Current level of proficiency
At a glance
- Intermediate to advanced level in Perl
- Basic knowledge about general programming paradigms, VBA, Java, Flash, SQL, (X)HTML, CSS, XML (in particular, XPath) and Web Services (SOAP, REST).
- Intermediate to advanced level of proficiency in Perl (including object-oriented Perl, good knowledge with various CPAN modules, research on the possibilities of the Catalyst web framework)
- Basic knowledge about programming paradigms and general programming principles
- Beginner's level in VBA, Java, Flash
- Basic knowledge about the principles of database design
- Good (X)HTML and CSS skills
- Keen interest in web services (SOAP, REST)
- Focus on content management (in particular, multilingual CMS)
- Familiar with XML, favouring XPath as query language
- Familiar with open XML standards in the localization and internationalization sector
My evolution as a (amateur) programmer
I started developing an interest in the principles of computer prgramming when, in 2002, I modified some ready-made Perl scripts to adapt to my first website. Through the end of my university studies, this enthusiasm was, however, limited to web design ((X)HTML and CSS) and (functional) Perl.
Then, at the beginning of my professional career, I increasingly felt a desire to use these existing skills to automate some of the rather boring tasks that I was assigned in my position as a trainee. This allowed me to improve on my Perl skills and – due to the omnipresence of MS Office macros – forced me more and more into working in VBA During my time as a project manager, I did not only develop tools to facilitate uncreative tasks, but I also ended up being closely involved in engineering processes from time to time (in particular, on Flash localization projects). I also found out, to my astonishment, that I was named as one of the supervisors of a gifted computer science intern whom I had advised in creating a tool (in Delphi) for processing Trados ttx files.
Eventually, in summer and autumn 2006, I did some reading to complete the practical skills I had acquired with an understanding of the underlying theoretical foundations. In addition, when I re-launched my website and created a custom-made CMS for it, I seized the opportunity to make this a small exercise in object-oriented Perl coding, XML processing and database design. I particularly enjoyed integrating the Movable Type blogging platform into my content management system.
At present, within the limits of what I belive is my current range of skills, I gladly offer my clients coding services. I am also working on a software product which is based on MVC framework Catalyst.
Back to the top of this pageWhat I like about code
Developping such an interest in coding after having studied translation and interpreting may yield the question: Why?
What sparkled my interest was when, rather than looking at computers merely as a user, I first started focusing on what was happening behind the scenes. It was a revelation. What has always intrigued me about languages is their ability to use a logical system to convey information. Therefore, it is hardly astonishing that at school my favourite “languages” so to speak have always been mathetmatics and Latin. In computer programming, I refound the very elements that had always fascinated me about these subjects. My taking pleasure in fiddling around and analysing problems helps as well.
What can I say – quite simply, code is just fun.
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