Software Architect, Application Developer, Web Developer, & Database Developer. I specialize in Software Development with a focus on Architecture and Design. I have worked with both hardware and software throughout my career. I mainly develop for the Microsoft .Net stack.

Welcome

First of all I would like to thank you for visiting my site. I hope that this site has helped you learn more about who I am both as a professional developer, presenter, and as a person.

Introduction

My name is Alan Barber. I am an Ohio native, born and raised. I root for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians. I used to be quite the avid gamer but have waned in the last few years, due to being busy with work.

I started programming when I was about ten years old. My family had an Epson 286 12Mhz w/ 4mb of ram running MS-Dos 3.22. I used to play a game called MathBlaster(tm). The original version was writing in GWBasic. You had to start the GWBasic interpreter then stick in the MathBlaster (tm) game floppy disc and type run “color” to start the 8bit color version of the game. Occasionally I would mess up and miss-type this and would get this strange message “syntax error”. One day I found the manual for GWBasic trying to figure out what this “syntax error” stuff was and was introduced to some sample code. From that day on I was hooked and started my life as a coder!

Technical Skills

My current title is “Senior .Net Consultant” but I’m really a jack of all trades. I have done; system programming, web programming, Network Administration, PBX Administration, Server Administration and I even program phone survey systems. My forte is in Microsoft technologies, specifically C# and SQL Server, but I have dealt with and used many different technologies over the years.

Professional Experience

For those interested in my professional experience over the last decade, I invite you to visit my LinkedIn Profile.

Open Source Projects

I am an active developer that is always trying to hone my skills. I work on several open source projects that are available on my GitHub Profile.

Community

I am active in the technology community and regularly attend conferences and user group meetings. I have met and spoken with hundreds of amazing and wonderful people. I enjoy learning and sharing with fellow technology professionals and enthusiasts. Thanks to my participation in the community I have formed great friendships with many people.

Central Ohio .Net Developers Group

I was first elected to the CONDG Board in 2013. Since then have been honored to serve the members of the user group.

Please visit the Central Ohio .Net Developers Group Website to learn more about the user group and find out about upcoming meetings.

.NET Foundation

In 2020 my application to join the .NET Foundation was accepted. I have joined the “Speakers and Meetups” action group to help make sure that every .NET meetup is a success!

Speaking / Writing

Though not a regular on the speaking circuit, I am current an active speaker and would be honored to present at local user groups, code camps or conferences. Feel free to check out my presentations list for current talks I have available as well as past talks I have presented.

Obviously, I have this site where I blog about technical topics. One of my life goals is to write and publish a technical book and I hope my blog writing will help me find my voice and writing style.