Building software for Special Olympics - 2

by Van 9. January 2011 14:26

As a professional developer, I have been writing programs for my personal use for years.  However just this last year I realize that I would be better served if I would use the same disciplines personally that I use professionally. Therefore, earlier this year I started using the same disciplines for my personal projects that I use professionally.  The results were that it would take me longer to have something working, but it was a much better quality product (fewer bugs, easier to change). In general, all the things I know professionally to be true are even true on small projects. As I stated in my previous blog, I am creating some software for Prince William Special Olympics.  For this project, I am going to try to use good software practices. I will also chronicling this project on my blog.

About Van

Van, a Senior Web Developer for Innervisions Software, Inc. since 1996, started programming Mainframes using COBOL, JCL for AT&T in 1979. While at AT&T, Van was part of many development teams that produced enterprise level applications and systems using CICS, IMS and other mainframe technologies. 

Van bought his first personal computer in 1982, an Apple II+, and started to write programs for home use in Applesoft (Basic Microsoft created for the Apple II) . 

Van first started working with Microsoft technologies using Access 1.0 and Visual Basic 3.0. In 2000, Van attended VS Live in Orlando where he was first exposed to .Net. He started programming .Net with Visual Studio .Net Beta 2. He became an Independent Consultant in 1996 and started Innervisions Software, Inc. 

In 2003 he wrote his first professional ASP.Net app. Since 2004 Van has been subcontracting on an IRS project using ASP.Net, VB.Net, and SQL Server.


He spends his spare time working on the web site for Prince William Special Olympics which was created using Dot Net Nuke.   Van is currently working on a Silverlight app for Prince William Special Olympics to manage their volunteers.


Van has a BA in Mathematics from Lehman College in New York City and a MS in Computer Science from George Washington University. Van holds MCP certifications in Visual Basic, Access, ASP.Net and SQL Server.

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