Projects
The Course Registration System I developed last year is far and away the most "complete" program I have created. I designed the software with the goal that upon its completion, it would meet or exceed the capabilities of a standard registration system found at most universities. Part of this was making the look of the program pretty, and the functionality intuitive. I believe I accomplished this, and consider the experience invaluable as it sharpened my skills both in front end and back end development.
Tell a new programmer they will be creating a program and they will be attentive, but tell them they will be creating a video game and they will be excited. This is the magic of Processing, a graphics library for Java that allows one to create a multitude of visual content with an "easy to learn but hard to master" learning curve perfect for novice developers. The image attached is one of the first projects I ever completed with Processing, and although it is just a simple snake game, it helped fulfill one of my childhood dreams. As a kid, I dreamt of being a game developer as I'm sure is the case for many other computer science students, and the opportunity to create was the final nail in the coffin that got me to pursue this both as a hobby and as a career.
There are thousands of APIs available online allowing a programmer to play with various functions and datasets from some of the world's biggest websites. Among the most popular of these is the extensive list of Twitter APIs available to anyone on the web. Attached is an image of the first Twitter bot I ever created using NODE.js, tweeting out a random number at set time intervals. It's basic yes, but it was my first real foray into the world of web development as a hobby. Today, I'm happy to say that I can do much more than create a simple bot, and am currently undergoing what is by a large margin my most ambitious project yet. I hope to unveil it soon upon its completion, probably within one or two months. Stay tuned.
Graphic design is something that many people believe they can do until they actually try it. I was definitely in this camp early in my development career, however, have become better and better over time to the point that I consider myself competent. Attached is a Star Wars-inspired personal logo I created early in my web development career, and it is the first graphic I felt proud of producing. I believe skills like Photoshop and the creation of .svg files are essential to a developer's career, and it is the "look and feel" of my projects that I believe separates me from any other.