Ya I mostly do php/mysql for people… I used to be a developer for Gentoo and have been programming/running *nix systems for the last 16 years. I started programming with qbasic when I was a kid. I mostly did Cisco router/switch configuration for my employer before my accident and was put in an on-site consultant position for the superintendent of schools for a few years. I mostly worked with linux servers and setup a IDS network at all the schools. We were all the schools and government buildings isp. We piped out internet from our oc48 to all the schools. After that I built networks for university’s from central California to San Diego.
Long story short if I went back to college the only reason would be to learn something not in the realm of information technology or to teach, The problem I face is that I can’t move my arms very well or fingers at all. I type with either speech recognition or with an on-screen keyboard and am fairly slow because I use a mouth joystick “http://www.quadjoy.com/ “ with sip and puff for my right and left click. I’m just so slow on the computer now that I can’t use my fingers and barely use my arm that it seems so slow to do anything for work. This took me a little over an hour to type… From: bob quinn [mailto:kult...@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 1:38 PM To: Billy Lang; wheelch...@aol.com Cc: da...@immortaldesigns.co; quad-list@eskimo.com Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Work question.... <Apologies upfront that this is so long-winded, but I hope it helps you to easily learn some things I learned the hard way> With your tech/programming/net-security background, I'd recommend that you learn "back-end" (server-side) web development. Most computer, tablet and mobile based web-browser apps are all dynamically generated by server-side code, frameworks and databases, which customize page generation according to the browser/user request, and the platform to display it on. Most of the frameworks have network security features built-in, these days too, and hosting sites do the systems security, and allow you to do some configuration when necessary, too (e.g., they provide https, ftps, and site or folder-level .htaccess support. For any web development --including either front-end/static or backend/dynamic pages-- it helps to be familiar with both HTML and CSS. That should be your starting point for getting into any kind of web design or development. And force yourself to write/type the code from scratch, rather than using code generated by tools like Adobe's Dreamweaver. By typing the code, you WILL learn it better and faster (and write MUCH cleaner, more-readable code than any generator can). Javascript is used often too, but you can get away without learning a lot if you learn to use the many (free and open) .js libraries The Java language is used in many large enterprises, so there are usually many jobs available for this. I learned it first as I started teaching web-development to myself (for a project I wanted to do), but I found it very restrictive, and tedious. To do even simple things, you need to jump through hoops. More importantly for me, it has very high overhead on the server, the hosting services are more expensive, and Java applets loaded WAY too slowly in the browsers. I didn't like it at all. Next, I learned PHP. It was liberating, since it was so easy to do so many things (and its syntax was based on the C language, in which I was fluent). Most PHP applications use SQL (MySQL or Postgre) to access and update databases. There were also well-established application frameworks (also known as "Content Management Systems", or CMS), like Wordpress, that also have plug-in "widgets" available (which are like mini-applications, like a calendar, advertising windows, calculator, or whatever). With Wordpress, it is possible to do a whole lot, without knowing a lot of PHP. PHP and WordPress (and MySQL, the database) are all free and available from most web-hosting sites, and VERY popular among web-designers that have little programming experience. I did a number of PHP-based projects for myself, websites for friends (for free), and even some contract work for a development house a friend runs. I liked it, though I ran into issues where the PHP code was embedded in pages. It made them difficult to make changes/updates, especially in large websites. Last year I went to a (free) Python meetup tutorial nearby, and someone said to me, "When PHP programmers grow up, they become Python programmers." I cornered the guy and asked why, and he pointed out how most large PHP-based projects are difficult to maintain when updates are needed ...mainly because PHP is hard-coded within pages. I did a few stand-alone (non-web) applications and some network (ftp) applications with Python, and I was amazed how quick and easy it is to do almost anything. The syntax was different, but easy to learn, and had almost all the constructs (like if...else, for loops, etc.) as PHP. To generate web-pages, I chose to learn how to use the Django framework and templating system. I might have simply used a template system, like Jinja, by itself to generate pages, butI chose Django to use all its plugins (widgets), especially for the secure logins and database modeling it provides. BEST of all, it supports a separation of code from the pages, and page styling/presentation. In common computer science parlance, it supports a MVC (Model-View-Controller) project architecture "pattern." There are many tutorials for learning Django, and they all say how easily and quickly it is to develop robust and responsive web applications with it. Personally, it took a little time, and a few tutorials, for me to wrap my brain around the process and its mechanics. Now that I have, I appreciate what's involved and the advantages it provides for building large applications with complex databases (it has its own, relatively simple database query syntax, which generates appropriate SQL commands, depending which SQL engine you are using (PostgreSQL is recommended over MySQL or SQLlite). So, bottom line, I'd recommend learning Python (maybe with Jinja, to generate pages), then SQL, and eventually Django. Best way to learn is in a course: There are LOTS of free courses available online from the likes of MIT, Harvard, and Stanford (see http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses, for example). Most intro to computing courses these days use Python, and some do SQL too, though you'll need a more comprehensive database course to *really* learn it (you don't always need to know it all, but there are times you'll realize you need to know more than you do ...I keep learning). I haven't come across any free Django classes, but there are tutorials and books (for latest stable version, 1.5). As for actually writing/typing code in a text editor, it sounds like you could use the hunt-and-peck, one finger typing method I use (I am a C5/C6 incomplete quad, with arm control, but no triceps or hand function). I'm a fraction as fast as my touch-typing days, before my accident, but I'm still faster than most of my non-techy friends! :) I do use Dragon Dictate when I'm writing lots of text, but never tried it to write code. Should work fine with practice, I'm sure. I mostly hate using a wired headset, and have had trouble getting a wireless (bluetooth) headset to work reliably/consistently. Anyway, I hope that helps answer your question. One thing I didn't mention about doing web application development is that there are lots of jobs out there --contract, part-time, or full-time-- and many allow you to work mostly or entirely from home. There are more that use PHP, than Python, but that is slowly changing. It is nice to meet face-to-face, once in a while too, though using Skype or Facetime helps a lot. I admit, I do still miss the office environs and camaraderie, sometimes. For face-to-face socializing, I attend lots of meetup.com tech group meetings that (lucky for me) are held not too far away. Good Luck, bob _____ From: Billy Lang <blan...@verizon.net <mailto:blan...@verizon.net> > To: "wheelch...@aol.com <mailto:wheelch...@aol.com> " <wheelch...@aol.com <mailto:wheelch...@aol.com> > Cc: "da...@immortaldesigns.co <mailto:da...@immortaldesigns.co> " <da...@immortaldesigns.co <mailto:da...@immortaldesigns.co> >; "quad-list@eskimo.com <mailto:quad-list@eskimo.com> " <quad-list@eskimo.com <mailto:quad-list@eskimo.com> > Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 12:07 PM Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Work question.... Online courses towards a will open up many opportunities. Add voice recognition to your tech inventory (if u have not already done so). Inventory of jobs by quads that I know personally include psychologists, psychiatrist, published novelists, poetess, physiatrists (2), software and application programmers, web developers et.al. Danny, pick something that you love to do. Although you may not be physically capable you can still provide positively to the endeavor by documenting, advertising or teaching others. Just don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do! Sent from Billy Lang's iPad On Sep 21, 2013, at 8:57, wheelch...@aol.com <mailto:wheelch...@aol.com> wrote: Do you have any degrees, certifications? Are you willing to go back to school for additional school or training? Best Wishes In a message dated 9/21/2013 5:22:14 A.M. Central Daylight Time, da...@immortaldesigns.co <mailto:da...@immortaldesigns.co> writes: I’m technically a c2 incomplete asymmetrical quadriplegic and wondering if you guys could give me ideas work I’m able to do? I can move my right arm only a little up to my wrist, my bicep is strong but my tricep is weak so I can barely move my arm since extending my arm takes effort and my arm will start curling in eventually, get stuck and I need assistance extending it again. My left arm is completely paralyzed… I can use a computer with the use of a mouth joystick called a quadjoy and onscreen keyboard. I also have a trach atm… The reason I mentioned what function I have was purely to help you with recommendations. Before my accident I was a network security engineer and computer programmer. I’m good with math, technology, science and problem solving. Thanks in advance for your suggestions and feedback -Danny
