This is what we do

In a sentence, I code PHP web apps...

Since 2003, I have coded and improved upon the browser based game NinjaWars.net as a personal project, have been professionally employed building customized web applications, working with a PHP/MySQL based CMS for the last 4 years, and have been designing websites in html/css long before that.

For me, security is paramount. I've seen too many sites burned by bad php coding practices and under attack by sql-injection as a result. I've done a lot of security cleanup work on sites that were coded by programmers without any oversight that resulted in compromised database data and a site that -looked- fine but was full of security holes. And generally one of the first things that I do with a site is I review it's password security for the presence of strong security, that's frequently another pain point with the standard php website that leads to problem. I usually program in an Object Oriented approach, though I have recently been exploring the benefits of Functional Programming as a simpler and faster alternative in some cases. I'm flexible to working in a variety of coding styles, of course.

I'm capable when it comes to Ajax-like functionality that can't be accomplished elegantly via PHP alone, though I wouldn't call myself a javascript guru mainly because I prefer to do progressive enhancement, accomplishing all the basic functionality on the server side in php, and then enhancing the user interface appropriately with javascript. It is actually rare that there is functionality that I can't create server-side before styling it more with javascript. I am fond of the great development speed and simplicity that the jQuery framework provides, so I especially enjoy working on sites using jQuery.

Overall I enjoy the artistic side to creating good website design and the challenge of writing solid and secure PHP code as a website's foundation.