About

Bill Entwistle

Software Engineer

Phone
(217) 344-0444 x20

Bill got hooked on computers 30 years ago while working on the University of Illinois' PLATO System. For those who don't know PLATO, think of it as the Web, 25 years ahead of its time, complete with e-mail, discussion groups, chat rooms, interactive games, and loads of educational and recreational content.

Since then, Bill has done a bit of everything in the way of software development on projects too varied and numerous to list. Since coming to OJC 8 years ago, he has designed, implemented, or augmented a custom web search engine, a news bureau press release publishing system, a course management system for a series of online textbook supplements, a conference management system, a series of online personality tests, an online course evaluation system for a major midwestern university, and much more.

Bill's current specialty is designing databases and the website interfaces for accessing them.

Bill has programmed in: C/C++, Perl, Python, Java, HTML, Javascript, XML/XSLT, VBScript, FORTRAN, TUTOR, TenCORE, Pascal, and various assembly languages and fourth-generation systems. He thinks that Perl and Python are the cat's meow.

Bill resides in Urbana with his wife Linda and two children. When he has time, his activites include playing piano, listening to jazz and other music, attending garage sales, fixing things, observing nature, and keeping abreast of politics. Mostly, he's at his kids' beck and call.