Christopher Andrew Corbyn
- 14 Lawry St
- Northcote
- VIC 3070
- Australia
- E-mail Address
- chris@w3style.co.uk
- Telephone
- +61 (0) 431 311 264
- Date of Birth
- May 3, 1983
Experienced web developer with over five years experience in the Information Technology industry; demonstrating considerable knowledge of object-oriented programming, web content and accessibility standards and UNIX server administration with a strong drive to excel in the web development field.
Programming Expertise
PHP 4 & 5
- Over four years hands-on experience developing PHP applications
- Developed hugely successful open source projects such as Swift Mailer serving approximately 100 downloads per day with over 44,000 downloads since its launch
- Highly competent with the use of design patterns and best practices
- Administrator on two well-known PHP development forums
JavaScript
- Developed completely custom AJAX-driven tools & applications from the ground-up
- Used JavaScript effectively to improve accessibility and user experience, particularly for enhancing navigational experience and visual feedback from the UI
- In-depth understanding of the DOM, XML and the use of XPath to effectively use XML as a data structure
Java
- Developed simple Java desktop applications following the MVC pattern using Swing
- Developed basic J2EE model 2 web applications in Tomcat
Database Systems
- Over four years experience with MySQL in a development environment
- Built an NBD cluster and assessed the feasibility of deploying such a system into an existing application
- Installed and maintained clusters running MySQL replication, including some with a complex master-master architecture
XML & Related Technologies
- Used XML as a data format in several projects
- Experienced with the use of XPath to descriptively query XML documents
- Used XSLT in templating page components
Linux Administration
- Managed high-availability clustered server environments with two separate employers
- Used Linux VPS services for personal hosting since 2005
- Responsible for the maintenance of http://forums.devnetwork.net/
Additional Skills & Experience
Employment History
Reactive Media Pty Ltd
- Worked closely with experienced web designers to develop PHP based web applications
- Integrated e-commerce solutions into client websites
- Successfully introduced test-driven development into the existing workflow
SitePoint Pty Ltd
- Worked in a very team-oriented environment on company owned PHP applications
- Developed and integrated e-commerce modules from scratch
- Used Amazon's EC2 service, along with related technologies to serve clustered database-driven applications
- Used test-driven development extensively to contribute to the in-house web application framework and supporting libraries
- Participated in regular developer meetings to discuss development efforts and to plan for forthcoming changes
- Played a key role in the successful launch of a new monetized product
Manchester City Council
- Performed a customer facing development role, demonstrating the application to prospective clients on several occasions
- Set up a MySQL replication cluster on dedicated hardware
- Made business critical decisions regarding the direction of development
- Retrofitted an MVC architecture onto the application
- Maintained network solutions including DNS, gatewaying (with LVS), SMTP & IMAP, MySQL and Apache
EDS (Electronic Data Systems)
- Provided remote desktop and telephone support for clients at two large financial organizations in the UK
- Gained excellent communication skills through working for one of the largest international IT organizations in the world and dealing with colleagues in Spain, Texas and Hungary on a daily basis
Freelance Web Developer
- Gained experience developing PHP web applications for small business clients
- Installed and configured applications on Linux servers
- Developed modules for existing applications and customized existing code bases to meet clients' needs
Academic History
Durham University
Prior Pursglove College
Laurence Jackson School
Open Source & Volunteer Work
Swift Mailer Project
- http://swiftmailer.org/
- Powerful and flexible object-oriented mailing library
- Approached by Cal Evans (Zend) to produce a Podcast for their Developer Zone
Crafty Project
- http://phpcrafty.sourceforge.net/
- PHP 5 dependency injection container supporting primitive types and constructor/setter-based injection
Yay! Mock Project
- http://yaymock.googlecode.com/
- PHP 5 mock object library based on jMock (Java)
DevNetwork Volunteer
- http://forums.devnetwork.net/
- Administrator responsible for forum and server maintenance
Personal Statement
Programming, or perhaps even just problem solving is something I have an obsession with. I think back to the 90's when I discovered "Freeservers.com" and dipped my fingers into the mysterious world of HTML. For years I have been researching topics of interest in software development and more recently I have been very active in the open-source market. In areas in which I possess very specialised skills such as my extensive knowledge of email delivery protocols and well-executed approaches to unit testing I enjoy focusing my outside efforts on open-source projects, which benefit the rest of the development community. I take great pride in the quality of my work and feel honoured to be able to spend my time with like-minded people who, when operating as a team can achieve seemingly anything. Being able to fulfil a serious hobby for a living, day-in day-out drives me to work hard and get the most enjoyment out of my career.