CHRISTOPHER DUERKES

Web Developer

Christopher Duerkes | Warwick, NY

About

As a full-stack developer, I have solid object-oriented programming skills (primarily Ruby/Rails), front-end development skills and a commitment to best practices (test-driven development, continuous integration, agile methods).

Lately, I've been getting to know JavaScript ES6 syntax and the ReactJS library and have already begun transitioning parts of this site to the new CSS Grid.

Skills
  • Languages: Ruby, JavaScript, HTML, CSS
  • Libraries/Frameworks: Ruby on Rails, jQuery, Bootstrap
  • Testing: RSpec (Unit Testing), Codeship (Continuous Integration and Deployment)
  • Version Control: Git/GitHub

Ruby

JavaScript

HTML5

CSS3

Ruby on Rails

jQuery

RSpec

Codeship

Git

Code samples

Here are a couple of code samples that I created for the chess application I made during bootcamp:
  • A method for determining whether obstructions exist between a chess piece and a requested position on the chess board. See code sample on GitHub.
  • The ability to dynamically update piece locations using jQuery UI draggable and droppable and a RESTful JSON API. See code sample on GitHub.

Some kind words

Chris and I worked together on our Agile team project with a team of 5 developers creating an interactive Rails chess application. From beginning to end, Chris was highly communicative and supportive of teammates, always ready to take on additional tasks as needed beyond each sprint. He was consistently our top contributor to the project and was the go-to on a range of important back-end features, including setting up the initial database architecture, managing the PostgreSQL records, creating methods for various chess moves, and troubleshooting and debugging. On the front-end side, Chris also implemented a redesign of the user interface on our main landing page.

Chris was an absolute joy to collaborate with as his capabilities are vast and include both hard and soft skills. He often had helpful, friendly insight on both our shared and individual assignments. Chris would be an absolute asset to any company and I would be glad to work with him again.

-Dian Tai, Junior Developer at University of California, Los Angeles

 

Education

Firehose Project, 2017
The curriculum at Firehose covered Ruby, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, agile team work, test-driven development, algorithms and computer science fundamentals, HTML, CSS and responsive design.

Listed to the right are some of the basic CRUD Rails apps that I created during the course, which involved mailers, validations, image uploading on AWS S3, and nested RESTful routes following standard Rails conventions.

The following are some of the Rails apps that I created during the course:

A Yelp clone that integrates with the Google Maps API and includes features like user comments, star ratings, image uploading, and user authentication.

A two-sided, video-streaming marketplace platform that features credit card payment capabilities, user role management, complex user interfaces, and advanced database relationships.

An Instagram clone that was built using industry-standard, test-driven development following numerous red/green/refactor cycles.

A single-page to-do application features a fluid user interface that, by using JavaScript, allows users to rapidly add dynamic content.

A Yelp clone that integrates with the Google Maps API and includes features like user comments, star ratings, image uploading, and user authentication.

A two-sided, video-streaming marketplace platform that features credit card payment capabilities, user role management, complex user interfaces, and advanced database relationships.

An Instagram clone that was built using industry-standard, test-driven development following numerous red/green/refactor cycles.

A single-page to-do application with a fluid user interface that, by using JavaScript, allows users to rapidly add dynamic content.

The early days

For more about where I've been, I recommend stopping by my LinkedIn profile (link below). The short of it is that I have an earth and environmental sciences background, and have been using different forms of technology all my life. Starting with my 7th grade science project, which involved the use of bananas and a particle accelerator. (If you get in touch with me, I can tell you all about it.)

I have a graduate degree in soil and water science (U. Florida) and an undergraduate degree in environmental biology (Columbia U.).