that Dianne can update the centre column (including links and images) without needing to know anything about HTML.
www.cyclamengardens.com
My wife Renata's site. At the moment (May 2009) it just holds photos of her garden and information about the Garden Organiser program, but maybe she will want more later.

I also run an evening class entitled “Build your own website” — click the button at the top of the page for more information.

Background

I started programming in Algol in 1964, then PL/I and IBM Assembler in 1967, then Pascal in 1979. I worked for IBM on the OS and DOS PL/I Optimizing Compilers, both before and after first release. I have worked at The London Stock Exchange on the development and maintenance of the TALISMAN system, and have written computer games for THORN EMI. I have also been a lecturer on computer-related subjects for many years, both freelance and for training organisations. Some years ago I moved away from mainframes and now write PC programs in Borland Pascal (including my own Word Processor) or Delphi, and several Systems for the English Folk Dance and Song Society, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Clarkson Research Services using the Paradox Database, written in PAL (Paradox Application Language) or Delphi, and more recently C# web-based applications running on Dot.Net.

My motto for all programming work is:

KEEP IT SIMPLE!