Programmer in Toronto, Ontario

Paul F. Mikichak 416-962-... [email protected] • Canadian by birth, University of Toronto, B. Sc. 1973, eligible to work in the United States with a NAFTA TN1 visa. • Excels at prototyping and implementation of ad hoc solutions defined by casual discussion • Works well within teams from formal specifications under SDLC guidelines • Designed, debugged and/or participated in the development of: Compilers Operating Systems Electronic Mail Systems Accounting/Budget Systems Simulators NonStop Applications Debit/Credit Card Systems Stock Exchange Software Screen Formatters Multi Threaded Software Message Switching Systems Inventory/Distribution Systems Report Generators Point of Sale Software Fourth Generation Products HP Nonstop Tandem Expertise • Extremely fluent in TAL, C, COBOL, SCOBOL, and JAVA (working knowledge) (All learned from manuals.) • Extensive knowledge of TACL, INSPECT, PATHWAY, FUP, DDL, ENSCRIBE, SQL, and TMF • ATM/POS device protocols • BASE24 expertise • Inter-process messaging • Non-stop processes • Multi-threading • Process control • Extensive debugging of multi-process systems • Many versions of Guardian and Tandem hardware starting with TNS1 • Extensive testing, both manual and with simulators IBM/HERTZ (Oklahoma City, Contract) July 2016 to August 2016 • Resolved a BASE24 problem that had been in limbo for eleven months with five intense days in INSPECT • Testing involved repeated submission of a three transaction set: charge, charge increase, and reversal • Modified a TAL program per user requirements • Modified a C program with ENSCRIBE files per user requirements • Modified a Cobol program by adding multiple SQL Selects and Updates per user requirements • Found that the Nonstop development environment was basically unchanged after a fifteen year absence Various January 2001 to June 2016 • Monitored HP publications/manuals for changes in the Nonstop environment • Programmed simulation software in C with the Bloodshed IDE • Provided small business clients with financial analysis via spreadsheet and database software • Returned a near bankrupt Chinese restaurant to profitability • Created files of more than 100K records for a car rental agency from accounting records to claim $2M in reductions to government audit claims • Tutored private ESL students in English grammar and pronunciation • Taught ESL in South Korea, China and Syria for several years. Bottomline Technologies (Long Island, Contract) February 2000 to December 2000 • TAL and C with ENSCRIBE files • Eliminated a backlog of user requests from clients of banking software (Royal Bank of Canada and State Street Bank) • Investigated and resolved production problems • Implemented performance enhancements • Developed new facilities according to client requests • Formalized procedures for handling such requests • Tested the download functions of the new Internet version extensively Chase Manhattan Bank (Manhattan, Contract) July 1999 to December 1999 • Designed, (SDLC guidelines) the migration of processing of email questions from Online Banking users from the TANDEM platform to a KANA email server, including formatting inquiries for the KANA server, retrieving the replies from a general mailbox, and reformatting the replies, all under XPNET, the Base24 control umbrella • Responsible for data conversion and the processing of responses from the email server • After downsizing of team from four to two, supported all programs, in TAL and COBOL with ENSCRIBE files. • Tested the communications processes, which used SMTP and POP3 protocols with high volumes via a simulator running overnight • Numerous faults were discovered (and corrected) thereby • Installation was error free. NASDAQ (Connecticut, Contract) January 1999 to June 1999 • Participated in the software amalgamation of the AMEX and NASDAQ exchanges • Responsible for several processes, all written in TAL, with ENSCRIBE files • PREOPENING process was the first to successfully return messages to a work station • Developed a table driven text message generator. Wright Express (Portland, Maine, Contract) October 1996 to September 1998 • Converted a month-end single process job to multiple parallel processes with buffered output, improving job and data integrity, ultimately reducing the runtime from 28 hours to 2 hours • Tested and fixed buffering problems in OLTP SNAX, X25, TCP/IP, and BISYNC line handlers with high volumes via simulators, often running overnight • Replaced many inefficient Enform reports with a smart COBOL process with ENSCRIBE files, with report parameters maintained by a requestor-server pair • Report requests could include any combination of thirteen selection criteria. Output could be directed to any combination of printer, disc and email • Significantly reduced runtime of nightly financial posting job by distributing transactions evenly over all CPUs • Conducted lunch time seminars to improve programmer knowledge and skills Vienna Stock Exchange (Toronto/Vienna, Contract) September 1995 to August 1996 • TAL, COBOL and SCOBOL, with ENSCRIBE files • Supported Vienna Stock Exchange, in both Toronto and Vienna • Resolved many deficiencies discovered during acceptance testing • Enhanced the software as required by design changes • Tested batch entry process exhaustively, identified and corrected numerous deficiencies • Resolved the three most serious and long outstanding problems: o Auction Price logic o Phase changes (preopen, open, close, etc.) o Making it possible for the system to handle an unlimited number of listings, as required by the client and the system specifications, simply by assigning each stock issue to a named process.. Bell Canada (Ottawa, Contract) April 1994 to August 1995 • TAL and C with ENSCRIBE files • Responsible for multi-threaded process for binary, paged data files for FAX transmission • Implemented a new INTERNET addressing protocol in Bell’s email software • Implemented automated delivery of EDI data to remote systems • Enhanced encryption/authentication of EDI messages to and from foreign domains • Created a file maintenance utility to display and modify fields based on DDL record definitions • Reduced three programs in C of 25K lines of code to one program of 8K lines McDonald’s Canada (Toronto, Contract) March 1993 to March 1994 • TAL, COBOL, SCOBOL, ENSCRIBE, PATHWAY, X3PAD, on a linked VLX/CLX system • Responsible for multiple new reports • Substantially enhanced several existing reports such as Inventory, and Daily Sales • Developed utility to recover slack space Edit files automatically Toronto Stock Exchange (Toronto, Contract) April 1992 to December 1992 • Responsible for analysis of memory needs of the major components of the Equity Trading System • Implemented most of the recommendations of the report • Greatly improved source library utilization and reduced the total code space of a number of the programs by over 40% • Created a runtime object library, a feature previously unknown to the software development group Various Clients (May 1986 to February 1995) • Desktop Publishing, Word Processing, Data Base, Spreadsheet software, and C programming on Macintosh hardware • Satisfied client requirements for typesetting, advertising, and printing; • Financial reporting for client billing, budget projections, sales and purchase analysis • Agent booking analysis for productivity reporting Royal Bank of Canada (Toronto, Contract) March 1984 to April 1986 • TAL and COBOL with ENSCRIBE files • Developed several processes in the first delivery of POS software • Created an interactive POS device simulator with forty commands over a weekend with no specs • Finalized the nonstop functions of a Dialup Line Handler • Created a multi-threaded nonstop pair interface to a department store mainframe with logging (pre TMF) • Tested extensively with high volumes via simulator • Restructured the existing SNAX protocol Host Interface to improve the context node, buffer handling and multi-threading • Added pass-thru support to Interac with a mere fifty lines of TAL (other banks implemented two new processes!) • Eliminated bugs and deficiencies in several existing Visa authorization components • Improved the consistency, reliability, and nonstop functioning of the control process, Watchdog, which started, stopped, and monitored the execution of all other processes • Conducted lunch time seminars to improve programmer knowledge and skills Standard Software (Toronto) January 1980 to December 1983 • TAL, ENSCRIBE • Developed screen handler/formatter (a PATHWAY/SCOBOL alternative) for which he received royalties • Compiler of free format screen definitions with automatic positioning of items, nested boxes, table lookups and ranges • Block mode support for multiple terminal types, switching to character mode • Dynamic utilization of terminal memory • Implemented procedure name breakpoints (pre INSPECT), and runtime trace routines to display procedure names • Dynamic disk swapping • Program was a multi-threaded nonstop process pair Various Clients (July 1974 to December 1979) • Developed several report generators, a municipal tax billing system, and an inventory system • Created an integrated Financial and Client Profitability System • Created the prototype versions of the screen formatting and reporting components of what became the COGNOS package • Implemented a more efficient terminal servicing algorithm for an order entry system reducing CPU usage by 75%; • Created a system to record and administer group health insurance premium payments and claim eligibility. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (Toronto) July 1970 to June 1974 • Computer Aided Instruction project on Dec (Digital Equipment) and Burroughs B6700 hardware • Supervised a group of ten programmers of instructional lessons for High School Mathematics and Physics in the languge (CAN, Completely Arbitrary Name) • Specified program structure and the format of recorded data • Maintained the reliability and quality of lessons • Implemented program to control the dynamic paths of students through a hierarchy of tests and lessons • Implemented a complete data analysis and reporting system in COBOL • Defined and developed: a BNF grammar which formalized the definition of CAN; an intermediate language for execution; a compiler to translate instructional lessons to that code; an interpreter to execute the compiled lessons; and a multi-user, multi-threaded operating system to service student users.