Ian Beckwith

• over 20 years experience
• languages include php, javascript/ecmascript, sql, perl, c, c++, ruby, python, posix sh / bash, java, m4, sed, awk
• designing, implementing and maintaining codebases from small scripts up to large complex systems
• object oriented, procedural and declarative programming. metaprogramming, code generation, templating
• able to dive into new codebases, languages and apis and get up to speed quickly
• porting, with and without autotools: posix, linux, solaris, bsd, mac/osx
• debian development.
• revision control systems - usage, setup, admin, training, support and migration: git (including gitolite hosting), svn, darcs, cvs, rcs
• writing/maintaining secure code, including webapps and other network-facing daemons
• integration with payment gateways - sagepay/securetrading
• internationalisation - converting codebases to support unicode/utf-8, supporting translation with .po files
• regular expressions (basic/extended/perl)
• debugging with strace, gdb, valgrind and good old printf(3)
• network-enabled code from socket-level to higher-level apis.
• test-driven refactoring

over 20 years experience managing linux and unix systems

• linux system administration: onsite, hosted, VMs, cloud
• linux distributions: Debian, Redhat/RHEL/CentOS, Ubuntu, Slackware, MCC-Interim, SLS
• other unix systems: Solaris, SunOS, FreeBSD, HPUX, Irix
• standard unix command-line toolset
• automation/scripting of common tasks
• OS upgrades and keeping systems up-to-date with security patches
• security auditing, securing servers against attack, recovering compromised systems, forensics
• virtualisation with vserver, kvm and chroots
• load balancing and other multi-server setups
• PCI DSS compliance
• writing documentation for users and developers
• setup, maintenance and periodic testing of encrypted, redundant, geographically distributed backups
• speccing out hardware for purchase
• system construction for servers and workstations
• handling storage: RAID, file-servers, NAS, cloud, backups
• kernel compilation, installation, tuning
• data recovery

I've managed many networks, from trivial LANs up to that of a small ISP.

• TCP/IP, ethernet, leased lines, ppp, wireless, ipv6
• firewalls and routing, cisco and linux iptables, static routes and OSPF
• load-balancing (round-robin DNS and hardware load-balancers)
• file servers with nfs and samba
• DNS: hosting domains with BIND, registering domains, scripting DNS updates
• VPNs with openvpn and iodine!
• file transfer for untrusted users into locked down chroots using ftp or sftp
• Remote monitoring of hosts via snmp, munin and custom tools
• dialup with RADIUS for authentication

• Responsive, clean, standards-compliant HTML5 & CSS3 (or earlier), both static and generated by code or templates
• server-side development backed by databases
• Front-end development (HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, AJAX, Responsive),
• Backend development with PHP, perl, ruby, etc...
• NoSQL & cacheing solutions
• frontend libraries: jQuery, jQueryUI, bootstrap, prototype, tinyMCE
• validated, cross-browser compatible code and markup
• online payment gateways, SSL and PCI Compliance
• development and maintenance of java applications, applets and servlets; deployment with tomcat and glassfish
• Apache web server: installation, maintenance, tuning, customization
• Combining and minifying CSS and JavaScript
• integration with 3rd-party APIs and internal customer systems via http[s] (RESTful and RESTless), RSS, email and [s]ftp using XML, JSON, SOAP and CSV.

• installation, admin and tuning of relational and NoSQL databases
• design, normalisation and optimisation of database schemas
• querying and manipulation of data with SQL
• experience of MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MSSQL and REDIS
• integration with codebases via embedded SQL or an ORM (doctrine)
• exporting, cleaning, transforming and importing datasets

• MTAs: postfix, exim, sendmail, qmail, smail
• sending of secure authenticated mail with SMTP and SASL
• mail reading via IMAP and POP3 with dovecot
• Spam filtering with postgrey, spamassassin, DKIM, SPF, procmail
• virus scanning with clamav
• supporting multiple domains with virtual mailboxes
• mailing lists: mailman, majordomo
• scripted sending/receiving/processing of mail in a variety of languages, including MIME handling.

I have been writing, maintaining and releasing free software for over a decade, both my own projects and contributing to other people's code. See my personal site for more details.

• maintaining a variety of packages in the debian distribution - see my personal site for more information.
• keeping up to date with new upstream versions and cooperating with upstream developers
• acting as an upstream developer where none exists
• fixing and reporting bugs
• adding features
• handling releases
• producing stable snapshots of actively-developed code
• following distribution-wide policies and best practices to ensure packages integrate properly with the rest of the system
• writing and handling security patches
• dealing with bug reports and feature requests from users
• writing man pages and other documentation

previous projects I've been involved with include:

• online events calendar
• web-based exam simulator for mock exams
• a hotel booking system and property management system
• a FUSE-based virtual filesystem for querying tag metadata from audio files (eg /goth/AND/decade/1990s/)
• a suite of tools for managing a music collection
• a system monitoring and notification framework
• a web-based document management system for disaster response planning
• maintaining, modernising and extending a proprietary CMS
• a perl module for reading and writing PFIF, the People Finder Interchange Format
• maintaining several free software projects
• maintaining debian packages

• Technical writing, user support, documentation for users and developers
• Experience managing projects and coordinating developers and other key stakeholders
• Dealing with vendors and service providers
• Management of online communities
• UK driving licence and passport.
• Available at unsociable hours for upgrades, deployments and emergencies.
• Ability to call upon associates with other specialities: graphic design, SEO, online strategy, copywriting.