Sheldon is available for hire
Hire SheldonSheldon Linker
Verified Expert in Engineering
ISAM Developer
Irvine, CA, United States
Toptal member since July 6, 2020
Bio
Dr. Linker has been doing consulting and contract programming for decades. He has specialized in database work since 1978. His doctoral work involved AI and knowledge bases. He is also adept at programming servers, client systems, desktop systems, embedded systems, and a number of other types of systems. Sheldon has served in a database, programming, business analyst, and project management capacity. He currently teaches the latter two at the University of Maryland online.
Portfolio
University of Maryland
Quality Assurance (QA), Performance Tuning, Cron, KornShell, Writing & Editing...
Linker Systems, Inc.
Acceptance Test-driven Development (ATDD), Agile, Analysis, Analytical Thinking...
Freelance
Quality Assurance (QA), Data Cleaning, Data Cleansing, Big Data, Oracle DBA...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Mainframe, Embedded Systems, Win32, .NET, Windows, Java, C++, Linux, Unix, SQL
The most amazing...
...project I've worked on was the Strategic Defense Initiative—I optimized a message-passing system, allowing throughput to enable taking out an incoming ICBM.
Work Experience
Adjunct Professor
2016 - PRESENT
University of Maryland
- Taught students project management and operational techniques involving requirements gathering, requirements writing, choosing a project methodology, and QA.
- Helped to write and improve new textbooks currently in use.
- Maintained a 3-year running minimum of student outcomes and student satisfaction in the top 10%. As a result, I was awarded a bonus for my efforts.
- Helped to update the curriculum for the software engineering requirements class (SWEN 645).
Technologies: Quality Assurance (QA), Performance Tuning, Cron, KornShell, Writing & Editing, Lecturing, Management, Analytical Thinking, Debugging, Code Architecture, Business Analysis, Shell Scripting, Project Management, Unix, Microsoft Excel, Architecture, Technical Instruction, C, Linux, Assembly, Business Intelligence (BI), Reporting, Reports, Software QA, SDKs, Business Logic, Business Rules, Business Process Analysis, Analysis, Consulting, Agile, Waterfall Methodology, ANSI C, Technical Writing
Programmer | Developer | Designer | Manager
1984 - PRESENT
Linker Systems, Inc.
- Rescued a number of failing projects through programming, forensics, setting management plans, and occasionally acting as manager.
- Brought to get several systems from inception to fruition or from their current state to fruition. Performed my role both alone and as a part of a team, on a time-and-expense basis, and sometimes on a fixed-price basis.
- Conducted research for several customers, the details of which I am unable to discuss. I also researched for my own company; the patent searches found at USPTO using Inventor=Sheldon And Inventor=Linker.
Technologies: Acceptance Test-driven Development (ATDD), Agile, Analysis, Analytical Thinking, Analytics, ANSI C, ANSI SQL, ANSI X.12, APIs, Architecture, Artificial Intelligence (AI), AS/400, Active Server Pages (ASP), ASPX, Assembly, BASIC, Big Data, BI Reporting, Borland C, Business Analysis, Business Intelligence (BI), Business Logic, Business Process Analysis, Business Rules, API Architecture, C, C#, C++, COBOL, Code Architecture, Column-oriented DBMS, ANSI X12, Complex Data Analysis, Consulting, Cron, Crystal Reports, CSS, CSV File Processing, Dashboards, Data, Data Aggregation, APL, Crystal, Data Analysis, Data Analytics, Data Architecture, Database Analytics, Database Architecture, Database Design, Database Development, Database Management Systems (DBMS), Database Modeling, Database Optimization, Database Performance, Databases, Database Schema Design, Database Table Optimization, Database Transactions, Database Triggers, Data Cleaning, Data Cleansing, Data Engineering, Data Migration, Data Modeling, Data Profiling, Data Quality Analysis, Data Reporting, Data Visualization, Data Warehouse Design, Data Warehousing, DB, Debugging, Embedded C, Embedded C++, Embedded Systems, Enterprise, Enterprise Java Beans (EJB), ETL, ETL Development, ETL Implementation & Design, Excel VBA, Financial Reporting Dashboards, Financial Reporting, Fortran, Google, Hibernate, HTML, IBM Db2, Indexing, ISAM, iSeries, Java, Java Native Interface (JNI), JavaScript, JCL, JSON, Jakarta Server Pages (JSP), Kofax, KornShell, Linux, Machine Learning, Mainframe, Management, Master Data, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft SQL Server, Modeling, MySQL, .NET, Node.js, NoSQL, Oracle, Oracle 12c, Oracle PL/SQL, Oracle RDBMS, Oracle SQL, Oracle SQL Data Modeler, Performance Tuning, PHP, PL/I, PL/SQL, POSIX, PostgreSQL, Pro*C, Prolog, Python, Quality Assurance (QA), Relational Database Design, Relational Databases, REST, RPGLE, SQL, SOAP, SDKs, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), SQL Server 2016, SQL Server 2010, SQL Server 2015, SQL Server 2014, SQL Server 2017, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), Shell Scripting, SMTP, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), SSH, SSL, Swing, T-SQL (Transact-SQL), TV, Teradata, Toad, Triggers, UML, User Interface (UI), Unix, UDP, Use Cases, UTF-8, Utilities, UNIX Utilities, Visio, VB, VB.NET, Visual Basic 6 (VB6), Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Web, Web UI, Win32, XML, Yacc, IBM z/OS, Data Validation, Technical Writing
Full-stack, Desktop, and Embedded Developer
1984 - PRESENT
Freelance
- Improved the operational speed and normalization of databases for a number of clients.
- Simplified the amount of code in use, and the time taken, by a number of clients' applications through rewriting and refactoring of code.
- Improved system design resulting in shorter and clearer message flows and business processes.
- Managed projects from the onset and from the point of original failure to successful completion.
- Brought clients' website ideas from original sketches to finished websites, boxed products, and embedded products.
- Closed security holes for a number of clients, including insurance and banking endeavors.
- Helped in the transition from one system to another, such as SQL Server to Oracle and DB/2, from Borland C to C#, and from Amiga to Mac, Windows, and SGI.
- Found and fixed a number of bugs for a variety of clients.
Technologies: Quality Assurance (QA), Data Cleaning, Data Cleansing, Big Data, Oracle DBA, Enterprise, Performance Tuning, SDKs, Indexing, BI Reporting, ETL Development, Analysis, Business Process Analysis, Business Rules, Business Logic, T-SQL (Transact-SQL), POSIX, Embedded C++, Embedded C, RESTful Development, REST APIs, Data, Analytics, Hibernate, Cron, Pascal, KornShell, Prolog, SSRS Reports, Software QA, ASPX, REST, IBM z/OS, Acceptance Test-driven Development (ATDD), JCL, AS/400, Kofax, Data Visualization, Data Migration, Writing & Editing, Database Analytics, Data Engineering, APIs, Oracle 12c, PL/I, ETL Implementation & Design, Oracle RDBMS, DB, Column-oriented DBMS, Database Triggers, Stored Procedure, Database Modeling, Management, Yacc, Analytical Thinking, Master Data, Data Aggregation, Reports, Modeling, Debugging, Code Architecture, Complex Data Analysis, Data Quality Analysis, Triggers, Relational Database Services (RDS), Relational Database Design, Relational Data Mapping, Query Optimization, Database Table Optimization, Data Architecture, Database Optimization, Data Analysis, Data Modeling, Reporting, Business Analysis, ISAM, Shell Scripting, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Python, Node.js, Teradata Databases, Teradata, Test-driven Development (TDD), NoSQL, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Project Management, Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), PostgreSQL, MySQL, Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), Jakarta Server Pages (JSP), Web Architecture, API Architecture, Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, Business Intelligence (BI), Microsoft Excel, Data Warehouse Design, Data Warehousing, PHP, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL Server 2014, Microsoft SQL Server, ETL, IBM Db2, Oracle SQL, Oracle, Oracle PL/SQL, SQL Architecture, Database Management Systems (DBMS), SQL Triggers, Database Transactions, Relational Databases, SQL Stored Procedures, Database Architecture, Database Design, Databases, PL/SQL, C, Data Profiling, Data Reporting, JavaScript, HTML, Fortran, CSS, Crystal, COBOL, C#, C++, BASIC, Assembly, Active Server Pages (ASP), APL, Architecture, Financial Reporting Dashboards, Financial Reporting, CSV File Processing, Database Development, Consulting, Oracle SQL Data Modeler, SQL Server 2017, Database Performance, Database Schema Design, Waterfall Methodology, Agile, SQL, Linux, Windows, Unix, .NET, Mainframe, Win32, Borland C, Pro*C, SQL Server 2010, JSON, Swing, ANSI SQL, ANSI C, Data Validation
Programmer | Developer | Designer
2002 - 2020
The PIASC
- Redesigned their database and communication with the database for speed and accuracy.
- Sped up many of their reports and batch processes, for instance, changed their accounting run from 25 hours to less than an hour.
- Took over and managed their web project to get the site online and fully integrated with their desktop applications, fixing security flaws in the process.
- Automated many manual functions so that on the programming side, fewer team members were needed, and on the customer representative side, more time could be spent with customers.
Technologies: .NET, Borland C, C++, C#, Oracle, SQL Server 2017, Windows, HTML, CSS, ASPX, PL/SQL, Kofax, Google, Crystal Reports, Excel VBA, SQL, Data Reporting, Data Profiling, Data Analytics, C, Databases, Database Design, Database Architecture, SQL Stored Procedures, T-SQL (Transact-SQL), Relational Databases, Database Transactions, SQL Triggers, Database Management Systems (DBMS), SQL Architecture, Oracle PL/SQL, Oracle SQL, ETL, Microsoft SQL Server, Data Warehousing, Data Warehouse Design, Microsoft Excel, Business Intelligence (BI), Visual Basic, API Architecture, Web Architecture, Project Management, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Business Analysis, Reporting, Data Modeling, Data Analysis, Data Architecture, Database Optimization, Database Table Optimization, Query Optimization, Relational Data Mapping, Relational Database Design, Triggers, Data Quality Analysis, Complex Data Analysis, Code Architecture, Debugging, Modeling, Reports, Data Aggregation, Master Data, Analytical Thinking, Management, Database Modeling, Stored Procedure, Database Triggers, Column-oriented DBMS, DB, Oracle RDBMS, Crystal, ETL Implementation & Design, Oracle 12c, APIs, Data Engineering, Database Analytics, REST, Software QA, Win32, Data, REST APIs, RESTful Development, SDKs, Business Logic, Business Rules, Business Process Analysis, Analysis, ETL Development, BI Reporting, Performance Tuning, Enterprise, Data Cleansing, Data Cleaning, Quality Assurance (QA), Financial Reporting Dashboards, Financial Reporting, CSV File Processing, Database Development, Consulting, Oracle SQL Data Modeler, Database Performance, Database Schema Design, Agile, Waterfall Methodology, SQL Server 2010, Dashboards, SQL Server 2016, ANSI SQL, ANSI C, ANSI X12, ANSI X.12, Data Validation
Programmer | Developer | Designer
2007 - 2017
Friar Tux Shop
- Enhanced the website and integrated it with other systems.
- Set up an internal information website to help with inventory management and processing.
- Enhanced their internal flow, including adding specialty print drivers for tag printers.
Technologies: SQL Server 2015, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), T-SQL (Transact-SQL), Crystal Reports, HTML, VBScript, Active Server Pages (ASP), Java, SQL, Data Reporting, Data Analytics, C, Windows, Databases, Database Design, Database Architecture, SQL Stored Procedures, Relational Databases, Database Transactions, Database Management Systems (DBMS), SQL Architecture, ETL, JavaScript, SQL Server 2014, Microsoft Excel, Business Intelligence (BI), Visual Basic, Web Architecture, Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), .NET, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Business Analysis, Reporting, Data Modeling, Data Analysis, Data Architecture, Query Optimization, Relational Data Mapping, Relational Database Design, Code Architecture, Debugging, Reports, Data Aggregation, Analytical Thinking, Database Modeling, Stored Procedure, Column-oriented DBMS, DB, REST, Software QA, SSRS Reports, Win32, BASIC, Data, REST APIs, RESTful Development, SDKs, Business Logic, Business Rules, Business Process Analysis, Analysis, BI Reporting, Quality Assurance (QA), Consulting, SQL Server 2017, Waterfall Methodology, SQL Server 2010, ANSI SQL
Programmer
2001 - 2016
Delta Dental Plans Association
- Sped up some processes as much as 1600x by reworking the algorithms, and by adding code to decide on the best algorithm for a given job.
- Added a website for employers to manage employee eligibility.
- Added EDI processing so that the system could read transactions in a number of formats.
- Enhanced their reporting system, so that it could generate a broader range of reports more quickly, and replaced two pages of controls on a complicated report generator to a field that took an English description of what was needed.
Technologies: AS/400, C, Pro*C, RPGLE, iSeries, Crystal Reports, Visual Basic, Java, Windows, Enterprise Java Beans (EJB), Jakarta Server Pages (JSP), XML, Microsoft Access, HTML, JavaScript, Visio, UML, SharePoint, Oracle, Data Reporting, Data Profiling, PL/SQL, Databases, Database Design, Database Architecture, SQL Stored Procedures, Relational Databases, Database Transactions, SQL Triggers, Database Management Systems (DBMS), SQL Architecture, IBM Db2, ETL, Data Warehousing, Data Warehouse Design, Business Intelligence (BI), Web Architecture, Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Reporting, Data Modeling, Data Analysis, Data Architecture, Database Optimization, Database Table Optimization, Query Optimization, Relational Data Mapping, Relational Database Design, Triggers, Data Quality Analysis, Complex Data Analysis, Code Architecture, Debugging, Modeling, Reports, Data Aggregation, Master Data, Analytical Thinking, Database Modeling, Stored Procedure, Database Triggers, Column-oriented DBMS, DB, Crystal, ETL Implementation & Design, Oracle 12c, APIs, Database Analytics, REST, Mainframe, Software QA, Win32, BASIC, Data, REST APIs, RESTful Development, SDKs, Business Logic, Business Rules, Business Process Analysis, Analysis, ETL Development, BI Reporting, Performance Tuning, Enterprise, Data Cleansing, Data Cleaning, Quality Assurance (QA), Financial Reporting, CSV File Processing, Database Development, Consulting, Database Performance, Waterfall Methodology, ANSI SQL, ANSI C, ANSI X12, ANSI X.12, Data Validation
Programmer
2006 - 2008
Kofax
- Ported their SQL Server T-SQL code to run on all variants of Oracle's PL/SQL, including the capability for the Kofax system to act as a DBA in the target environment.
- Ported their SQL Server T-SQL code to run on all variants of IBM's DB/2, including the capability for the Kofax system to act as a DBA in the target environment.
- Reengineered their SQL Server T-SQL code, to act much faster, and to do its own DBA work to make the database structure much faster.
Technologies: Visual Basic, C#, .NET, C++, T-SQL (Transact-SQL), SQL Server 2010, Oracle, PL/SQL, Unix, Linux, Windows, IBM z/OS, SQL, Databases, Database Design, Database Architecture, SQL Stored Procedures, Relational Databases, Database Transactions, Database Management Systems (DBMS), SQL Architecture, Oracle PL/SQL, Oracle SQL, IBM Db2, Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server 2014, Business Intelligence (BI), Database Optimization, Query Optimization, Relational Data Mapping, Data Quality Analysis, Code Architecture, Debugging, Analytical Thinking, Stored Procedure, Column-oriented DBMS, DB, Oracle RDBMS, ETL Implementation & Design, Oracle 12c, Kofax, Mainframe, Software QA, Win32, Data, SDKs, Business Logic, Business Rules, ETL Development, Performance Tuning, Data Cleansing, Data Cleaning, Quality Assurance (QA), Database Development, Database Performance, Agile, Waterfall Methodology, ANSI SQL, Data Validation
QA | Programmer
2006 - 2006
DIRECTV
- Added channel-hopping and compression-related features so that older satellites could be retired without replacement.
- Found a number of bugs and documented them as a QA tech. Switched to a programmer role and fixed those that had not yet been fixed.
- Added an extension to the file system so that rolling-buffer files could be used with raw open, read, write, tell, seek, and close calls.
Technologies: C, C++, Java, Java Native Interface (JNI), XML, Shell Scripting, Linux, HTML, SOAP, UML, Relational Databases, API Architecture, NoSQL, Code Architecture, Debugging, Analytical Thinking, APIs, REST, Software QA, Data, REST APIs, RESTful Development, Business Logic, Business Rules, Quality Assurance (QA), Consulting, ANSI C
Writer
1972 - 1973
Byte Magazine
- Wrote published articles on software and hardware topics.
- Republished some of my articles in the best of issues.
- Responded to letters to the editors' items on occasion.
Technologies: Electronics, Freelance Programming, Technical Writing
Experience
JCB™ English and JCB Robotics
A knowledge base and AI that can learn, understand, and make intelligent decisions. Additionally, JCB Robotics can reject a command based on safety or morality grounds. This patent can be searched on USPTO.gov.
Education
2008 - 2011
PhD in Computer Science and Software Engineering
Auburn University - Auburn, AL, United States
2006 - 2008
Master of Science Degree in Computer Science
University of Illinois - Springfield, IL, United States
2004 - 2006
Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Science and Technology
Thomas Edison State College - Trenton, NJ, United States
1973 - 1977
Coursework in Electrical Engineering
University of California - Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA, United States
Certifications
APRIL 2019 - PRESENT
Kofax Capture
Kofax
Skills
Libraries/APIs
POSIX, ASPX, Node.js, REST APIs
Tools
Oracle SQL Data Modeler, Borland C, Crystal Reports, Visio, Microsoft Word, JCL, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Cron, Toad
Languages
APL, Assembly, C, C++, C#, Fortran, HTML, Java, JavaScript, PHP, PL/I, SQL, Crystal, Stored Procedure, Embedded C, Embedded C++, T-SQL (Transact-SQL), ANSI C, Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic, COBOL, CSS, Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), XML, Pascal, Prolog, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Python, BASIC, Excel VBA, VBScript, Pro*C, RPGLE, UML, VB, VB.NET, Visual Basic 6 (VB6)
Paradigms
Management, ETL, Database Design, ETL Implementation & Design, Database Development, Agile, Business Intelligence (BI), API Architecture, Web Architecture, Acceptance Test-driven Development (ATDD), REST, Test-driven Development (TDD), RESTful Development, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA)
Platforms
Linux, Windows, Oracle, AS/400, IBM z/OS, Embedded Linux, KornShell, Unix, Win32, SharePoint, Web
Storage
IBM Db2, PL/SQL, Databases, Microsoft SQL Server, Database Architecture, Database Modeling, SQL Server 2014, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL Stored Procedures, Relational Databases, Database Triggers, Database Transactions, SQL Triggers, Database Management Systems (DBMS), Column-oriented DBMS, SQL Architecture, Oracle PL/SQL, Oracle 12c, Oracle SQL, DB, Oracle RDBMS, SQL Server 2017, Database Performance, SQL Server 2010, SQL Server 2016, ANSI SQL, Data Validation, MySQL, PostgreSQL, JSON, Teradata, Teradata Databases, NoSQL, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), Oracle DBA
Frameworks
Jakarta Server Pages (JSP), Swing, .NET, Hibernate
Industry Expertise
Project Management
Other
Shell Scripting, ISAM, Yacc, Business Analysis, Reporting, Data Modeling, Data Analysis, Data Architecture, Database Optimization, Database Table Optimization, Query Optimization, Relational Data Mapping, Relational Database Design, Relational Database Services (RDS), Triggers, Data Reporting, Data Quality Analysis, Data Analytics, Complex Data Analysis, Code Architecture, Debugging, Modeling, Reports, Data Aggregation, Data Profiling, Master Data, Analytical Thinking, Data, SDKs, Business Logic, Business Rules, Business Process Analysis, Analysis, ETL Development, BI Reporting, Indexing, Performance Tuning, Data Cleansing, Data Cleaning, Architecture, CSV File Processing, Consulting, Database Schema Design, Waterfall Methodology, Technical Instruction, SQL Server 2015, iSeries, Java Native Interface (JNI), Freelance Programming, Kofax, Data Migration, Writing & Editing, Lecturing, Data Warehousing, APIs, Data Warehouse Design, Data Engineering, Database Analytics, Data Visualization, Analytics, Enterprise, Big Data, Quality Assurance (QA), Financial Reporting Dashboards, Financial Reporting, SOAP, Dashboards, ANSI X12, ANSI X.12, Enterprise Java Beans (EJB), PDF, Templates, Technical Writing, Software QA, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Embedded Systems, Mainframe, SSRS Reports, Google, SMTP, SSH, SSL, TV, User Interface (UI), UDP, Use Cases, UTF-8, Utilities, UNIX Utilities, Web UI, Technology, Electronics
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