I am currently looking for programming work in the UK. Here is my CV.
David Ritchie
email: hhdave@blueyonder.co.uk
Profile
A software developer with over 4 years commercial experience in the scientific, technical and medical (STM) publishing industry. Developed software through the full life cycle, from initial analysis and specification to end user support. Particularly enjoys the opportunity to create best of breed solutions which meet business needs. Customer focused and committed to high standards. Always eager to learn new technologies.
Technical Skills
- Very proficient in Perl, VB, VBA and some Lisp dialects
- Good knowledge of C, C++, Common Lisp, Scheme, Prolog, Pascal, ARexx, Java, BASIC, Tcl
- Some exposure to Objective C, Forth, Logo, AppleScript, Python and others
- Detailed knowledge of Linux, MacOS X (10.3), Microsoft Windows (NT4, 2000, XP, 95, 98 and ME)
- In depth knowledge of XML and SGML including DTDs, parsers and validation technologies
- In depth knowledge of networking technologies and network programming - TCP sockets and UDP in Perl and VB
- Experience of relational database design
- Some experience of TeX and LaTeX
Employment History
September 1999 to April 2004
Worked for Lucid Digital, a company which specialises in STM typesetting for such clients as Elsevier Science, The Royal Society, Hodder and Blackwells.
'CaptureL' SGML Editor Project
Personal role
- Identified end user requirements – analysed, designed and collaborated throughout project to achieve succesful results
- Wrote in excess of 90% of the code and managed developers implementing other components
- Coordinated release and deployment of software ensuring liaison with production manager throughout
- Developed automated testing framework for SGML production components
- Supported and helped with training by ensuring full understanding of software by trainers and users
- Managed release of automated software updates
End Result
- Output fully compliant with publishers requirements, validated by publishers and of highest quality
- Granular, full article, SGML produced suitable for black box automated typesetting
- Personally gained experience of Perl, VB and VBA in which the project was implemented
- Flexible and extensible code base facilitated implementation of 7 different document types as per customer requirements
- Tables and maths handled in WYSIWYG way
- User interface presented compromise between very granular, highly structured SGML and more familiar word processor document layout
- Package only required 1 day of training for individuals with no prior SGML experience
- Used for mission critical work - in 2003 some 80,000 typeset pages were structured using this software
Additional Responsibilities
- Developed infrastructure for new Management Information System (MIS)
- MIS handled all automation and tracking for Lucid Digital workflow
- Implemented batch queuing system incorporating redundancy and load balancing of compute nodes to handle all automated tasks
- Implemented ‘Supervisor’ process to coordinate batch processes
- All events generated were logged, in a structured way, to the relational database
- XML control messages used in the batch queuing system to specify jobs
- Co-designed relational database to record state and progress of all articles
Education
BSc in Physics (with medical physics) from Nottingham University.
3 A levels (1 at grade A and 2 at grade B)
9 GCSEs (4 ‘A’ and 1 ‘A*’)
Hobbies
Currently learning to play the piano. Freediving.
References
Available on request.