About Jonathan "JD" Danylko

Yes, this is an image of Jonathan 'JD' Danylko

Hi everyone! My name is Jonathan "JD" Danylko.

Since people have trouble saying my name (no, not Jonathan), I'll just get this out of the way first. My last name is pronounced either Dan-el-ko or Dan-Yell-Ko. 

This is why I now go by J.D.

It's simpler.

For those who don't know who I am, I'm a simple, humble developer who loves to share what he learns with others when it comes to everything related to ASP.NET with web technologies and tools. I feel the Internet was such a revolutionary technology that I HAD to become part of it.

I was truly debating whether to create this type of page, but I wanted others to understand how my career started when I was in my teens.

Below are some of my career highlights. It's more of a career path and who I've become based on my experiences as opposed to "tooting my horn."

Started Programming at 11 years old

I received a Commodore VIC-20 for Christmas from my parents; Eventually got the 32K Memory Expansion; Upgraded to a Commodore 128 in later years and then IBM Compatibles.

Wrote a simple CRM (customer management) in my teens

My mother needed a way to track prospects for her real estate business so I wrote something in BASIC using the Commodore 128.

First Corporate Job

One of the best companies to work for in America hired me as a Clipper Developer, then I transitioned into Delphi.

During this time at the company, I was experimenting with the Internet on my own. They found out about it and asked me to assist with building the company's website.

I was featured in their company magazine in February 1996.

(and yes, my nickname was "Vito")

EFM (Erie Family Magazine) Cover of February 1996 Edition

EFM (Erie Family Magazine) Inside Cover of February 1996 Edition

Competed in Two International Programming Competitions

Even though I didn't win, I was extremely proud of writing my own tools to build systems relatively quick using Clipper.

While I placed 36th, IBM sent their Visual Age team and they came in 44th.

Always had Two Skills Throughout My Career

First programmed using BASIC, then Clipper, Delphi, HTML/CSS/Native JavaScript, then .NET/C# and now ASP.NET Core/.NET 5.

Moved to Columbus, OH in '99

Worked for two startups with responsibilities which included:

  • Software Architecture
  • Release Management/Configuration Management (now called CI/CD)
  • Troubleshooter
  • Trainer
  • QA Tester
  • UI Designer
  • Usability Testing
  • Code Reviewer

Became Certified

  • M CIW D - Master Certified Internet Webmaster Site Designer and eCommerce (expired)
  • MMCP - Macromedia Certified Professional - Dead (Now Adobe, expired)
  • Delphi Enterprise Client/Server Developer

Co-Technical Editor for a book

Server-side Flash Book Cover

Server-side Flash Book displaying the Credits Page

Wrote My First Book

ASP.NET Core 8 Best Practices Book on Amazon

Thanks to Packt Publishing, I was able to write my first book on December 29, 2023 (which coincidentally is my dad's birthday).

I tried to pack as much knowledge as I could into the book. It contains over 120 Best Practices for how to write ASP.NET Core websites.

Buy it now on Amazon.

Asked to Write a Beginner's Guide For a Training Company

I was approached by a training company and asked to write an ASP.NET MVC Tutorial (7,500 word beginner's guide for Udemy.com) 

Received 4 Technology Awards

While I was working at a Fortune 500 company, I received 4 technology awards during my tenure there.

  • Two I4 Awards - (I4 = Innovation, Intelligence, Interaction, Integrity)
  • Technology Leadership Award
  • Sharpshooter Award

Humbled by Four awards I received from a company

Provided Feedback on Performance Techniques in .NET

I contributed experienced feedback to RedGate on various performance techniques when using SQL Server and ASP.NET Applications.

Contributing to the C# Christmas Advent

Matt Groves hosts this event every year.

The C# Advent occurs every December and is a way for various authors to pick a C# topic and write a simple article for a particular day in December. I'm going on year 8 this year (2024).

If you are looking for some high-quality C# articles, I would recommend reading through all seven years. There are some great articles from professional writers and presenters.

Various side projects

My Own CMS

Created my own CMS back in 1999 and is currently in operation today (You're on it right now!) ;-)

  • Started as a Classic ASP with Access backend
  • Learned .NET to evolve it into a WebForms
  • Transitioned into an ASP.NET MVC application (current)
  • Currently applying a different vision to the CMS while re-architecting into ASP.NET Core

First eBook called Mastering HttpClient (free to subscribers) 

My first ebook (more to come) explaining how to make server-side calls to APIs more efficiently.

Currently working full time as an Insight Consultant

I'm definitely happy working here.

Work part-time as a freelance web architect

I've been running my own freelance company since 2002 when the IT industry bubble burst where I couldn't find a job for 6 months, but after continually knocking on doors and reading the newspapers, I was able to find something.

Currently CTO of a small, 3-person startup

I'll discuss this at a later time when things gel a little more to where I actually CAN discuss it.

My online "Stomping Grounds" Include

Other Events On The Web

Programming Philosophies

This approach has followed me throughout my career and I feel it definitely keeps me in line (although sometimes I cheat).

  • Get it Functional — Usually, it doesn't matter what it takes, just get it working first (and yes, slop counts).
  • Get it Testable — Write tests so you know the code works and returns what you're expecting.
  • Get it Refactored — NOW, you can start cleaning up the code. After every clean up, run your tests to confirm you didn't break anything.

Finally, I have a number of personal philosophies as well when it comes to succeeding (hence my inspirational/motivational Collection):

  • Follow Your Heart and don't listen to anybody but yourself
  • Be Persistent; Never Give Up!
  • Be Nice
  • DO, don't wish!
  • Learn to Learn
  • Finish What You Started

If computers didn't exist, I honestly don't know what I would do.

Sincerely (and enjoy the site),
JD

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