I'm Ashton, I develop "software".
I have recently arrived in the UK after spending 8 years in Canada and am out of work, but I have a
litany of experience in
government administration, retail technology sales and database management.
While I was abroad, I
studied Computer Programming & Analysis at Seneca Polytechnic from 2022 to 2024, specialising in
C/C++, Python and SQL. In addition to my academic pursuits, I am proficient in JavaScript and I am
currently
learning Rust, but my true passion is in
managing my own home server (I self-host my own private search, email and Matrix instance). I can
also
whip up an excellent PowerPoint.
In the rest of my spare time, I like to hike, bake and play with my cats. I also work on open-source
projects to
keep abreast of the latest and "greatest" software industry trends.
Below are just a few of the things I am fortunate enough to be responsible for.
-
Hostess
My current work-in-progress. A spiritual successor project to Uguu using Rust to deliver a modern, fast and self-documenting open source file hosting solution. Progress has been slow due to job searching taking up the majority of my time, but I estimate the project will be complete by EOY 2025. If you'd like to get on board, please don't hesistate to contact me!
-
Simple Hammers
A Minecraft mod that I wrote to teach myself Java programming fundamentals, and also to add a feature to my specifically preferred game and modloader version. Simple Hammers was initially developed as a fork of an existing, older project, but eventually scope-creeped into a full rewrite. Through developing this mod, I was able to contribute code upstream to port the libraries I was using to a newer version, and I reduced code complexity significantly by moving code out of my own project and into it's dependencies.
-
PleaseHireMeBot
I am already familiar with Python, I was not familiar with the Discord API. I managed to re-implement some basic GNU command-line tools and add typical Discord bot functionality. I was also able to get to grips with web scraping technologies to add a simple character.ai hook to the bot, allowing users to chat with character.ai models without leaving the Discord app.
-
And the rest...
My time at Seneca Polytechnic has also borne fruit. All my past schoolwork is available on my GitHub so that future students may learn from my own example code. I have two full C/C++ terminal applications and a demonstration full-stack web app with a Bun/Express backend available to view online.
