Language

Use

Tuition

Notes

I rarely program for the fun of it nowadays. I prefer to be with people, not in cyberspace. My preferred programming style is object-oriented, highly functional, with little or no global variables. This is a good fit with my latest language, XSLT. 

VBA (Word)

1200 hours

-

I started to learn this in 1998 in Bangladesh, writing a Bengali Typing system for MS Word. With no Internet connection and no help files installed, I learnt the syntax from tab completion and guessing!

ASP

1600 hours

-

I decided in 2002 to build dynamic websites, and this I chose this because of my VB knowledge.

XSLT

600 hours

-

In 2005 I looked into what this language could do. I am now using it as the scripting language for Friend2Friend. It was quite a steep learning curve, but for manipulating XML it's the tool for the job.

PHP

400 hours

-

Coding Friend2Friend with this. Some classes, mainly work with XML-DOM.

C

200 hours

30 hours

I learnt this for a job in 1989 with Essex University Mathematics department and later wrote parts of a go interface in it.

C⁺⁺

200 hours

30 hours

I decided to upgrade to this from C in 1996 and have coded a few miscellaneous programs in it, such as a go game playing engine, random number simulator and other tools used for statistical research.

VB

500 hours

-

I learnt this in 1994 to write the front end of a go program. The algorithm itself was never written since it turned into a Ph.D instead of a program. I've only written a few bits and bobs in VB since then.

BASIC

1600 hours

-

I looked at various forms of BASIC since starting on a ZX Spectrum in 1982, writing various games, data analysis programs & utilities. My most recent program was ANT4DOS. (See my software page)

pLucid

90 hours

60 hours

. A parallel version of Lucid. I had fun with this experimental Parallel Function Programming language made by Steve Matthews, a lecturer at Warwick University Computer Science Department.

VBA (Excel)

100 hours

-

I wrote an accounting system for an American NGO & a water purity data entry, record keeping and graphing system for a UK utility company, Severn Trent Water.

AMSTEX

150 hours

-

I wrote my thesis in this, with lots of use of the mathematical functions etc. I didn't write much in the way of macros. The pictures were originally WMF files, which I converted to PS to put on WWW.

Pascal

120 hours

50 hours

Various programming courses at University. Never used for anything real.

SQL

40 hours

-

I just know the basics to operate databases from ASP; I could do with more detailed knowledge, but am too busy building sites at the moment.

APL

60 hours

60 hours

1st year Programming course at University. The functional nature of APL caught my imagination.

Fortran

60 hours

20 hours

1st year Programming course at University. 'Nuff said.