Toby D. Atkinson
Objectives:
1) To architect and implement "smart client" environments for Web Services and .NET Remoting.
2) Short-term Visual Basic consultancy projects such as:
- VBA procedures to add value to Excel and other Office components
- VB6 to VB.NET conversions
- remedial action for non-performing applications.
Technical Specialties:
Dataface, Inc. (2001-present):
Leading development of "smart client" software product, see overview diagram
- Architected "Virtual Machine" for use on PC client
- Implemented interfaces to web services using SOAP, .NET Remoting, and older components
- Implemented interfaces to SQL Server using ADO detached recordsets and ADO.NET Dataset
- Specified language (XML vocabulary) to describe application data and screens (mostly inferred from data)
- Created single page architecture, manipulating IE directly thru the DHTML DOM, no forms, no HTML, no script pages
- Architected an object model with events raised for business logic procedures
- Implemented business exceptions and audit alerts using CDO
- Designed a log for input to a data warehouse including intraday changes
- Designed database extensions for widely used business functions
Recent Consultancy Projects (1994-2001):
Many "desktop" clients 1995-present (e.g. Aurora Information Systems, Tube Supply, Senterra Real Estate Group, Crescent Real Estate, MSG Computers).
Examples of short-term assignments:
- Specialized Excel spreadsheets with VBA procedures for ease-of-use.
- Designed and wrote international pricebook maintenance program in Access.
- Programmed charts too complicated for the Excel Chart Wizard.
- Added security and licensing procedures to Excel spreadsheet.
- Wrote data entry screens for purchasing database.
- Improved Excel budget system with VBA procedures to allocate costs to multiple companies and consolidate multiple companies.
- Wrote Word VBA procedures to extract data from legacy database server and print graphically attractive documents, forcing lower-case, spell-checking, expanding text abbreviations.
Many "legacy database" clients 1995-present (e.g. Sloans Lake Managed Care, University of Southern California, Ameritech Library Services, NCS Healthcare, Médisolution, Interactive Group, Certified Systems, RMG, Ohm).
Typical activities in most short-term assignments:
- Designed Visual Basic infrastructure for GUI interface to non-standard multivalued legacy database.
- Created sample screens.
- Established naming conventions, exception handling procedures, centralized database interface module.
- Demonstrated techniques for technical support traces and logs.
- Taught personnel client/server techniques, coding techniques, screen design.
Client: DataWorks Corp. (now part of Epicor, NASDAQ, Software 100) 1996.
Proposed and designed "Reporting Wizard", end-user oriented tool for extracting data from ERP databases. Wrote prototype, documented, handed over to employee team for ongoing maintenance and development.
Client: Ardent Software Inc. (NASDAQ, Software 100, now part of IBM) 1994-1999.
- Wrote white papers and technical bulletins for Marketing Communications Department while learning Visual Basic by preparing product demonstrations.
- Developed client/server course including advanced Visual Basic training. Provided lecturer materials to overseas affiliates. Taught course on numerous occasions 1995-1999 (e.g. Data General, Monolith, Promutual).
- Lectured at end-user conferences, VAR seminars, marketing roadshows. Subjects: GUI design, OLE, ActiveX, and Microsoft desktop technologies in general as they relate to Ardent customers.
- Resold by Ardent Professional Services to assist VARs with architecture planning to move their products to Windows platforms.
- Performed QA of Release 1 of COM component representing the Ardent database as an object model for Windows programmers; then assisted SEs to promote the adoption of the new teechnology.
Client: MSG France S.A., Paris, France 1994.
Advised on localization of distribution system to French requirements. Participated in database design of Warehouse Management module.
University Education:
Master's degree in Physics, University of Oxford, England.
Recent Professional Education:
Publications, etc.:
Other Information: