Ada | Backend | BCrypt | Bootstrap | CSS3 | Express | Firebase Firestore DB | Flask | Front End | Full stack | GraphQL API | Heroku Hosting | HTML5 | Java | JavaScript | Jinja | JP Graph | JWT | Laravel 8 | MongoDB |

MVC | MYSQL | Node | PHP | PHP Unit | PowerShell | Python | React | Responsive | REST API | Slim 4 | SOLID | Spring Boot | SVG | Tailwind CSS | Template | Vue

Total Projects: 22

If you have a lot of tasks to do and can't decide which one to do next, try Task Battleships! First enter all the tasks, then hide them in the battleship grid, and surprise yourself with your next task!

I made this for a community coworking group that I attend online, as sometimes people, including me, have trouble deciding what task to tackle next.

I deliberately used JavaScript so I could store the data in an array in the browser and get the site up & running quickly, and not have to deal with storing user's data in a databases and then providing user access etc.

Added Dec 2022

Ada is a programming language commonly used for safety critical systems.

I've been trying to learn its syntax via the AdaCore website, and started making the Rock Paper Scissors game to practise using it and the GNAT Studio IDE

Added Nov 2022

I used python to query a public REST weather API, and retrieve a list of locations, then display the weather for a given location.

This project was created during a 2 week python bootcamp - later on I refactored the code to use OOP classes for Locations and Forecasts

Added March 2022

For the final project of our intensive 6 week Java course, I worked as part of a team of 5 to create a Shopping Cart App.

The brief was to create an app where users could view products, add them to the cart and generate an invoice with a price breakdown that included taxes.

While we were able to get a lot of the services written eg Customer, Product, Type, Order History, we didn't have enough time to integrate the different services so they could work together.

I spent time working on the API calls for the Type class (so users could see Products by Type eg Books, CDs), dynamically generating the Show Types buttons based on whats in the database, combining the Search and Display Products pages functionality, trying to write more performant queries using Hibernate syntax and adding more CSS styling.

Added Feb 2022

I've created a console version of the Rock Paper Scissors game.

This was my first assessment and verbal code review, as part of a course I'm taking to relearn Java. I definitely reused some of my earlier code from my JavaScript version of this game.

I've since refactored the code into more smaller methods, so each has less responsibility.

Added Feb 2022 | Updated Apr 2022

* This demo app is currently unavailable while I look into alternative hosting providers, as Heroku is no longer offering a free tier from 28 November 2022 *

I took part in a Hackathon run by Troopl between 2-6 February. The brief was to create a Goal Tracking App, so I decided to track job seeking habits.

I used MERN stack with the MongoDB Atlas cloud database and GraphQL API for the backend, and React for the frontend. The app was deployed to Heroku as 2 separate repos - this involved me learning to extract and then setup environment variables and secrets in Heroku for the first time.

The app currently has features to Register and Login Users, and to display Profile info and Goals on the Dashboard page. As it turns out, displaying the Goals was harder than I thought it would be, as React has its own way of rendering data from arrays, and I'm more of a backend person.

Now I'm in the process of creating and processing a form in React to add a new goal to the database, by calling the existing GraphQL mutation.

Added Jan 2022

I liked working with GraphQL on the bootcamp, so wanted to practise using it to make a Wellbeing Tracker last year.

However at that time I could not get GraphQL to work with either Node and MySQL, nor with PHP and MySQL. As the Tracker's only tech requirement was a relational database, I looked at my existing repos that used MySQL, and the most suitable was a PHP app that used the MVC framework. So thats why my original Wellbeing Tracker uses that tech stack.

However I was later able to get Node and GraphQL to work with MySQL, after being advised that I needed to use the promise-mysql npm package, which was not mentioned in the online tutorial that I had found and was following.

Re-added Jan 2022

While working on a service desk during 2017-8, I created several Powershell scripts, that manipulated User and Mailbox objects, within a corporate Microsoft environment.

One example was a script to create Public Folders in Exchange, using a seed file of input data, as that was a common and time consuming task.

Another example was a script to move security groups from one manager to another within Active Directory. I created this script during a restructuring period when multiple managers were moving departments, and it reduced the amount of time my Team Leader had to spend on admin work after hours.

I've started learning Laravel 8 by following a tutorial about making a CRUD app, but customising the fields to make a TShirt App instead. I've also recently added an Image Uploader and deployed it as a demo site.

I actually own a lot of tshirts, as I collect them whenever I go traveling, so they are usually about events or places I've been to. Sadly most of my tshirts are still in Auckland, as I only had a few with me when I traveled to the UK.

So far I've noticed that, compared to the Slim framework, there's a lot less boiler plate code required to get basic functionality up and running.

I created a unicorn themed Random Quote generator with positive affirmations and then decided to turn it into a GitHub Template that others can use to generate their own Random Quotes.

Since I made this pre-Christmas, I also added a Toggle button to give a Snowing effect and make it more festive!

You can customise the template by adding your own text and images into the relevant arrays. For the Template repo I've used a Delorean theme, with quotes from the film Back to the Future.

Updated Dec 2021

View Live Demo

I'm interested in psychology so decided to digitise the GP-CORE form where you can answer questions about subjective wellbeing.

CORE Forms from the CORE Systems Trust can be used to monitor changes in wellbeing over time in health care situations. There are different versions, like GP-CORE for the General Population which has 14 questions.

After collecting the answers on the form, and storing them in the MySQL database, I plotted the overall score on a graph using the JpGraph library. This app is built using the Slim 4 framework and MVC pattern, and is still a work in progress.

As part of the bootcamp last year we did a half day workshop on PWAs or Progressive Web Apps.

We took an existing ToDo app written using the Slim 4 framework, and turned it into a PWA by adding a Service Worker to provide offline support.

I've since updated it by improving the styling and adding a cat-theme. I've also now got the live demo site setup and working with the Offline browser option.

I'm currently working through a FrontEnd Mentor Challenge to build the Rock Paper Scissors game, and I've recently improved the layout and styling.

I've deliberately tried to break the challenge down into tiny tasks and put them in separate branches, and then documented in the Readme how I went about solving this challenge in an iterative way.

I was working on a PHP code kata with my mentor and couldn't remember how to setup unit tests. So I thought I would make a GH Template repo that was already setup with such tests, so I could easily reuse it when practising other code kata or challenges.

Reversi Game Kata

I've since cloned the repo and used it for a kata to work out the next legal moves for a game of Reversi.

Poker Hands Game Kata

I'm currently also working through implementing the rules of Poker for another kata with my mentor.

Submitted 18 July 2021

I took part in my first 48 Hour hackathon over the weekend 16-18 July 2021, as part of Level Up Society Hackathon

It was both exciting and challenging to work with new people to try and design & build a prototype with gamification elements, all within 48 Hours!

We choose the categories of Mental Health and Learning and made a website where you can complete exercises based on a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy workbook

I mainly worked on setting up & designing the Firebase cloud DB, and writing functions using async/await in vanilla JS to add and get data from the DB. I also tried to integrate that with the Vue front end, but ran out of time.

Our Submission is here - Lemonie: Self Reflection for Recovery, by Team Awesome Force

Next I'd like to finish integrating the front and back ends and setup proper access controls for the cloud database.

Work in Progress - July 2021

Added April 2021

I attended a mini hack night in April, where teams of 3 were challenged to create a system that allows people to book a space flight, all in under 90 mins!

We decided to make a website where you could select dates, and I was able to contribute ideas & code from my previous solar system animation, plus async/await for calls to the deliberately flaky external API.

Although we didn't finish the website that evening, I really enjoyed the experience of being thrown together to create something tangible within a short timeframe.

Next I'd like to finish my take on the site by adding suitable booking success & failure images and making them appear & disappear at the right time.

Finished March 2021

After learning about RESTful APIs and Node, I finished created a Banking API, themed with characters from the TV series Killjoys.

I later documented the API by adding routes, example requests, and local install instructions to the Readme

As a team of 4 we made a 'Today I Learned' social media site called Knowsy. We decided to use the MERN stack, with separate repos for the front & backend, and GraphQL for the API calls to MongoDB.

I volunteered as Scrum Master and facilitated our team to create an e-commerce site based on existing product data. I used my previous OO experience to assist the team with creating the architecture plan for the site.

We decided to use the Hydrator Entity design pattern along with a PDO Connection in our LAMP stack, with HTML, CSS & Bootstrap for the frontend. We also reviewed the SOLID principles and adjusted the plan accordingly. I did pair programming to create some of the classes and peer reviewed colleagues code in GitHub. During Sprint Review I gave a non-technical overview of the site's architecture.

Finished October 2020