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About the site ...

This website is built on the asp.net 2.0 framework. It runs on an IBM Xseries server with SQL server 2005 and Microsoft Windows 2003 Server. This website began when the beta of asp.net 2.0 was released as a project for me to familiarize myself with the new features of the 2.0 framework. The site uses a mixture of xml and database to display its’ content. During the development of this site I carefully considered all aspects of the asp.net framework, SQL Server 2005 and Windows Server to optimize the site for performance. I achieved this by using a combination of server caching techniques, compression, code optimization, database tuning ,operating system tweaking and OOS design patterns.

Some additional facts about the code

  • Articles and comments are syndicated via RSS.
  • Asp.net 2.0 visual basic.
  • User authentication is handled by forms authentication.
  • Content management handled through a custom desktop application. Communicates with the system via soap web services.
  • Most data output handled via XSL traformations.
  • XHTML compliant.
  • CSS block element based design.
  • Main site search powered by Google Search API.

2/18/2008 - A Programmers Journal V2 Released

Updates and Release Notes:

  • Upgraded to Visual Studio 2008 / .net 3.5 Framework.
  • New data access layer with Generic parameters class.
  • Improved encapsultation for objects and utility methods.
  • Moved away from web.caching to singleton collections for articles and comments.
  • Completely removed the concept of an account.
  • Implementation of Master Page.
  • Improved use user controls.
  • Added Who's Online Feature.
  • Some html and CSS improvements.
  • Addition of "Add to windows live" button.
  • Removal of search related info and addition of digg, del.ico.us and add to favorites buttons.
  • SEO improvements.
  • Improved display on comments.
  • Introduction of ASP.net Ajax controls including modal popup, validator and nobot.
  • Ajax enabled calendar browsing and articles per page.
  • Integration with windows live search for site search.
  • Addition of Code Project Contributions article Aggregator on right hand column.
  • General performance enhancements.
  • Improved RSS handlers for articles and comments.

I plan on packaging this site as a community system and releasing it open source in the future though many things need to be done as far as content management to make it easily pluggable and adaptable. If you would like to obtain the source code for this site please contact me.

About the author ...

My name is Jason Witty-Akhavan and I am a senior engineer working for CinemaNow Inc. I specialize in building e-commerce and content management systems on the Microsoft .Net platform. I have extensive experience working with classic asp, asp.net, SQL Server and Oracle database server in enterprise level environments. Feel free to take a look at my full resume online.

I coded this website from scratch by hand. It does not run on a community server or .net nuke platform. I also hand coded all html and css for this site. All graphical and design elements were also created by me. Please feel free to take a look at some of the other web sites I have created in my portfolio section.

At the present time I am not considering any full time positions and I will not take phone calls or reply to emails from head hunters. I will consider freelance opportunities for projects with a minimum of a $5,000 budget. Please feel free to contact me with questions.

On a lighter note ...

I was born in Maine in 1977 though I spent most of my life in New Jersey. I went to high school in Kinnelon, NJ and college at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ. I moved to Los Angeles California in 2003 which is where I currently reside. My hobbies include programming, eventing, gaming and music. I listen to a wide array of music but my favorite genres of music are trance and house. Take a minute to look at my online photo album and thanks for stopping by.