Not really. TransWeb Tools is a one-man show. My name is Terry Tompkins and I've been
writing software for nearly 25 years. If you're interested in some of the details,
my resume can be found here.
I started programming on a TRS-80®, then the AppleII®, followed by an odd assortment of
"home computing" devices, such as the Texas Instruments TI-99/A®, and the Commodore64®.
I had a chance to work with the original 4.77mhz IBM PC® and since then I've been watching the
evolution of the PC market. A lot of technology has come and gone in the last 25 years. Of all
the technology changes in computing, the web has got to be the most revolutionary change yet.
Not because it represents a gigantic leap forward in technology - the term "revolutionary"
is appropriate for two reasons: the web has provided nearly everyone, from auto mechanic to
grandmother, with a reason to use computers; and the web has made geographical distance
largely irrelevant.
I started doing research with Linux back in 1992, as an alternative to expensive commercial
versions of UNIX. There was a lot missing in the fledgling operating system back then, but the
potential for growth was apparent. Since then, I have watched Linux grow in capability
and vendor support.
In 1995 I contributed to the collection of Linux tools with the release of
RCS with Threads - an enhanced version of the public domain
Revision Control System.
I became aware of the potential of the web to enable distributed computing in 1995. The result was the
release of SPARCS - a web-enabled version control system
for software developers and collaborating authors. Several custom web applications followed to
allow businesses to eliminate common paper forms. In 1998, I ran across a web-based issue tracking
system called the Problem Tracking System from Stonekeep Consulting. At that time, Stonekeep
had stopped maintaining PTS while they worked on a new issue tracking package called Keystone.
I ported the Problem Tracking System to the current version of the
PHP language it was written in and gave it a number of new features. I have continued to provide
new enhancements to this system over the years (Release Notes).
Here's what I've been working on lately...
There are a number of irons in the fire. New releases of PTS are coming out on a regular basis. I'm
more than half finished a brand new "for profit" issue tracking system which adds integration to version
control, project management and help desk call tracking. Significant feature enhancements to
TWTSurvey (the web-based survey program) come out about once a
quarter. A new web application generator is also in design. This program will examine a specified
database, enable selection of elements within the database, and then generate code to create, read,
update, delete and search for items within the database. Most of these applications are based on an open
source framework that I wrote in 2002 (TWToolBox).