Benjamin Lieb, professional Engineering Manager, Software Engineer, with Startup experience, Graphic Design Chops, and years of professional experience honing skills in Communication, Collaboration, Mentorship, Team Process development, and Project Leadership.

Web Development Skill Set

Last Updated: Nov 2013

Since my start in web development in 1996, I've amassed a skill set that allows me to serve clients in a wide range of domains. Below is a list of some tools in my toolbox, along with star (*) strength rating out of 5. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, but to give a general indication of the ground I'm familiar with.

The information age is fascinating and has transformed our lives and relationship in unprecedented ways. However the landscape of this new world changes constantly and quickly, making it increasingly hard for the average technology consumer to keep pace with new developments and tools. The situation presents even more challenges for professionals who also produce these tools. Staying current and well-versed in the vast array of tools already in use, and those continually emerging requires a special dedication.

Thankfully I truly love this aspect of my profession, and my bookshelf is frequently restocked with manuals on the latest technologies. Fortunately, each project I complete invariably requires me to learn and apply new skills. Because my clients rely on my decisions, I have made a conscious dedication to increasing the breadth of my skills as part of my daily work schedule.

Server-Side

  • Ruby *****
    • Ruby on Rails 2.x, 3.x, 4.x ***** ( MVC rapid application development)
    • Key Ruby on Rails Gems / methodologies
    • Ruby on Rails CMS sytems
    • Ruby on Rails Hosting
      • Heroku *****
      • HostMonster *****
      • DreamHost *****
      • RailsPlayground *****
  • PHP 4/5 *****
    • PHP CMSs
  • Perl ***
  • ASP **
  • Python *#
  • VBScript *
  • Linux Command Line *****
  • Database:
    • SQL *****
    • MySQL *****
    • SQLite(3) *****
    • Postgres ****
    • MS Access (odbc) ****
    • Delimited text *****
    • Database abstraction *****
    • PDO ****
    • Ruby Active Record *****
    • NoSQL
      • MongoDB ***
  • Apache Server:
    • .htaccess *****
    • .htpasswd *****
    • httpdconf *****
    • mod rewrite ****
  • Version Control
    • Git ****#
    • Subversion ***

Web Services

  • Amazon Services
    • Amazon S3 (simple storage service) *****
    • Amazon SES API (simple email service) ***

    Server / System Administration

    • Ubuntu Server
    • CentOs
    • RedHat
    • VirtualMin
    • Virtual Private Servers (VPS)
    • Dedicated Servers
    • EC2

    E-Commerce

    • Authorize.net gateway API *****
    • Paypal integration *****
    • Google checkout integration *****
    • Google wallet ***
    • SSL
    • PCI data compliance

    Coding Tools/Editors

    • VIM / GVIM (my favorite) *****
    • Netbeans *****
    • Dreamweaver *****
    • NVU *****
    • Eclipse ***
    • Go Live ****

    Graphic Design, Photography, Audio Tools

    • Applications
      • Photoshop *****
      • Gimp ***
      • Freehand (vector) ***
      • Fireworks (vector) ***
      • Audacity (audio editor) ****
    • Command Line Applications

    Client-Side

    Standard Fare:

    • (X)HTML, HTML5 *****
      • Standards Compliance *****
      • Table-less markup and layout *****
      • HTML Forms (data collection and processing) *****
      • HAML - powerful HTML abstraction language *****
    • CSS2, CSS3
      • SASS - Powerfull CSS abstraction language *****
      • Compas - CSS 'framework' ****
      • Twitter Bootstrap - CSS/JS front-end framework *****
      • Zurb Foundation - CSS/JS front-end framework **
      • Design style influenced heavily by CSS Zen Garden (remember that?) *****
    • Javascript (DOM) *****
      • Unobtrusive Javascript *****
      • CLient-Side Validation *****
      • Asynchronous Javascript (AJAX) *****
      • Light Box (image viewer/gallery) *****
      • FLowplayer (video player) *****
      • Backbone Js (front-end MVC) ***
      • Angular Js (front-end MVC) ***
    • Flash
      • Flash Actionscript 3 ****
      • Flash Animation ***
      • Flash vector graphics ***

    Other Skill and Experience

    The following skills might be special assets on specific projects.

    Language / Inter-cultural

    I spent many years in the language field as a teacher and interpreter. One of my undergraduate degrees is in French, and I have a Masters degree in Language Acquisition and Education.

    • English *****
    • French *****
    • Spanish *****
    • Italian **
    • Chinese *
    • German *