Herb Benton: talents and skills …
Recently I was asked to fill out the following Skills Assessment. I thought this would be a great way to rate my skills, my talents and myself. In addition, this should give you the opportunity to see what my strengths are.
Thank you for the interest in my abilities,
Herb Benton
Skills Assessment
Please rate your skill level or proficiency in the following tasks or programs on a scale from 1 to 10. 1 indicates absolutely no skill or proficiency for the task and 10 indicates expert skill or proficiency for the task. Please support your rating with comments. This assessment is intended to help us determine your strengths as well as highlight opportunities for acquiring additional skills.
Databases
1. Building database tables using MS SQL or MySQL
Rating: 8 for MS SQL, I have no experience with MySQL.
Comments: I am able to create tables and perform normalization on them (1st, 2nd, and 3rd normalization).
2. Building database views using MS SQL Server
Rating: 1
Comments: I have never created a view using T-SQL.
3. Building stored procedures using MS SQL Server
Rating: 5-6
Comments: I have created stored procedures, called them from code, have even created stored procedures within code and on exiting of an application destroyed the stored procedures. It does take me some time to put together the stored procedure and generally, I use a reference book as a guide. After creating one or two and getting back into the swing of things I will set the book aside, but I will keep the reference book close.
4. Writing SQL Queries to return data from a database
Rating: 5-6
Comments: My comments on this question are the same as for the previous question. I just have not had much experience with this area. Usually when creating an application I will create the procedures/queries and then return to coding not needing to write any more queries for a while. However, I cannot think of anytime I was not able to create the queries needed to obtain the desired results. Some times, writing a query takes longer than other times, but I have always accomplished my goal.
5. Writing SQL Queries to update data in a database
Rating: 5-6
Comments: Again, my comments would fall in the same category as for the previous question.
6. Any other database skills we should be aware of? Currently, I am scheduled to take the Database Design class at Carroll College in fall of 2007 - CSC351.
CSS
1. Build a web page containing no font tags, controlled entirely by a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)
Rating: 6-7
Comments: I have never completely created a web page with no font tags, however I am familiar with CSS and believe that this should be possible to accomplish.
2. Merge XML data with an XLT (XML Template) to produce a web page
Rating: 3-4, maybe even a 2-3
Comments: I have done this maybe twice, in class. I have only a working knowledge of XLST and would need to use my reference book(s) for the first few times through a merging.
Visual Basic with ASP
1. Using ASP to take information on a web form, build a mail message string, and sending it to an email address
Rating: 3-4
Comments: I have only once, that I can think of, created a form using old ASP to gather information. The time I used old ASP to do this was to send information to Verisign for credit card processing, retrieve a reply back from Verisign, and display the results to the user. I would need to consult my reference books to work in old ASP
2. Using Microsoft’s Active Data Objects to pull information from a database and display it in a TABLE
Rating: 3-4 for old ADO, and a 7-8 for ADO.net
Comments: I am much stronger in ADO.net than old ADO; I can pull information but would once again need to consult my reference books the first few times through the process. However, I am confident in my abilities to pull data in old ADO.
Visual Basic
1. Building stand-alone applications using VB6 or VB.net
Rating: VB6 = 3-4, VB.net = 7-8, C#.Net = 7-8
Comments: I am much stronger in .Net than old VB. I was, at my last job, upgrading a VB6 application to VB.net and even though I was not creating the application in VB6, I was required to be able to at least read and understand the code. I believe I can create an application in VB6 if needed. In VB.net or C #.net, I am completely confident in my abilities. However, I only score myself a 7-8 because I believe that I still have room to grow.
2. Reading and processing XML data using Microsoft XML components
Rating: 2-3
Comments: I have done this only once and through a web service. I am confident I can perform this task again.
3. Building COM+ components for use with web applications
Rating: 1
Comments: I have never created a COM + component.
4. Building ASP.net applications
Rating: 7-8
Comments: I have created many applications in ASP.net, mostly Intranet sites though.
5. Any other VB coding skills that we should be aware of?
Yes, I like to dabble in GDI+, DirectX and play around with Microsoft’s XNA (For developing games).
Javascript (for an example application I've wrote click here: Blackjack Application)
1. Writing javascript to validate form data
Rating: 5-6
Comments: Since the onset of .net, I have mostly used the server side for validation.
2. Writing javascript to perform a task when a button is pressed or when a form field is changed by a user
Rating: 3-4
Comments: I have done this in the past; once again, I have used mostly the server side code to perform tasks and most likely would need my reference book(s) the first few times through.
3. Writing javascript to create rollover effects
Rating: 3-4
Comments: none
4. Writing javascript to submit a form WITHOUT using a SUBMIT button
Rating: 3-4
Comments: This should be able to be done by calling the MouseOver(), or OnSelect() action of an item from a dropdown list – I’ve never had to do this in Javascript, but have using ASP.net and VB.net as the server side code.