Unlocking Innovation Through Precision Development
Welcome to the online home of Robert C Smith, a seasoned Full-Stack Web Application Developer with over 13 years of experience across both the public and private sectors. Unable to settle as just another developer; he's a visionary who crafts digital experiences with unparalleled precision. Known for his commitment to detail and following best practices, Robert has established a remarkable reputation in the world of web development.
Proficient
Skilled & Experienced in the Latest Cutting-Edge Web Technologies
With a Solid Foundation of Proven Technologies
- 13 Years of experience with formal college coursework specific to HTML
- Proficiency: Expert in HTML5, with deep knowledge of the latest standards, semantic elements, and best practices
- Responsive Web Design: Adept at utilizing HTML to develop responsive web layouts, ensuring cross-device compatibility and consistency across various screen sizes
- SEO Optimization: Experienced in implementing SEO best practices through HTML, including meta tags, structured data, and semantic markup
- Accessibility Compliance: Proficient in creating accessible web content compliant with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
- Performance Optimization: Skilled in optimizing HTML for web performance, including minification, lazy loading, and asynchronous loading of resources
- 13 Years of Working Knowledge and Experience
- CSS3 Mastery: Expertise in CSS3, with a deep understanding of advanced features such as flexbox, grid layout, and CSS variables, enabling responsive web layouts
- Cross-Browser Compatibility: Adept at writing code that works consistently across various browsers, resolving compatibility issues
- CSS Preprocessors: Experienced in using preprocessors like SASS and LESS to enhance code maintainability, modularity, and reusability
- Animations and Transitions: Proficient in creating animations and transitions using CSS, adding interactivity and enhancing user engagement
- CSS Architecture and Scalability: Skilled in implementing CSS architectures and nomenclatures (e.g., Client First) to manage large projects, ensuring maintainability, modularity, and scalability
- 10+ years extensive experience using Javascript in almost every project in different ways
- Core JavaScript: Proficiency in the fundamentals of JavaScript, including variables, data types, operators, and control structures.
- Asynchronous Programming: Skill in managing asynchronous operations using callbacks, Promises, and async/await.
- Advanced DOM Manipulation: Expertise in manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM) to create dynamic and interactive web applications.
- New Features: Mastery of modern JavaScript features introduced in ES6 and subsequent versions, like arrow functions, generators, template literals, destructuring, and async/await
- Runtime Engines: Familiar with various quirks and differences between server side and browser runtime engines (Bun & Safari: JavaScriptCore, Chrome, Node JS & Deno: V8)
- 8 Years of Working experience and knowledge fromformal training
- TypeScript Typing Expert in creating and implementing advanced type definitions and interfaces
- Generics and Type Inference Adept at leveraging generics and type inference to write reusable and flexible code, resulting in efficient data structures and functions across web projects
- Advanced OOP and Design Patterns Experienced in applying object-oriented programming (OOP) principles and advanced design patterns, promoting code modularity, reusability, and maintainability
- Asynchronous Programming Proficient in asynchronous programming, including Promises, async/await, 'thenables', and Observables (RxJS), for managing complex asynchronous operations and enhancing application responsiveness
- Advanced Configuration and Compiler Options Skilled in configuring TypeScript's compiler options to fine-tune transpilation, module resolution, and output settings, optimizing code compilation and ensuring compatibility with diverse web development environments
- 5 years experience and generally self-taught
- Syntax: Proficiency in C++ syntax, including knowledge of variables, data types, operators, and control structures
- Pointers and Memory Management: Knowledge of pointers, references, dynamic memory allocation, and memory management techniques
- C++11/14/17/20 Features: Awareness of and experience with features introduced in various C++ standards, such as lambda expressions, smart pointers, and range-based for loops
- Code Documentation: Ability to write clear and concise code comments and documentation for better code understanding
- Basic Design Patterns: Familiarity with common design patterns like Singleton, Factory, and Observer, and their application in C++
- 2 Years of learning and experiencing Rust with a solid foundation of its usage
- Structs and Enums: Knowledge of defining and using custom data structures with structs and enums.
- Methods and Traits: Familiarity with defining methods on structs and implementing traits for custom types.
- Generics: Understanding generics in Rust for writing reusable and type-safe code.
- Editions: Awareness of Rust editions and the ability to write code in both the 2015 (Rust 1.x) and 2018 (Rust 2018 Edition and newer) editions.
- Concurrency: Basic knowledge of concurrent programming in Rust, including working with threads and the standard library's concurrency primitives.
- 5 Years of Working Experience with formal training, however, it has not been in demand much lately
- Basic PHP Syntax: Proficient in basic syntax, including variables, data types, operators, and control structures
- Performance Optimization: Understanding of basic performance optimization techniques, such as caching and minimizing database queries.
- Server Configuration: Basic server-side configuration and hosting skills, such as setting up a web server (e.g., Apache) and configuring PHP.
- Debugging: Basic debugging skills using PHP debugging tools and error logs.
- 8 Years of experience using it as an engine for executing server-side Javascript
- Expert using Node's package manager, npm, to manage project dependencies and create workspaces for monorepos in projects with local libraries
- Familiar with all the particulars of Node's implementation and handling of Javascript modules (ES vs CommonJS)
- Working experience with Node-specific libraries including the new Async Local Storage
- 13 Years of Working Knowledge and Experience
- Configuration Possess a deep understanding of NGINX configuration files, syntax, and directives. Able to efficiently configure NGINX to handle various aspects of web serving, such as server blocks, location blocks, and proxy settings
- Reverse Proxies Experience in setting up reverse proxy configurations for handling dynamic web applications and optimizing server resources
- SSL/TLS Configuration Adept at configuring Secure socket layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TLS) including certificate management, ciphers, and protocols
- 4 Years of working experience in both small and large projects
- Fundamentals Deep knowledge of React's core concepts, including components, props, state, and the component lifecycle, is fundamental
- State Management Proficient using state management solutions like Redux or React Context API
- Styling Knowledge of styling solutions like CSS modules, Styled-components, or CSS-in-JS
- Performance Able to identify and address performance bottlenecks, optimize rendering, and reduce unnecessary re-renders
- 3 Years of working experience using for small to medium sized projects
- Leveraging New Features Skilled in Next JS 13's App directory routing and unique functionality in addition to using the legacy Pages directory
- Harnessing React Server Components (RSC) Experienced in designing dynamic data driven apps using RSC to fetch data and render on the server, while rendering stateful components client side
- Using a Custom Server Proficient in implementing a custom Express JS server to respond to API requests and pass UI requests to Next JS, eliminating the need for a proxy server
- 7 Years experience using Express.js for back-end development
- Implemented robust and scalable routing and middleware for request/response handling
- Created custom middleware functions for tasks such as authentication, logging, and error handling.
- Conducted thorough testing, including unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests, to maintain the quality and reliability of the application
- Deployed and configured Express.js applications in various hosting environments, including cloud platforms, and set up production-ready servers (e.g., NGINX or PM2)
- 5 Years experience using NEst JS for back-end and full-stack deployments
- Developed a REST API for a React front-end and implemented a custom Authentication and Authorization module implementing industry best practices with JSON Web Tokens and HTTP-only cookies
- As Nest JS extends Express JS, I leveraged several powerful middleware libraries I was familiar with when used with Express JS to accomplish many goals that were originally believed to necessitate custom coding
- This website itself is built with Nest JS doing the heavy lifting of routing, orchestrating Middleware, Guards, Interceptors and instantiating singletons for Controllers and Service Providers
- Experienced with incorporating other popular technologies with Nest JS such as Prisma for an ORM, EJS for HTML templating and htmx on the front-end
- 6 months of knowledge and working experience
- This website currently leverages htmx and is the first project I have worked on that utilizes htmx front and center as the primary Javascript library
- All links and forms are AJAX enabled that gracefully degrade in case the user has disabled Javascript (this feature is also called Progressive Enhancement)
- Initial tests show that loading pages via htmx when a user clicks a link improves page load speeds by as much as 21%
- 3 Years of Working Knowledge and Experience
- Participated in all phases of the software development life cycle, from requirements gathering to deployment
- Developed and maintained reusable components and modules to promote code reusability and maintainability
- Conducted code reviews, wrote unit tests, and performed debugging to ensure the reliability and quality of code
- Assisted in optimizing the application for performance, including load times and responsiveness
- With only 2 years experience have mastered Tailwind CSS, including its utility-first approach, responsive design features, and the vast array of utility classes available.
- Customization and Theming: Posses a strong understanding of customizing and theming Tailwind CSS to match specific design requirements. This includes creating custom utility classes and configuring the framework to meet project branding guidelines
- Responsive Design: Have used Tailwind CSS extensively to create responsive designs that adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes and devices, leveraging its built-in responsive design utilities.
- Optimizing for Performance: Skilled in optimizing the performance of applications using Tailwind CSS by minimizing the generated CSS file size and reducing unused classes.
- With 6 years of experience, I have become an expert in using Jest for unit testing JavaScript and TypeScript code. I have an in-depth understanding of its features, such as test runners, assertion libraries, and spies.
- Unit Testing: I have written and executed a wide range of unit tests using Jest to validate the functionality of individual components, functions, and modules. This includes testing edge cases, handling exceptions, and ensuring code quality.
- End-to-End Testing: I am skilled in using Jest for end-to-end testing of complete application flows, ensuring that all components work together as expected. This includes using tools like Puppeteer for testing web applications.
- Mocking and Spying: I am proficient in creating mock functions and spies in Jest to simulate dependencies and control test scenarios, enabling comprehensive test coverage.
- With 5 years of experience, I have become highly proficient in EJS, mastering its syntax, features, and best practices for rendering dynamic HTML from EJS templates.
- Conditional Rendering: Experienced in applying conditional logic and control structures within EJS templates to conditionally render content based on data or application states.
- Iterating Over Data: Skilled at using EJS to loop through arrays and objects, facilitating the rendering of dynamic lists, tables, and other tabular data-driven components
- Security Best Practices: Implemented security best practices within EJS, such as escaping user-generated content to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, generating nonces for cross-domain script tags that match the Security Policy response header
- 2 years experience using Prisma ORM, able to rapidly iterate database design schema, initialize and seed a database with sample data in a fraction of the time compared to previously used ORMs
- Database Modeling and Schema Design: Proficient in using Prisma to design and model complex database schemas, including defining relationships, constraints, and indexes ensuring efficient data storage and retrieval
- Advanced Query Optimization: Adept at crafting efficient and optimized database queries using Prisma's query API, including aggregations, filtering, and pagination, enhancing application performance and reducing latency
- Transactional Data Operations: Experienced in managing complex transactional data operations within Prisma, ensuring data consistency and integrity across multiple tables while maintaining ACID compliance
- 8 Years experience using SQLite/SQLite3 to create efficient, secure, and reliable databases
- SQL Query Writing : Proficiency in writing SQL queries for SQLite3 in SQL directly and can create complex queries to retrieve, update, insert, and delete data, as well as aggregate and transform data as needed
- Performance Optimization : Gained expertise in optimizing SQLite database performance. Including creating efficient queries, indexing columns, and leveraging SQLite's built-in features for better query execution times.
- Data Migration and Backup - Experienced in managing data migration and backup strategies for SQLite3 databases. involves safely transitioning between schema versions and ensuring data consistency.
- 8 Years working experience creating and managing instances and clusters of MySQL databases and have a formal education in it as well
- Stored Procedures and Functions With a strong grasp of creating and using stored procedures and functions in MySQL, server-side scripting and complex data manipulation within the database itself, can be used to enhance performance and security.
- Triggers and Events Proficient in working with triggers and events is a distinctive skill. Able to design triggers to automatically respond to data changes, enforcing business rules and maintaining data consistency.
- Performance Tuning and Query Optimization Able to fine-tune MySQL performance through query optimization, indexing, and configuration adjustments. This unique skill helps improve database responsiveness and resource utilization.
- 2 Years working experience, building from a strong foundation from many years working with MySQL and SQLite
- Complex Data Types Proficient in working with complex data types in PostgreSQL, such as arrays, hstore, and JSON/JSONB, to store and manipulate structured data efficiently.
- Full-Text Search and Text Search Functions Familiar with PostgreSQL's full-text search capabilities, including text search functions, to enable advanced text search and indexing in applications.
- Array Functions and Operators Proficient in working with PostgreSQL's array functions and operators, which enable array manipulation and querying, a unique feature not found in all relational databases.
- 11 Years working experience using git (with repositories hosted at GitHub) as a source control management solution
- Branching Strategies: Proficient in implementing advanced branching strategies such as Git Flow, feature branching, and release management through tags
- Customized Workflows: Proficient in tailoring workflows to project-specific needs such as implementing continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, optimizing development processes for diverse web projects
- Conflict Resolution & Merging/Rebasing: Adept at resolving complex merge conflicts and rebasing to ensure smooth code integration, maintain codebase consistency, and minimize disruption during collaboration
- Submodules, Workspaces & LFS: Skilled in managing large repositories and "monorepos" with Git submodules and workspaces, respectively, and using Git Large File Storage (LFS) to handle certain binary assets efficiently
- 7 Years working experience using both personally and professionally. For several years now all projects required use of Docker for local development, remote staging and deploying to production
- Docker Compose Extensive experience in using Docker Compose to define and manage multi-container applications. Proficient in creating and maintaining complex, multi-service Docker Compose files
- Docker Networking In-depth knowledge of Docker networking, including bridge, host, overlay, and macvlan network modes. Experienced in setting up container networks for microservices and multi-node clusters
- Container Security Adept at implementing container security best practices, including image scanning, network segmentation, and runtime security policies to safeguard containerized applications and data
- 13 Years of working experience and received formal education on Linux administration in college
- System Administration Proficient in administering Linux servers, including installation, configuration, and maintenance of various distributions such as Ubuntu and Debian. Expertise in user management, file system permissions, and package management
- Log Management and Monitoring: Experienced in log management and monitoring tools like syslog, Logstash, and Elasticsearch (ELK stack) for real-time system monitoring, log aggregation, and analysis
- Performance Tuning: Proficient in server performance tuning to optimize resource usage, enhance server responsiveness, and ensure efficient application operation. Knowledge of tools like top, iostat, and sysstat for performance analysis
- 9 years working experience having started using the distribution with 14.04 Trusty Tahr. It has since become my distribution of choice overtaking it's cousin, Debian
- Upstart and Systemd Services Experienced in managing services using both Upstart and Systemd init systems, including creating custom service scripts and configuring auto-start behavior for applications
- PPA Management Proficient in adding, configuring, and managing Personal Package Archives (PPAs) to extend software repositories, enabling access to a wider range of software packages and updates
- Ubuntu Landscape Knowledge of Ubuntu Landscape for centralized server management, monitoring, and security patching across Ubuntu server deployments, ensuring efficient administration and system maintenance
- 13+ Years experience having worked on the OS since High School
- Microsoft Office Suite Skilled in using Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for document creation, data analysis, presentation design, and email communication
- User Account Management Proficiency in creating, configuring, and managing user accounts, security settings, and group policies in Windows, ensuring secure and organized access to resources.
- File Management Adept at file and folder management, including organization, search, backup, and recovery, utilizing Windows File Explorer and backup tools for data protection
- Troubleshooting Experienced in diagnosing and resolving common Windows issues, including software installation, driver updates, network connectivity, and system performance optimization.
- 4 years working experience having used it intensely at various times in my career, however those times were not long lasting, even still, I am able to hit the ground running and easily make my way around the OS
- Operating Systems Proficient in various macOS versions, including macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, and earlier releases, with the ability to navigate, customize, and troubleshoot system settings.
- File Management Experienced in file and folder management using Finder, Time Machine, and iCloud Drive for organization, backup, and data retrieval, ensuring efficient data management and protection.
- 13 Years working experience and formal education using Bash as the standard shell used when operating a Linux distribution
- Scripting Proficient in writing Bash scripts for process automation, task scheduling, and system administration, enhancing efficiency and consistency in daily operations.
- Command Line Tools Adept at using a wide range of command-line tools and utilities for system monitoring, troubleshooting, file manipulation, and data processing, improving productivity and problem-solving.
- Pipelines and Redirection Skilled in creating and managing command pipelines, as well as utilizing input and output redirection to process and manipulate data effectively within the terminal.
- 2 years experience
- PowerShell Scripting Proficient in writing PowerShell scripts for Windows system administration, automation, and task automation, enhancing operational efficiency and consistency.
- Cmdlets and Modules Adept at using a wide range of PowerShell cmdlets and modules for system management, network configuration, and task automation, improving productivity and problem-solving.
- PowerShell Remoting Experience in configuring and using PowerShell Remoting for remote administration and task execution, enhancing the ability to manage distributed environments.
- 13+ years working experience and have received formal college education in its use. Additionally, I had used Photoshop in many personal projects both before my career and even during
- Image Optimization Extensive experience in optimizing images for the web, ensuring a balance between visual quality and file size by selecting appropriate formats (including WebP and AVIF) and adjusting compression settings
- Image Editing and Enhancement: Proficient in image editing techniques, including cropping, resizing, color correction, retouching, and background removal to enhance visual content
- Responsive Design Assets: Proficient in creating responsive design assets that adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions using artboards and export options for various breakpoints
- 10 years experience creating or modifying vector images, often hand in hand with Photoshop
- Web UI Design Skilled in designing user interfaces (UI) for websites and web applications, including wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes to ensure a visually appealing and user-friendly experience
- Iconography Experienced in crafting custom icons and icon sets for web applications, adhering to design principles and guidelines for consistency and clarity in user interfaces
- SVG Export and Optimization Adept at exporting graphics in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format from Adobe Illustrator and optimizing them for web use, ensuring small file sizes and sharp, scalable visuals
- For the past 6 years this has been my preferred IDE for all languages
In addition to mastering VS Code for standard use cases the following showcases my advanced capabilities
- Complex Monorepo Setups: Proficient in configuring and managing complex monorepo setups within VS Code, allowing for efficient development across multiple interconnected projects in a single workspace.
- Debug Launching Setups: Skilled in creating and customizing debug launch configurations for different environments, including local development servers, remote debugging, and cloud-based services, ensuring precise debugging for various scenarios
- Custom Code Syntax Highlighting (Theme): Knowledgeable in customizing code syntax highlighting and themes within VS Code to create a personalized development environment, enhancing code readability and aesthetic appeal.
- As of November 2023, 6 months experience in creating wireframes, style guides, prototyping and more.
- UI/UX Design created a user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) style guide for the back-end content management application for this site ensuring a user-friendly and visually appealing interactive experience
- For exactly 1 year I have been using Webflow to test its capabilities and assess how I might ba able to use it in future projects and I have been quite pleased with the results
- Used Devlink to integrate Webflow into a Next.js project alloing webflow to act as a visual design tool that does the heavy lifting by translating the elements, props and actions into reusable React client-side Components. Work can continue in Webflow or when a good design is ready to be coded the hard part is already over
- This site was initially designed in Webflow as a part of my evaluation
Foreward
Building Tomorrow's Internet... Today
Stay Ahead of the Curve in an Ever Changing Field
Robert's journey in the ever-evolving landscape of technology is marked by a relentless pursuit of knowledge. He remains at the forefront of the field by staying informed about the latest open-source technologies and trends. With a rich background working on projects spanning diverse industries, he has successfully blended the worlds of creativity and technology delivering solutions that drive innovation and inspire change.
If you're seeking a developer who understands that the web is more than code — it's a canvas for possibilities — you've found the right place. Explore Robert's work, engage with his insights, and let's embark on a transformative digital journey together.
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