John "unscriptable" Hann

Current

Javascript consultant at TimeTrade Systems, Inc.
Freelance Web 2.0 expert at e-numera, Inc.

Past

Front-End Engineer at Nasuni
Senior Developer / Engineer at deeda Inc.
Web App Consultant at ClickRSVP

Javascript consultant at Oracle
Ajax consultant at mSpoke
Web Application Development Consultant at TAC Worldwide
Web App Consultant at Edelman CSR
Co-Founder at Sapphire Six
Software Engineer at Borland
Web Developer at Babson College

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7 more...

Education

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Recommended

6 people have recommended John "unscriptable"

Connections

82 connections

Industry

Computer Software

Websites

John "unscriptable" Hann’s Summary

Mr. Hann is a Web 2.0 developer and evangelist, pioneering new Ajax techniques while leveraging Open Source tools to deliver world-class products that are impressive yet usable, rich yet responsive.

Mr. Hann has been a formal contributor to the dojo community since 2008. His current dojo project is a drag-and-drop calendaring solution surpassing Outlook or iCal.app in richness and responsiveness.

During his career, Mr. Hann has successfully delivered more than 65 enterprise-class, web-based Internet or intranet applications. Notable projects include a Web 2.0-class product created in 2000 (US Patent 7,016,751) and several Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) as far back as 1996 (using browser plug-ins before 1999 and hidden IFRAMEs until 2004). In addition to grokking dojotoolkit and prototype, he has also written three powerful frameworks "from scratch" (at the request of customers).

"John not only has guru-level knowledge of Ajax and web app development, but has also mastered the elusive balance of discipline and creativity."

My latest blog post on Javascript Memoization: http://unscriptable.com/index.php/2009/05/01/a-better-javascript-memoizer/

John "unscriptable" Hann’s Specialties:

Web 2.0 / Rich Internet Applications using industry standards such as (X)HTML, CSS, XHR, and Javascript. dojo 1.x expert.

John "unscriptable" Hann’s Experience

Javascript consultant

TimeTrade Systems, Inc.

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

2006 — Present (3 years )

My initial role on this project was to create a Web-based calendar that allows drag-and-drop editing of appointment availability. Unlike Javascript-based widgets, its 100% CSS-based layout responds fluidly and instantaneously to changes in window size or font size. Drag operations are as responsive and reactive as desktop apps. It works flawlessly in Firefox 1.5+, IE 6+, Opera 9.5, and Safari 2+. After finishing this widget, I was asked to stay on and improve performance and add features.

Tools: dojo toolkit 0.4.3 - 1.0, JSON-RPC, J2EE.

"Extremely slick." – review on PCWorld.com

"TimeDriver’s interface is where this application sings." – review by Brad Fallon

After helping TimeTrade transform their TimeDriver prototype into a marketable product, I joined the team working on their enterprise product. I quickly repaired the slowest modules, improving load performance times from a painful 240 seconds to under 2 seconds (even in IE 6)!

Tools: dojo toolkit 1.1, J2EE, JSP, XSLT.
Freelance Web 2.0 expert

e-numera, Inc.

(Computer Software industry)

August 2001 — Present (8 years 4 months)

As a freelance programmer, I enjoy leveraging my extensive Javascript, HTML, and web apps experience to deliver cutting-edge, Ajax-based Rich Internet Applications (aka "Web 2.0 apps").

In my previous role as president / team leader (and employer of up to 12 staff), I grew the company through a solid reputation and a long legacy of robust solutions. I orchestrated multiple, cross-functional teams through the full software development life-cycle, using a balance of OOAD, RAD, and JIT techniques while coding with developers 75% of the time. I enjoyed mentoring developers about software engineering, code quality, project management, customer service, and career development.
Front-End Engineer

Nasuni

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

July 2009 — October 2009 (4 months)
Senior Developer / Engineer

deeda Inc.

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

September 2008 — January 2009 (5 months)

Deeda aimed to be the number one social aggregator. My job was to build the entire functional prototype. However, this prototype was so much more than a mashup of Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr feeds. It also sported a slick, Cover-flow-like widget for browsing friends (with smooth animation and reflections), a Google Maps widget with custom map markers, and integrated "Send a Gift" features (for future revenue streams). The entire app was built using 100% CSS-based layouts on a heavily-customized version of dojo's tundra theme and worked in Firefox 2.0+, IE 6+, Safari 3+, and Opera 9.6. Behind the scenes, the app consolidated Open Social / Oauth and Facebook Auth models in Java.

Tools: dojo 1.1, servlets, pojo, MySQL, Hibernate.

Deeda is still "under the radar", so ask me for a demonstration!
Web App Consultant

ClickRSVP

(Computer Software industry)

January 2007 — December 2008 (2 years )

Compass Bank: Compass Home Value (CHV)

Compass Bank's CHV app is a tiny SPA (Single Page Application): only 160 KB (50 KB compressed, without images). CHV makes it very easy for consumers to calculate their home equity and apply for a qualifying loan. The SPA architecture drastically decreases latency making the application very responsive (increasing sales leads!). Selective use of Ajax, animation, and DHTML further increased its smoothness, making it feel virtually instantaneous, despite server callbacks to perform lookups and calculations. An optional interactive (DHTML) slider widget allows users to find their "sweet spot" with drag-and-drop simplicity. (Sub-contract through ClickRSVP, Inc.)

Tools: prototype 1.4.
Javascript consultant

Oracle

(Public Company; ORCL; Computer Software industry)

2007 — 2007 (less than a year)

Oracle Life Sciences' ZFP project was a major upgrade to their existing browser plug-in / C++ solution (in use at 9 of the 10 top pharmas). My role on the team was as the "resident Javascript expert", but I eventually became primary consult for all front-end decisions. The ZPF client was to be rewritten in Javascript and XHTML (incl. SVG / VML), so I designed an advanced, extensible OO framework from scratch. It had dual inheritance schemes; advanced async behavior handling; public, private, and package member scoping; draggable modal dialogs; "background threads" (non-preemptive multitasking); server-driven workflows; and a JSON-based Ajax / RPC protocol.

At the conclusion of the 10-month project, we delivered a product that was not only loaded with tons of new features, but was also 2-4 times faster than the C++ version!
Ajax consultant

mSpoke

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

2007 — 2007 (less than a year)

FeedHub allows users to take control of their numerous RSS feeds with an unparalleled level of control. It does it through an ultra-rich, ultra-modern interface based on dojo. I provided the team with guidance about web 2.0 techniques, tips, and tricks on complex HTML, CSS, and Javascript. The layouts are 100% CSS-based so they are extremely fluid and responsive, despite abundant use of corners and shadows. Animations provide positive user feedback and crucial continuity in such a dynamic interface. The pages look and act identically in all major browsers, including Firefox 1.5+, Safari 2+, and even IE 6+.

Tools: dojo toolkit 0.4.3 – 1.0, FreeMarker.

Chris Shipley loved it and selected FeedHub to debut at DEMOfall 07!

"Snazzy drag-and-drop interface." – review by lifehacker.com

"That thing is slick ... that's the smoothest interface I've seen in a long time." – one of many comments on Digg.com
Web Application Development Consultant

TAC Worldwide

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Staffing and Recruiting industry)

1996 — 2006 (10 years )
Web App Consultant

Edelman CSR

(Computer Software industry)

September 2004 — April 2005 (8 months)

Nissan, Walmart, Whirlpool: Stakeholder Relationship Management

The SRM application is an industry-specific CRM application with advanced visualization and relationship tracking features for large enterprises to manage complex relationships with NGO's (non-governmental organizations). In addition to building a full-featured CRM app, I replaced a fat, clunky Flash plug-in with a sleek, custom Ajax / DHTML OO framework. The highlight of the app is an impressive visual aid which allows users to drag-and-drop icons (representing NGO's) onto a coordinate map and to draw relationship lines between them (very like Visio). It does this efficeintly without SVG, VML, or Canvas. Advanced features include zooming and inline editing of labels on icons and relationship lines. I created the widget framework on top of prototype 1.4 to enhance a full-featured CRM app built on an ASP.Net / MS SQL architecture. (Sub-contract through Edelman CSR)
Co-Founder

Sapphire Six

(Computer Software industry)

1997 — 2001 (4 years )
Software Engineer

Borland

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; BORL; Computer Software industry)

1997 — 1997 (less than a year)
Web Developer

Babson College

(Educational Institution; 501-1000 employees; Higher Education industry)

1996 — 1997 (1 year )

John "unscriptable" Hann’s Education

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

BS , Electrical Engineering , 1984 — 1990

Graduate Cum Laude
Focus of studies (in senior year and some post-grad studies):
Analog and Digital Electronics
Artificial Intelligence
Neural Networks

Activities and Societies:

Zeta Psi Fraternity (Treasurer)
Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society (Secretary)
Various engineering clubs (man that was a long time ago!)