Zane Ashby

Web and Software Developer, IT generalist

About

I've been building software and websites as a full stack developer for over 15 years, using a range of languages and platforms. My specialty is in architecting and building software and automation using Open Source/Free Software components.

My commercial experience is foremost in web development. On top of this, work on mobile apps (native iOS and Android), back-office software and automation, as well as a multitude of unreleased side-projects (with mostly older work released on GitHub). I'm proficient in many compiled languages (e.g. C, C++, Rust); along with many scripting languages (e.g. PHP, Python, Scheme) offering a good contrast and ability to use the right tool for the job.

I love learning about new domains, and I keep an eye on emerging and trending technology. Like many others I am looking carefully into AI and machine learning to expand software abilities, and have experience running many freely available models on Linux (both in ROCM and CUDA environments) and using these in practical applications.

I'm also very passionate about all things creative, and dabble in design, real-time graphics, 3D, and VFX projects when I can.

Skills and Technologies

(Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, but is a representation of skills and technologies that I have used in production)

• General
• Open Source
• Strong written language
• Operating Systems
• Linux
• Debian
• Ubuntu
• NixOS
• Windows
• Microsoft
• Win32 API
• .NET
• C#
• T-SQL
• Cloud
• Amazon Web Services
• DigitalOcean
• Linode
• Software Development
• Git
• GitLab CI/CD
• JIRA
• Redmine
• Agile
• Kanban
• Scrum
• Languages
• C
• C++
• Rust
• PHP
• JavaScript
• Python
• Ruby
• C#
• Common Lisp
• Emacs Lisp
• Scheme
• Infrastructure as Code
• Ansible
• Docker
• Nix
• Vagrant
• Terraform
• Web Servers
• Apache
• Nginx
• Backend
• Memcached
• Redis
• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• SQLite
• RabbitMQ
• Web Development
• PHP
• JavaScript
• HTML
• CSS
• SCSS
• Silverstripe
• Symfony
• Jekyll
• Mobile Applications
• Android
• iOS
• Objective-C
• Java
• Real-time Graphics / Creative
• OpenGL
• OpenGL ES
• Blender
• Stable Diffusion
• ComfyUI

Formal Education

• Tairāwhiti Polytechnic (now Eastern Institute of Technology)

  National Diploma in ICT Level 5, Computing

  2009 – 2011

Notable Projects

• HashTWM

  The first automatic tiling window manager for the Windows operating system, as well as being one of my first (and poorly written) C projects. Uses the classic Win32 API to manipulate window frames and efficiently lay them out on screen. Inspired by some well-known tiling window managers on Linux such as dwm and Xmonad. Several hundred "stars" on GitHub and some large users. I previously had plans to rewrite this into a small core that handles layout logic, while allowing for platform "drivers", including a dummy driver, making HashTWM testable in the future. Available on Github.

  • C
  • Win32 API
• 

  TRMUD

  A MUD-style text environment for world-building and experimenting with Large Language Model based NPCs. Also used as a "mind palace". Written in Common Lisp, and is used via CLI or IRC interfaces (with an optional custom web client). The world exists as a Lisp structure and is self-modifying. Navigation of items happens by moving them around this structure, with Dijkstra shortest-path-finding and other methods of walking the tree. Supports timers, hooks, a built-in web server, a map with Graphviz output, and an API for objects to use (some of this located in the world itself).

  • Common Lisp
  • IRC
  • Ollama
  • Graphviz
  • Parenscript
  • Websockets
• 

  TableUI

  A tablet focused workspace, based on interactive "paper" like modules and multitouch. Features an embedded fantasy CPU, with a small assembly like language. The entire workspace can be serialised and deserialised on demand.

  • C
  • SDL
  • OpenAL
  • OpenGL
• 

  Unnamed Game

  A PS1-inspired-and-styled bullet hell, featuring multiple vehicles and modes of transport. Gameplay modifiers as pickups. Randomisation via seeded RNG.

  • C++
  • SDL
  • OpenAL
  • OpenGL
  • ODE Physics
  • Entity Component System
  • Blender
  • ComfyUI

• Unnamed VR Experiment

  A self-hostable VR platform for networked worlds. A distributed scene-graph where bots are a feature, not a bug :)

  • C
  • C++
  • Sockets
  • SDL
  • OpenAL
  • OpenGL
  • OpenVR
  • ODE Physics
  • SQLite
  • OSC
  • Leap Motion
  • Nuklear UI
  • Blender