Barry Price

Barry Price

Systems Integrator, Software Engineer, Web Developer, Sysadmin

A multi-skilled UNIX/Linux programmer, with substantial experience in back-end Web development, specialising in security, accessibility and data/performance optimisation.My work experience includes software development, web development and UNIX/Windows systems administration for a variety of UK and international clients and employers, including retailers, design agencies, ISPs, telecoms providers and the financial sector.

Skills Matrix

Other Skills

I also have experience with a variety of desktop and server operating systems, including all versions of Windows since 3.1, Apple OS X, many distributions of Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Solaris. I am familiar with most common desktop productivity software (e.g. Microsoft Office), and graphics packages (Adobe Photoshop, etc).

Work Experience

May 2006 - Present

Relocated to Bangkok, Thailand. Details on request.

August 2005 - April 2006
Software Engineer - E-RM [Permanent]

Responsible for design, development, testing and implementation of various elements of a bespoke digital marketing web application, Digital Marketeer. Core development was Perl and PostgreSQL, but my daily work often included other technologies such as PHP, HTML, JavaScript, XML, shell scripting and general Linux server administration.

My most notable projects included: investigation, development and testbed implementation of filesystem-level replication for the company’s PostgreSQL servers; using Perl and XML to build an independent bespoke application for sharing relevant elements of the core database with individual clients; custom integration of a JavaScript/CSS-based WYSIWYG HTML editor into the Digital Marketeer platform.

Key skills: Perl, PostgreSQL, XML, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, RHEL, Apache, Sendmail, bash scripting, iptables.

Notable clients: Virgin Atlantic, Royal Mail, Scheidegger, William Hill

July 2003 - July 2005
Systems Integrator - Maintenance One Services Ltd (later Maintenance Managment Limited, part of the Atrium Group) [Permanent]

My duties as Systems Integrator were principally the specification, management and deployment of bespoke software systems, generally implemented in Perl on Debian and Red Hat Linux, to run on i386 and sparc architectures. These systems varied from simple data manipulation tools, to web-based intranet applications for report generation, and complex finance management automations.

Together, the financial systems I wrote and maintained were responsible for the allocation and authorisation of multi-million pound budgets.

Although I was in many ways moving forwards from previous purely Web Development roles, I also developed several internal web-based applications using Perl, PHP and MySQL/MSSQL to run on both Apache/Linux and IIS/Windows. These internal applications were accessible across the company’s sites, and provided useful tools to a variety of technical and non-technical users. In addition, all applications outputted valid XHTML using CSS layout, so I was also been able to keep my Web Development skills relevant and up-to-date.

By the time I left the company, as other staff left and the IT departments of the group of companies were merged into one, I was acting as the group’s Unix Systems Administrator, and therefore responsible for the installation and management of the internal Linux servers, and general day-to-day Linux system administration of a variety of services including Sendmail, Exim, Apache and iptables. I also became the lead developer when my predecessor left, responsible for all development and coding work across the group. I assisted with support issues after the support team was dismantled, and shared the DBA responsibilities (largely our replicated Microsoft SQL Server 2000 systems, with some smaller MySQL systems) after our DBA moved on.

Key skills: Perl, MySQL, Microsoft SQL, Windows (NT/2000/XP/2003), Linux, Apache, Enterprise Manager, Exim, Sendmail, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Squid, Bash scripting, iptables.

Notable clients: Tesco UK, Tesco Hungary, Budgens, John Lewis Partnerships

May 2003 - July 2003
Web Consultant . The True Potential Group / Calls In Thailand [Contractor]

I specified, designed and developed elements of several corporate web sites for a group of start-up companies seeking to provide cheap national and international phone calls, principally through international call-back systems. Most of this work was focussed on front-end web application programming, principally in JavaScript.

Key skills: HTML, JavaScript, CSS, cross-browser compatibility, Search Engine Optimisation.

September 2002 - May 2003
Web Developer - TechnoPhobia Ltd [Permanent]

I was responsible for development and support of a variety of websites for several clients of this web design studio. Working in a variety of web technologies (Perl, PHP, MySQL, HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript), I worked on several corporate web presences with a strong focus on usability and accessibility.

Some of my achievements included optimising the performance of the Vernons web-based administration system by a factor of several thousand; development and maintenance of several complex Perl CGI applications for the Co-operative Bank (including loan/mortgage/account application systems); gaining the knowledge and expertise to take on sysadmin responsibilities for our in-house servers; and working as the back-end development lead for several major projects.

Key skills: HTML, XHTML, XML, XSL/T, JavaScript, CSS, Perl, PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Web Accessibility, SEO, Linux, Solaris, Apache, iPlanet.

Notable clients: The Co-operative Bank, HBOS, Vernons, Arts Council England, Henry Boot, NHS Executive, Emergent Crown, Green Flag Motoring Assistance

May 2002 - August 2002
Web Developer - TechnoPhobia Ltd [Contractor]

I was initially hired as a contractor by TechnoPhobia to work on front-end (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) redevelopment of The Co-operative Bank’s corporate website for the September 2002 relaunch. I also helped with a variety of other more complex projects when required.

I impressed the directors sufficiently well that I was a full-time position at the end of the contract, which had already been extended so that I could apply my Perl expertise to the migration of several bespoke CGI applications from an Apache web server to the new iPlanet web server.

Key skills: HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Photoshop, Perl, PHP, MySQL, Linux, Solaris, Apache, iPlanet.

Notable clients: The Co-operative Bank, HBOS

October 2001 - May 2002
Various short contracts [Contractor]

After leaving Supanet, I worked on a variety of short contracts, mostly designing and developing small corporate web presences for internet start-up companies, until landing the Co-operative Bank contract at TechnoPhobia.

December 2000 - October 2001
Web Developer - Supanet Ltd [Permanent]

Supanet were the fifth largest ISP in the UK. I worked on a variety of front-end and back-end systems for the supanet.com web portal, as well as planning, developing and implementing various bespoke automated systems to monitor the quality and integrity of the portal site.

Joining the company as a relative novice, I went on to lead several projects; was regularly consulted on technologies and techniques by my senior colleagues; and implemented a variety of bespoke systems which dramatically increased the efficiency and profitability of the portal site.

Key skills: Perl, PHP, MySQL, HTML, XML, XSL/T, JavaScript, CSS, Linux, Solaris.