Alison Gianotto

Overview

With over 16 years in web design and development and two books under my belt, I have worked on projects for clients including:

Highlights include system architecture, development and MySQL optimization of high-performance apps, server management of upwards of 50 servers at any given time, and continuous integration via Jenkins and Apache Ant.

Co-Author: Professional PHP4 Web Development Solutions

This professional-level book aimed to demonstrate the the versatility of PHP for the development of large-scale web applications, including case studies spanning the feature rich functionality of PHP coupled with HTML, XML, and WML.

The PHP programming techniques was presented in such a manner that readers were able to extrapolate the techniques (from both the theory and the case studies) for their own applications.

“This is just the kind of book that I have always wanted.” – kevinm845 (CA, USA)

“A must have for the Web Developers / Designers! ” – Paul W. (USA)

Rated 4.5 stars on Amazon.Com.

Co-Author: MySQL Transactions and Replication Handbook

The MySQL Transaction and Replication handbook, focuses on important aspects of a database server, and is aimed at developers and administrators to assist them in creating and maintaining highly available mission-critical applications based on MySQL.

It is assumed that the reader is already familiar with the MySQL database server and its basic administration tasks. The coverage in this book includes: An Introduction to Transactions MySQL Transaction Implementation, MyISAM Tables, BDB Tables, InnoDB Tables, MySQL Transaction Performance tips, Introduction to Replication and its Mechanics, Slave and Master Configuration, Replication Scenarios and Strategies, Troubleshooting, and Workarounds to Known Limitations.

Facebook Application: Mr. Right

The Mr. Right application is one that was built for CBS to promote a new television series. Some features included:

• Avatar builder where users could pick hair, eyes, undies, etc.
• Interactive survey to determine the user’s Mr. Right from 16 archetypes
• Gifting system to allowed Mr. Right to send romantic gifts
• Viral newsfeeds

An incredibly talented co-worker created the Flash, while I was responsible for:

• Database architecture
• PHP/MySQL database scripting with XML output

Facebook Application: Cootie Wars

This little app was a light-hearted throwback to my childhood. Circle, circle, dot dot, now I have my cootie shot!

The premise of the application is very simple:

• Users can send cooties to their Facebook friends
• Users earn cootie shots by sending cooties to friends
• Users can opt to use their cootie shots on themselves, or on friends

Right now, we’re working on offering a variety of cooties loosely based on actual diseases!

Facebook Application: Blow Kisses

This Facebook application was never meant for prime time. It was written as a demo application for a tutorial series on Snipe.Net. Less than three months later, the Blow Kisses application had over 100k monthly active users, growing by about 1.5k new mau every day.

The core code was developed to serve a few purposes:

• Easy-to-understand codebase, perfect for new developers
• Limited features so as not to obfuscate key Facebook functionality
• Example implementation of all key Facebook functionality (newsfeeds, email notifications, etc.)

The application’s sole purpose is to allow people to blow kisses to their friends and family. That’s it. Honest. It just goes to show you that when it comes to Facebook applications, very often, simpler really is better.

Design: Snipe.Net

A mix of tech stuff, music, life tools, & product reviews, Snipe.Net has been a destination for geeks since before blogging had a name. The most recent iteration is powered by WordPress, using a clean grunge design created from scratch.

Redesign Goals:

• Create a design that truly reflects my personality
• Use pure CSS (no tables) to create a W3C compliant layout

A parchment background conveys my love of history, subtle animal-prints represent my love for animals. The Twitter bird sits high on the page to draw attention to my latest tweet. And finally, the D20 in the bottom-right harkens to my geeky love for gaming.

Design & Development: Virginia Animal Control Association

The Virginia Animal Control Association website provides information on upcoming animal control training, conferences, and events in the state of Virginia.

They needed a clean, professional design with a back-end administration system that allowed members to quickly and easily update content.

Features include:

• Content management system
• Database-driven events/training calendar
• Members-only area for paid member content

Design & Development: Rescue Transporters

The Rescue Transporters site is an interactive suite of tools to help animal rescue transporters coordinate multiple legs of a chain transport.

Previously, when several people were to be involved in transporting an animal from one part of the country to another for rescue, disaster relief or adoption, the process was painstaking and clumsy.

Rescue Transporters features:

• Interactive map-building based in separate travel assigments
• Database of available transporters and their experience level and equipment
• Ability to rate transporters

Design & Development: Pet-Abuse.Com

Pet-Abuse.Com is the very first website of it’s kind. Lauded in People Magazine, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and other major publications, this website serves as an international database of criminal animal cruelty incidents.

Some features include:

• Easy-to-use interface, enabled easy searching of tens of thousands of cases based on complex criteria
• Google Maps integration for crime mapping
• WAP version of the site
• Zipcode/county radius search
• Graphical statistical reporting based on gathered data
• Advanced, custom case management system

Design & Development: Mayfaire Moon

Mayfaire Moon is a custom corset shop with a market in both medieval re-enactment and goth subcultures. They needed something pretty, but with a little bite to it, like their product.

Because each item is handmade, an e-commerce solution was not necessary, however a gallery management tool was built to allow them to quickly and easily update their showcase.

Design & Development: Everyday Activist

Everyday Activist is a website designed to help everyday people learn ways they can save the earth. A joint effort between myself and my sister, Shanen Aranmór, Everyday Activist organizes positive actions everyday people can take by:

• Location (home, work, school, etc.)
• Leadership position (teachers, parents, kids, etc.)
• Level of commitment required

To further encourage participation, positive actions that save money are highlighted in each section.

Design & Development: Adopt an Animal Canada

Adopt an Animal Canada is the largest searchable drectory of animal shelters, pounds, sanctuaries and rescues across Canada. The primary goal of this project was to give every animal an equal chance at being adopted by including even the smallest facilities in the advanced nationwide search.

Site features include:

• Advanced shelter search (search by species, breed, province or postal code radius)
• Web-based administration system for easy updating
• Search widget for supporter’s websites

Design & Development: ACOFunStop

ACOFunStop is the largest community of animal control and humane law enforcement officers in the world.

With thousands of members, the website offers industry news, advice, and a robust forum system that allows animal control officers from all over the world to learn and share from each other’s experiences, procedures and laws.

This website offers a lifeline that was previously unavailable for understaffed and/or very small animal control departments in more remote areas, where little or no training is provided to officers on duty.