Unix Shell Scripts
The scripts I create are portable across multiple Unix and Unix-like operating systems including AIX, HP/UX, Solaris and Linux. I have worked with many shells including Bourne (the most portable), Korn, C and Bash.

Perl Scripts
Having worked in Perl since the mid 90's, as well as designing and delivering Perl training, I have a thorough grasp of the language. My experience includes object oriented Perl, complex data structures using references, module design, CGI (web pages), GUI using Perl/Tk and both Unix and Windows environments.

Cost Effective Automation

The lack of proper automation or inappropriate automation can rob your team of precious time and impact your bottom line through schedule slippage, poor quality deliverables and rework. Let me show you how your team can be more productive and enjoy their work more.

Software Development
Do your software developers complain that your procedures or tools get in their way or are too tedious? Do they sometimes forget an important step in a "carefully documented" procedure? Maybe the problem is that there are just too many manual steps. Software developers are more likely to follow procedures that are highly automated with only a few simple steps. This also reduces the chance of errors.

Migrations and Transitions
Do you dread the transition to that new software system because you know how much time it will consume? I have extensive experience in automating source code and data migrations. The goal is to create a fully automated system with very few steps (ideally one). This way the migration can be tested in stages, fixes applied and retested. Because it is automated, problems fixed in early runs will not reoccur. User downtime is minimized because the old system is in use until the very end where all data is quickly and reliably transferred.

Data Handling
Does your staff spend hours and hours moving or manipulating data every week or month? Are your best people performing labor intensive, repetitive chores? Proper automation of these tasks will reduce errors, improve productivity and increase job satisfaction.

Reliable Software Build Systems

A well designed software build system is essential to any software development project. I have experience in a variety of make-based systems including traditional make, imake and GNU make. Some of the build systems I have designed support building on both Unix and Windows, concurrent cross compilation for multiple CPU architectures and flexible configuration files allowing multiple teams to build the same code different ways to suit their needs.

A good build system should have the following characteristics:

Highly automated - one click or one command does it all.

Good error reporting - the source of the problem is easily identified from the error log.

Requires little maintenance - it is easy to switch compilers and libraries; modifying local and global build parameters is simple.

Test builds are the same as production builds - if not, your developers may be missing defects that will not be caught until QA tests the next "official" build.

Regression testing is automatic - this can save many wasted hours by preventing defects from being "checked in" to your version control system.

Effective Training

I can customize my training to your needs so that the right material is covered and at the right pace. My teaching style is highly interactive, which means that the student is involved and stimulated. This also allows me to measure, in real time, when the concepts have been understood and when everyone is ready to move on to the next topic.