Seeing as this is my first blog entry, introductions are in order. My name is Rob Carr, and I am president of MyProgrammer, Inc. I'd like to tell you a bit about myself, and then tell you my plans for this blog moving forward.
I have been building complex database applications for Fortune 2000 companies for 20 years. While still in college in the 1980's I wrote database applications for small businesses using dBase 3+. After graduating from Cal State Fullerton in 1989, I created manufacturing and environmental applications for a medium printing company, using Paradox. Soon I switched to FoxPro.
In 1990 I started my own company, DataVision Development (later renaming it to MyProgrammer). In May of the same year I married my wife, Yoly (who is shown in the photo on the home page). In the 1990's I focused mainly on client-server database solution. Most applications were for medium-to-large companies. In 1994 we welcomed our first child, Brittany (also shown on the home page).
In the mid 1990's I co-wrote dvlib, a highly regarded library for FoxPro. This library encapsulated a lot of the functions missing from the core FoxPro library, including multi-user saves/rollbacks, query on demand, import/export, among others. In the late 1990's the Y2K craze hit, so I spent the latter part of the 1990's fixing FoxPro Y2K applications.
Along the way I got gigs with several major companies, including Universal Studios, CBS Radio, Quiksilver, the State of California, among others. Probably the most exciting project I've been involved with was the Cost Tracking System ("CTS") I developed for Universal Studios, when they were building the theme park "Universal Studios Escape" in Orlando, Florida.
After many long nights and weekends, I took a 6 month leave in 2004 to travel throughout Europe. We visited most of western Europe, but also ventured to Turkey, the Czech Republic, and 10 other countries. We even made it to the Running of the Bulls, in Pamplona, Spain. No, I didn't run!
As I have mentioned previously, building custom software is an intellectual endeavor. There is little need for fancy offices. Therefore, for the majority of the last 20 years I have worked from my home office, with occasional on-site visits during the start, middle and completion of the project. As one of my clients put it, "the great thing is you are always at the office".
As for this blog, I plan on writing at least twice each month about the business of software development. I'll tackle a variety of topics, and try not to pull any punches. The business of developing custom software, especially for large, complex organizations, is always challenging. I hope to share what I've learned with you over the last 20 years.
Rob Carr
President
MyProgrammer, Inc.
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