Bio

Hi! I'm David Morales.

I'm a web developer and technical instructor since 2000; and a computer engineer since 2005.

From beginning to end, I have developed several e-commerce sites, social networks, and classified ad sites.

My story

I was always impressed by 80’s computers. Those green screens and those huge boxes… I loved IBM PCs, and I could imagine myself being a hacker using them.

With my first computer in 1993, I started to learn to program. I chose Pascal as my first programming language, and it was exciting! Soon I heard of a more widespread language called C, so I started to learn it. I found it more difficult, I remember that I preferred Pascal all the way, so I left C and returned to it many times. I made some little text-based videogames with Pascal containing school stories that my classmates liked so much.

I even tried to develop an application for the mechanic in my neighborhood. What I tried to build from scratch was… a database! He wanted to have a system to manage his customers and print invoices. I worked hard and accomplished to store data in binary files. It was driven by a rudimentary (but hey, very functional) user interface developed in plain-old C for MS-DOS.

At 17, I built an app containing a digital magazine. I developed a tool using Borland Turbo C, achieving a minimal executable size! It had a custom UI, supporting graphics and buttons in menus, and pagination for the articles. In total, the program had 2000 lines of C code and some assembler.

At the age of 18, I decided to study computer science more seriously. While learning PHP and making my first websites, I studied a higher degree in programming. I learned a lot about databases, networks, and languages like C++.

In 2000 I started to work professionally as a web developer, using JavaScript and ASP, and at the same time, I was teaching on site.

In 2001 I wanted to continue studying, so I started a degree in Computer Science at the University of Barcelona, which I completed in February 2005. There I learned the basics of computing: electronics, math, and software engineering. I even learned Java and Ruby!

Since then, I have worked on several projects in startups, first using PHP with the Symfony framework and later Ruby on Rails.

My experience as a web developer and teacher

• I started in 2000 as a full-stack web developer, mainly using ASP and JScript (Microsoft’s JavaScript version). And I was combining it, in the same company, with web development classes on ASP, PHP, and Java. I also taught Linux system administration. I had students from the following companies and institutions:
  • Ajuntament de Barcelona (Barcelona City Council)
  • TMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Transport)
  • FGC (Catalan Government Railways)
  • Cirsa
  • Sony
• In 2006 I developed an ecological, social network called Tree-Nation, in PHP.
• In 2008 I developed a classified ads website. I used the first version of the Symfony framework for PHP.
• In 2010 I created another classified ads website, collaborating with several real estate portals in Spain. I also used the first version of Symfony.
• In 2013 I jumped to Symfony2 to develop a PrestaShop clone that was used in an e-commerce website.
• At that time, I changed technology to Ruby on Rails. But before, I wanted to dump my knowledge of Symfony2 in a course that I published on Udemy and had great acceptance. As I was learning Ruby, I developed a social network of activities similar to Meetup.
• Since 2014 I have been working remotely for several companies in the UK, using Ruby on Rails.
• In 2022 I start working on my first course for LinkedIn Learning. The experience of working with several teams to launch the course together has been very rewarding.

My studies

• Degree in Computer Science, from University of Barcelona, in 2005. Final thesis: Implementation of Bayesian network learning algorithms (contributing to Intel’s open-source Probabilistic Networks Library).
  • Here, I stumbled upon mathematics applied to many fields. I learned a lot about logic, computer architecture, artificial intelligence and discovered the Perl and Ruby languages.
• Higher Education in Applications Development, from Escola del Treball de Barcelona, in 2001.
  • Here I delved into databases, algorithms, and networking.
• Higher Education in Computing, from Cultural de Badalona, in 1999.
  • Here I discovered the basics of computer science, with languages as old as IBM RPG and COBOL.