VBScript

I have written many VBScript programs, especially for ASP Web pages. The most challenging assignment that I undertook was an application that runs via the user's Web browser but reads a database on a local CD. I had to overcome many client-side limitations to make the programs work, including database locking, connection to the database using Microsoft Jet, and automated drive-letter checking. To view the code for the application, click here.

I also wrote the code for the many Web sites that use VBScript to access a database and populate Web pages, including the Young-Williams Animal Center

PHP and Database Connectivity

PHP, a variant of Perl, is an excellent language for connecting to databases, whether the database is SQL, Microsoft Access, or MySQL. An example of a database-driven Web site that I developed in PHP in the Star Cruiser Magazine.

HTML/DHTML

The best example of my HTML and dynamic HTML (DHTML) is this site. I use CGI scripts (Perl), ASP (VBScript), JavaScript, ActiveX controls, and cascading style sheets (CSS). On other sites that I have developed, I have also used the document object model (DOM), cookies, and server-side includes.

JavaScript

Over the past few years, I have used JavaScript for many Web applications. Among them are:

• The California Energy Commission wanted a way to present thermal imaging measurements of home electronic equipment on its Efficiency of Power Supplies in the Active Mode site. I created a JavaScript function to fade in a superimposed thermal image.
• Calculator for Sizing an Electric Generator. This Web application calculates the correct generator size based upon user input. It includes complex math objects, form-verification functions, and dynamic updating of form objects.
• Pushpin Application (works only in Internet Explorer). The Timken Corporation, an international manufacturer of ball bearings and other motor parts, contracted me to create a Web application for recording the location of a visitor to their exhibition booth. The company wanted the visitor to click on a square marker (a "pushpin"), drag the marker to an area on a map, and click on the map to place the marker. The map included in this sample is a map of Canada. The application uses the cookie method to save a cookie on the host machine, where the visitor data is stored. When you close the window in this sample, the data persists in the cookie so that clicking on "Pushpin Application" above will display the map of Canada with any pushpins that you have already placed and saved.

PERL/CGI

Since 1998, I have written over a thousand pages of CGI (common gateway interface) applications for the Web using PERL, which is the language of choice for Web-application professionals. CGI applications written in PERL can be demonstrated only on a machine that has a PERL interpreter installed (such as a Web server). Therefore, this CD ROM does not include a demonstration. However, I have included the code for a complex Web-based application called "Employee Resource Center."

The Employee Resource Center took me about a year to develop. It provides a user-friendly interface for the employees of EPRI PEAC Corporation, enabling them to access on-line forms, documents, graphics, information, news, and tools to help employees do their jobs. Click on the Employee Resource Center link to see the home page and the code that drives the Center and its dozen-plus search engines.

BASIC

I have programmed in BASIC since high school, in the early 1980s. Then, I was interested in writing code for video games on my Commodore computer. I have used BASIC to access devices connected to the serial port.

Recently, I created a research application to automate a reading experiment. The experiment required that the application:

• Allow the human subject to initiate a trial and control the progress of the trial.
• Randomly assign one of three types of texts to each subject.
• Present a dot (called a "focal target") for the subject to focus on.
• Present two types of texts to the subject (control text and experimental text).
• Record reading speed for both types of texts.

During the experiment, the application performed flawlessly, recording data to the computer's hard drive. This data was later used during statistical analysis. To view the code for the application, click here.