UK programmer/developer Julian Wagstaff

My email address is
computing@julianwagstaff.com

My telephone number is
+44 (0)131 208 5373

My Skype name is
julian.wagstaff



Julian J Wagstaff
BA(Hons), MMus, PhD

VB/C#.Net and HTML/JavaScript Programmer/Developer - Edinburgh/Glasgow (Scotland, UK)


This is my programmer/developer page (Visual Basic [VB], C#.Net, SQL and HTML/JavaScript).
Click Here for my music website and here for my German-English translation website.

PLEASE NOTE: I will be entirely unavailable for new work until further notice.
I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

For around 20 years I have worked freelance as a VB (Visual Basic) and C#.Net programmer in Edinburgh, Scotland and further afield in the UK and Europe.

Key skills: Visual Basic 5, 6, VB.Net, VBA, ASP.Net, MS Access, C#.Net, SQL Server, Oracle, XML, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, T-SQL, Mirth Connect, HL7 etc. Perhaps my most significant piece of work in the IT field was the Homicide Monitor web application, on which I was the lead developer. This project was funded in 2015 by the Open Society Foundations and managed by the Igarapé Institute in Rio, Brazil. The application displays information about global homicide rates on a three-dimensional map of the world.

Download Julian Wagstaff's VB/C#/JavaScript developer CV Click here to download my updated developer CV in PDF format (opens in a new window).

My office telephone number is:
Tel. +44 (0)131 208 5373

I have undertaken contract and freelance work as a programmer (as well as a technical author and German translator) for a number of organisations over the years, notably in the finance, automation and healthcare fields. A selection of these are described below. For details of my current rates and availability please email me at the address in the top-left of this page, or call me on my office line: +44 (0)131 208 5373.

Below is a selection of just some of my previous contract and freelance roles:

Northgate Information Solutions (June 2006 - June 2007)
MS Access / VB / Oracle developer. Migration project to upgrade a major piece of database software from MS Access to Oracle for the NHS in Scotland.

Peace Research Institute, Oslo (June 2002 - Present)
Microsoft Visual Basic / VB.Net / C#.Net / ASP.net / MS Access developer for the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers. Created the largest publicly accessible database on the arms trade in the world, allowing structured access to large amounts of data collated by the Institute.

Affordable Automation, Manchester (November 2005 - Present)
Microsoft Visual Basic .Net developer on graphical user interface project for robotic storage systems.

Western General Hospital, Edinburgh (March 2004)
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 / MS Access developer on a custom database interface project. Produced a user-friendly custom interface to a bespoke Access database.

Organon Laboratories, Newhouse, Lanarkshire (March 2002 - April 2002)
Contract Visual Basic 6.0 analyst/developer with the High Throughput Screening team (pharmaceutical industry - drug discovery). Produced detailed analysis documentation on the driver environment for robotic bench devices and produced bespoke driver software for a new incubator unit, along with a "generic" driver enabling control of any bench device by the experiment scheduling software.

Scottish Widows, Edinburgh (March 2001 - June 2001)
Contract Visual Basic/SQL programmer on a mainframe-client/server migration project. Produced an interface between the new client/server environment and a legacy mainframe system using VB6 and DB2/SQL.

HRG Systems Ltd, Leith, Edinburgh (Sept 2000 - Dec 2000)
Contract programmer, analyst and project manager for small company producing software for the NHS. Access 2.0 to Access 2000 upgrade; project-managing an upsizing project from Access 2000 to SQL Server 7. Produced software in VBA for tracking objects during migration.

Motorola Manufacturing Systems, Livingston (May 2000 - June 2000)
Contract Visual Basic/Access analyst/developer on an automation project for combinatorial chemistry in the pharmaceutical industry. Implemented the user interface component of the project in VB5, linking to the robot execution engine through VBScript with an MS Access backend.

Standard Life Assurance Company, Edinburgh (Sept 1999 - April 2000)
Contract technical author and translator. Translated all business processes and requirements, produced on-line help files and training documentation in English and in German, assisted in integration and system testing.

RoboSens Ltd, Catchpell House, Leith, Edinburgh (Aug 1997 - Aug 1999)
Project manager and software developer on GUITARMASTER, a PC-based chord recognition and notation system. Implemented all rulebase, notation and GUI functions in Visual Basic 5. Handled all design and marketing tasks and oversaw entire project from first idea to saleable product.

European Market Liaison Ltd, Reading, Berks. (July 1991 - July 1995)
Telecoms company. IT and product support, small-scale manufacturing, testing, on-line help authoring, translation and office management. Implemented BS5750 quality assurance procedures.

Skills Summary

Computing Skills Summary:

  • Programming: Visual Basic 5/6, VB.net: particularly rulebases, databases, GUI's, Windows API interface, DLL and data interfaces, also RS232/COM port and hardware communication. C#.Net. Knowledge of Visual Basic 4, 16-bit API and object-oriented techniques. Experience of earlier Microsoft BASICs and assembler. Specialist in writing clear, easily maintainable code. Knowledge of VBA, particularly Microsoft Access, including Access 2000. Knowledge of relational databases including SQL Server, Oracle and some DB2 experience. Experience in XML, HTML, Javascript and web maintenance. Some mainframe exposure including JCL, Easytrieve and Cobol.
  • Analysis: Very strong analysis, problem-solving and data/knowledge assimilation skills
  • Application Design including Windows standards, application development and testing, icon design and integration. Able to produce modular applications to a specific brief.
  • Documentation: Help/user manual authoring, technical authoring, application documentation.
  • Help Authoring: Wextech Doc-to-Help authoring environment.
  • Miscellaneous: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel Graphics etc. Good understanding of machine code concepts and binary/hexadecimal arithmetic.


  • Technological/Other Skills:
  • Electronics: Knowledge of logic, transistor and audio circuits. Knowledge of robotic control interfaces and RS232. Experience in circuit construction. Some circuit design experience.
  • Telecoms: Understanding of key concepts and practices relating to line plant, line testing, switches and exchanges, records purification.
  • Languages: Fluent German and extensive knowledge of business and technical terminology. Experienced technical translator (esp. automation and automotive engineering). Some French.
  • Business and project management
  • Quality Assurance (BS5750/ISO 9000), typing (60 wpm), research skills.