Cameron: "I'm sick of talking about the future." Joe: "This future can be different." (Halt and Catch Fire)
My personal career mission is to be part of an ambitious team to create great software products that improve people's lives.
I worked for a few different companies over the years. They belong to enterprise software, e-commerce, and general SaaS companies. I originally started my career as a backend developer in Silicon Valley. I've done mobile, desktop, and Web app and Web service development, both backend and frontend, for the last several years. My career goal is to be part of an ambitious team to create great software products that help people live better lives.
Starfish was specializing in "sync" technologies (for sync'ing data across different services and devices). I worked on Java-based web template engine (for HTML and WML) and white-labeled productivity apps (email, calendar, notes, etc.), which were integrated into third-party online portals.
Brio Software was one of the leading BI firms at the time. I worked on the multi-year web app project using C++, Java and J2EE, and CORBA technologies for three years. The project's goal was to create a web-based client (aka "thin client") based on the existing desktop BI applications.
PeopleSoft was an enterprise sofware company specializing in human resources apps. I was part of the core team responsible for building the web app framework and infrastructure for other app divisions. The framework was mainly written in C++ for the backend and HTML/Javascript for the frontend.
I briefly worked at an intellectual property law firm ("BSTZ") as a registered patent agent. I prosecuted patent applications before the USPTO on behalf of clients such as Apple and Sun Microsystems. My area of specialty was computers and software, and business methods.
MarketTools was a cloud-based survey company providing solutions to marketers and other businesses. I was part of a small team which built and maintained online survey tools. We also provided technical help to the marketing and support personnels. The technologies were mostly core Java and RDBMs (SQL, ORM).
I worked at Yahoo!'s Small Business division for three years, which included "Yahoo Store" (cloud-based e-commerce platform), until it was moved to India. I worked on a number of different projects, ranging from the automatic keyword tool (for customers' SEO) and the rule engine (e.g. for crosssell/upsell business rules) to Hadoop-based internal metrics and analytics dashboard and the shopping cart/checkout service (PHP, MySQL).
Opensoft was in online printing business. I worked on a number of different projects mostly like an in-house contractor, including Android app (Java) and computer vision projects (OpenCV/C++). I also briefly worked on a HoloLens app project (Unity/C#). For the Android app, the backend technology used was ASP.Net Core (with EF Core/DynamoDB). The backend REST web service was deployed to AWS EC2 in Docker.
I've worked on a number of different projects for the last several years, which belong to roughly 4 categories: Web apps (SaaS), Android, Windows, and "the rest" (AR/VR, voice UI, AI/ML intelligent apps). For backend (mobile and Web), initially Google App Engine was used. The GAE apps were mainly written in J2EE (JSP/Servlets, JPA, etc.) using Google Cloud technologies like DataStore and TaskQueue. Now, I am more into "serverless" backend development (e.g., AWS Lambda, DynamoDB) using Node.js/Typescript, Java, and .Net Core/C#. In the early days, the frontend for web apps was mostly developed using standard HTML5/CSS3, JavaScript/ES6, jQuery, and Bootstrap. I now use more advanced SPA technologies like Angular/Ionic. I also spent a few years building Android apps (phone, tablet, Google Glass) and "universal apps" on Windows 10/UWP (desktop, mobile, HoloLens).
1984 ~ 1988, B.A. in Electronics Engineering
1988 ~ 1990, M.S. in Physics
1990 ~ 1995, Ph.D. in Physics
Some of the reusable Angular libraries and simple apps I'm currently working on:
I'm a big fan of "voice UI". I have a couple of ongoing projects based on voice SDKs from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Some of the Alexa Skills I developed recently (deployed to AWS Lambda):
I've recently built a number of to-do list app prototypes using Angular/Ionic:
Reinventing email!! This project is in its early stage, and a demo/prototype will be made available soon.
I've always worked on my own software "projects" ever since I learned how to program. I was doing this when I was in school, and I was doing this even when my daytime job was software development. I remember writing a "molecular viewer" on X-Window when X-Window came out first. It was around 1990. (Does anybody remember Athena toolkit? The then-de-facto-standard Motif toolkit was pretty expensive, and I had to opt for free Athena (from MIT/X-Consortium).) I remember working on ANN-based AI gobot (which I called "DummyGo" because it didn't play go very well :)). This was the mid to late 1990's (MFC/C++). It predates now-famous AlphaGo by almost 2 decades. And, it was well before the deep learning revolution. I also remember watching the Grand Challenge competition (DARPA) in the Mojave Desert (near Primm, Nevada). I was working on autonomous vehicle software at the time (in the early 2000's). It was years before the current "self-driving car" craze. I was just too early for a lot of things.
Here are some of my past "projects". I can almost say that I've probably written more code than anybody currently alive. :) Writing a lot of code does not necessarily make you a better programmer. Many of the software listed here may not even be that "impressive" (as a portfolio). I am putting this on my website because it shows my love for software development.
In the early 2010's, I worked on a massive code generation project. I created a number of web apps using this code generator several years ago, many of which may still be useful at this point.
I spent quite a bit of time on Android app development a few years ago.
I recently wrote a couple of very simple Android apps:
I created a new kind of JSON parser library, and a universal REST web service client, several years ago:
I spent a few years working on Windows apps, initially "universal" apps on Windows 8 and then UWP apps on Windows 10.
Last year, I worked on a few .Net Core projects. For example, the following two web apps were written in .Net Core/C# (DynamoDB):
A computer vision tool project I started a couple of years ago:
And, some small OpenCV projects on Windows:
I spent a few years learning and developing AR/VR/MR and wearables apps. (MR stands for mixed reality.) I was mostly focusing on Google Glass and HoloLens. Google Glass apps were primarily based on Android (or, Web-based), and I mainly used Unity3D/C# for HoloLens app development (on UWP/Windows 10). I also briefly worked on Microsoft Band (for fitness apps). None of these apps/prototypes are publicly available at this point.
I'm more of a backend developer than frontend developer.
My "portfolio" listed here is a bit frontend-centric.
This is mainly because I've been learning/doing more frontend development recently.
It is also partly because frontend- and UI-focused apps are generally more presentable.
(Some of my more backend-centric apps are available
in the Past Projects section.)
I recently spent some time building my resume online using Angular.
This very website, although simple, is a result of some techniques I developed (e.g., to speed up initial loading, etc.).
I also started using my blogging app NgBlog for my own blog.
I've recently built a number of to-do list app prototypes ("MVPs") using Angular/Ionic. The goal is to create a unified task management system for both individuals and enterprises. A few prototypes are still publicly available online:
I published a number of Alexa Skills to Amazon Appstore a few months ago. Two of the more elaborate Alexa Skills:
I developed quite a few UWP (Windows 10) apps a few years ago, in a wide range of motifs. I published some of them to Windows Store. App list (tbd)
My primary interests in Android stemmed from my desire to develop apps on Android TV and Google Glass. App list (tbd)
Although it doesn't exactly belong to "portfolio", I recently started creating "tutorial repos" on GitLab. These can be useful for developers new to certain technologies. tbd
Reinventing the email!! (Again. :)) This project is in its very early stage, and a demo/prototype will be made available soon. Please let me know if you are interested in hearing more about this project. tbd
I went through a phase in which I considered myself an "inventor" some years ago. My inventions ranged from safety razors and clothes hangers to computer-related invetions (mostly software). I was granted 4 U.S. patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but I eventually gave up on this effort. (I ended up abandoning many pending patent applications. It was just too time-consuming for relatively small reward/ROI.)
I spend most of the day in front of computers, virtually every day. When I'm not working, I enjoy physical activities and exercises. I used to be an avid cyclist. (I still ride on a daily basis, although not as much as before.) I've done many centuries. I generally enjoy long distance and hills (one or the other, but not both at the same time :)). I also tried some mountain biking.
I played tennis, and table tennis, for many years. I did some skiing, and more recently snowboarding.
I am a movie buff. I collected over a thousand DVDs and Blurays over the years. Although I don't have much time to go to the movies these days, I still enjoy watching movies online from time to time. I recently watched AMC series, Halt and Catch Fire, on Netflix and I thought it was very interesting.
I've had many personal websites over the years, but only a few of them are still online at this point:
I am not really a big user of social sites like Facebook or LinkedIn. But, I do have accounts on developer sites like GitHub and StackOverflow. Recently, I started moving all my personal project repos from GitHub (@harrywye), BitBucket, and Visual Studio Team Services to GitLab.
Also, I occasionally use Twitter:
I have written quite a bit of code over the years, both for my employers and for personal projects.
I recently migrated all my personal projects to GitLab. Some are public (open-source) and some are not. If you are interested in viewing any of my private projects, please let me know with your GitLab account. I'll try to add your account as a guest. GitLab projects are organized into groups. It's best for you to pick a group which you are interested in seeing code samples for rather than pick a particular project (which I may not be able to share). All my related projects (in terms of technologies used, or problem domains, etc.) are organized into separate groups.
"You don't need a job, Finch. You need a purpose" -John Reese (Person of Interest)
Thanks for taking the time to check out my resume website. Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or comments.
Thanks again for visiting!