8Projects

Skills

On the front-end side of development, I have seen the full spectrum of client types: from Windows clients, created with Java and C#, via poor Web clients, created with HTML, to richer and richer Web clients, created with XHTML/CSS/JavaScript.

• (X)HTML and CSS
  To easily separate content from content/structure and style/presentation in a standards compliant way. For sites where graceful degradation is a requirement, I use the technique of Unobtrusive JavaScript to separate content/style from behaviour as well.
• JavaScript/Ajax
  Extensively over the last nine years; you can see some of this by examining this site. My first projects targeted Netscape Navigator 4 and Internet Explorer 4, so I've been dealing with cross-browser issues for almost ten years now. I have experience with various popular libraries such as Prototype, jQuery, Script.aculo.us, DWR, GWT, Ext JS 2.0.
• Mobile Development
  My current focus is on mobile development, in particular iPhone development (Objective-C, Cocoa Touch, Mac OS X, iPhone OS using Xcode and Interface Builder), as well as Google Android (using eclipse).

• Java Platform
  Java SE from the first version upto the latest 6.0, Java EE upto 5, Swing/AWT, Applets, Apache Tomcat, Java ME while developing several applications (for my Nokia N95, one of those using its builtin GPS device to post trips to my blog, using a Java service recording the trips, as well as a custom Wordpress plugin to show the trips using Google Maps), Spring Framework, Hibernate 2 and 3 (EJB 3/JPA), Wicket, Maven.
• .NET Framework
  C#, ASP.NET, ASP.NET Ajax, Windows Forms, Spring.NET Framework, NHibernate.
• XML Technologies
  XML, Schemas, XSLT/XPath, Web services.
• C/C++
  Used less and less, but still useful sometimes.
• Perl
  Back in the days when CGI was still popular, I built a site using Perl. Later I developed several database import scripts, and various command-line utilities.
• PHP
  This site has a PHP back-end. Also, I have developed a completely custom theme for Wordpress, as well as some experience with the open source CMS Joomla.
• Databases
  Various database platforms: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and MySQL.
• Operating systems
  Windows, Unix/Linux, Mac OS X. For my regular work, I use both Windows and Mac OS X every day.
• Cloud Computing
  I have designed and developed several websites and -services on Amazon's EC2 cloud platform (Voetbalprimeur app push notification service, QookQook/Hoogvliet app back-end, Spinoza app back-end service and content management site), as well as on Google's App Engine for Java (MovieDNA, Cujo Watchdog Service).

Experience

My professional career spans over 16 years working for the following companies.

• 8Projects
  (December 2008 - Today)
  iPhone/iPad development, doing various applications of my own as well as applications for clients, using techniques as OAuth integration, using XML-RPC, REST/XML or JSON server back-ends, local databases using SQLite, Push Notifications with provider service, Twitter and other social networks integration, integrating with the iPhone AddressBook, interacting with an FTP server, screen-scraping HTML sites using libxml2, as well as using the iPhone's Camera/Video and Accelerometer and GPS functions.

  Several websites and back-ends for iPhone apps have been developed, running on different cloud platforms such as Amazon EC2 and Google App Engine.

• 8Projects
  (2008-2009)
  My company, started on January 1st, 2008. I have done the following projects:

  • Head ON (2008)
    Building a framework to create interactive forms, with multiple pages and advanced input elements (rich text fields, ratings, uploads with progress indicator). This system uses a Java back-end (Spring, Hibernate), and JavaScript (Prototype, Script.aculo.us). DWR is used to communicate with the server.
  • Factors Chain International (2008)
    Building an extension to the financial message system described below that allows CSV files to be used in all places where normally XML is used to up- and download messages.
  • Deloitte (2008)
    Various extensions to the financial messaging system described below, such as some Ajax extensions to implement efficient folder retrieval and paging. I also provided second line help desk support for the system.
• Deloitte Consulting
  (1999-2007)

  After three takeovers of my previous company, the last of which resulted in all development being moved to the U.S., it was time for a new challenge. Introduced by a friend, I started at Consultdata, part of Bakkenist Management Consultants, which was later taken over by Deloitte.

  During this period I worked in different roles, such as application architect/designer, software developer, technical team lead, code reviewer/auditor.

  I did these jobs for a variety of clients, among which:

  • Yamaha Motor Europe (2004-2007)
    Rebuilding the Accessories part of their site, using Ajax techniques (Prototype JS, DWR, Java, Tomcat). Various audits of the Yamaha Racing site, and the Tomcat / Apache installations. Building a tool to examine dealer sales and scores (web application using Java, Tomcat, Spring Framework).
  • Factors Chain International (2000-2008)
    Building a messaging system (web site and business services) for this financial institution that mediates between sellers and buyers all over the world by means of XML messages between correspondents (DHTML, XML, XSLT, ASP, C++, COM+). The web site of this system was developed at the time with Internet Explorer 4 and Netscape Navigator 4 as target browsers, and uses a lot of dynamic HTML using JavaScript. However, no changes have been necessary, the site still works perfectly in modern browsers. Over the years since the first version, I also built various extensions to this system, including some Ajax enhancements in the last year.
  • Deloitte (2003-2006)
    For Deloitte I worked on serveral internal web applications, as well as on the customs/tax product Deloitte develops and sells: ConsulTrade and its successor, TrackonTrade. This is a web application and an automated back-end processing system that handles all legislation and regulations that need to be complied with by companies that import and export goods. It is built using Java SE/EE 5, Spring Framework 2, Hibernate 3, DWR, JavaScript, Web services, and Oracle/SQL Server databases.
  • Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat (2003-2004)
    Building several Microsoft .NET applications that perform various scans for companies, such as a scan allowing to determine the efficiency of transportation companies, and a scan that determines whether a company transports its goods in a safe manner (C#, HTML, XML).
  • Human Company (2002)
    A complete Java J2EE system, using the Novell eXtend application server (at the time still called SilverStream), and an extensive Java Swing client that creates its user interface using a custom-built GUI generator, that creates Swing interfaces from XML definitions (early XUL/XAML!).
  • Rijksmuseum (2001)
    Here I built the dynamic parts of the (previous) Rijkmuseum site using JavaScript.
  • Ministerie van Justitie (2000)
    Building a Java Swing applet used to enter verdict and other related information. Uses the first version of the GUI builder later used for Human Company (Java Swing for the client applet, ASP, SQL Server for the back-end services invoked by the applet).
  • Informatie Beheer Groep (1999)
    Building a CMS and web site that can be personalized for the different target audiences of the IB Groep, using XML, XSLT, C++ ASP, COM+ (site has been replaced with a new one by now).
• CayenneSoft
  (1993-1998)
  This is the company where I started developing software commercially. Here we developed a UML case tool named ObjecTeam, that contained editors for all the UML diagrams as well as a versioned repository to store modelling data.

  This product was built using C++ for the business components, using an ORB model to let the clients connect to the server. For the client, we supported various Unix flavors and Windows, and this was built using the scripting language Tcl that used the script bindings of our custom-built, platform-independent user interface library written in C++ (on top of the X11/Windows API's).

  The tool could also generate code from the repository models, in various languages. The code generators for these languages were also written in Tcl, and used the script bindings we had created for the repository components and the other business components. The repository supported various database engines, such as Oracle, Postgres, Ingres, Informix, Sybase, SQL Anywhere.

• Vrije Universiteit
  (1987-1992)
  Computer Science (Informatica) at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) / Free University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
  
  

Contact

•   drs. Edwin Rijvordt
•   8Projects
• Email
• LinkedIn

About

This site uses structured and valid XHTML with CSS for the layout and style, as well as external JavaScript classes for adding behavior. The JavaScript is not necessary; the site works perfectly fine if JavaScript is disabled, but you'll miss the single-page model and the cool graphical effects (not too much at the moment). The site uses the Prototype JavaScript library for general JavaScript functions, and the Script.aculo.us library for the effects.

The JavaScript files written by me on this site are licensed under the Lesser GNU GPL, and can be reused under the conditions of that license. The license is available from the GPL.txt and LGPL.txt files on this site.

I do all my contract work using the FENIT terms & conditions, maintained by ICT Office. You can download the Dutch version or the English version.

Professionally, I am a member of the following associations.

• NL JUG
  The Dutch Java User Group (NLJUG).
  
• fronteers
  The Dutch association of front-end developers.
  
• I.T. United
  A Dutch association of independent ICT professionals.
  
• PZO
  Yet another Dutch association for independent professionals.