Web Applications

When I was 12 years old, I bought a cassette game for my MSX microcomputer. After five minutes of loading, an error occurred. The source code was exposed, and I was fascinated as I tinkered with the inner workings of that BASIC program. I modified it, translated it into Spanish, and soon learned the basics of the language. I even submitted a few small creations to a monthly magazine that published software listings.

That first foray into programming was just the beginning. Later, with solid experience in web design, learning to program in ASP felt like gaining superpowers. Combining beautiful web pages with functional features became a passion. I also realized I could make a living out of it. Many weekends and sleepless nights were spent developing my personal project—a true Swiss army knife of web services. I created a catalog of web design templates, an automatic registration service for search engines (when there were alternatives to Google), and even a blogging platform inspired by WordPress’s success. I also designed a banner exchange service, which became so popular that it crashed when a user with over 10,000 daily visits signed up. That day, I learned that SQL Server databases are expensive and require a lot of space.

Later, I worked at LaNetro, the leading online leisure guide, which evolved into offering SMS messaging services. There, I developed several applications that I am very proud of. Do you remember those TV ads asking you to send “Tono Bisbal” to 5565 or the frantic messages to nominate someone on Big Brother? Yes, I was partly responsible for your hefty phone bills. And if you used SMS chats to flirt, I must confess that the blonde who had you hooked was, in fact, a bearded colleague in the next department, using one of my messaging applications.

Afterward, I joined H2O Countrywide, where my job began as a simple update to reports and massive database queries. However, the project evolved into a complete CRM platform. This allowed me to create an extensive code repository that I still use today. To streamline the development of forms and reports, I developed my own tool that connected to databases, fetched table and column names, and generated forms with JavaScript validation. It was a rudimentary framework, but incredibly effective.

My passion for cycling led me to develop a calendar of cycling events. I automated the collection of information from federation websites using a bot that downloaded and added the data to the database. I learned SEO strategies to rank the site and even offered an embeddable form to manage race registrations. Everything worked great until the federations began offering the same service for free.

With almost 15 years of experience and thinking I had mastered everything about ASP, I joined Resales Online. There, I encountered a classic ASP application designed in a unique and efficient layered architecture. With a small team of developers, the project had significant potential for adding new features. I have now spent eight years in this role, focused on support, bug fixes, and building new modules. Over time, I’ve not only grown professionally but also deepened my passion for programming and tackling new challenges.