HOME	Contact	Workshop & Lab

Alexander Griffin - Career(s)

Pyramid of Possibilities control boards w/accelerometers, RS485 and OctoWS2811 drivers

Web/Internet Programming (a.k.a. LAMP platform)

Throughout my college studies I gained an interest in Internet and Client-Server architecture. I had the opportunity to work with a vast array of programming languages and systems. This ideal combo prepared me for LAMP platform architecture. LAMP stands for "Linux / Apache / MySQL / Perl" and is sometimes referred as the "LAMP stack" or "LAMP platform." When I try to describe what I do the conversation goes like this:

Alex: "I do LAMP programming"
Friend: "What does that entail, exactly?"
Alex: "Well, think of when you're visiting a website. You go to a page and type in some details, then press SUBMIT. When you hit that button, I take over!"
Friend: "Oh! You do databases?"
Alex: "Yes I do, and a lot more. I am also responsible for e-Commerce (shopping carts and checkout), cyber security (encryption), mission-critical reliability, and vendor data interfaces. That's scratching the surface, but you get the idea."
Friend: "Wow, and I thought internet was only about web page design."

I program in HTML, XML, Java, Javascript, AJAX, Perl, SQL, PHP, C and C++. Most of the e-commerce work I do is in Perl. By my estimate there are over 250,000 lines of my Perl code currently in use over various parts of the Internet. No, I don't speak Klingon and I am not a nerd.

I have been a freelance consultant in this field for many years and it is currently the bread-and-butter of my income. My job is portable! Give me internet and a cellphone and I can telecommute from anywhere in the world. And I often do. I *love* my career and I have much respect for the clients I work for.

For all structured languages I program in "banner style." This may be somewhat unusual to most programmers. I feel it is easier to follow than the more popular "Kerninghan & Ritchie" block style.