Website Overview
Welcome to czardas.co.uk - an eclectic hotchpotch of the author's interests and personal projects. The website contains articles related to music theory, chess and computer programming. You will also find some software downloads and a few code snippets. While veteran coders may find the code examples to be elementary, it is hoped that the materials will have some inspirational value to others, who like myself wish to deepen their understanding of scripting, especially with AutoIt.
Items in the 'articles' section are intended to be of theoretical, or historical, value and are presented in pop science blogazine style. The website also contains a few materials which may be of interest to younger readers. The image links in the left hand margin cover a range of subjects: including links to educational content and miscellaneous websites of quality. czardas.co.uk is an ongoing project, and new articles will be added from time to time. Enjoy your visit.
About the Author
My name is Nick Wilkinson and I currently teach flamenco guitar in Manchester, England. Besides teaching and composing music, I have always had a desire to dig beneath the surface and unearth things that represented a mystery to me. I am most happy when I am creating something, regardless of the intended audience. I spend a lot of my spare time writing code, designing websites and playing chess.
In 1991 I embarked on a training in music at Rotterdams Conservatorium in Holland. During this training, the music theory lessons had a big influence on me. I wanted to learn as much as possible about musical harmony, and spent many hours analysing scale patterns and chord forms. Before long I realized that only a computer could calculate all the permutations I needed to answer my questions. That's how I became interested in learning to write a computer program.
When I was in school, my Programmable Casio Calculator was the closest I ever got to a computer. It was not until I returned to England at the end of the Millennium that I managed to get my hands on one. At first I found using the machine to be a daunting task. I searched for a programming language that I could use to begin my project. Before long I came across AutoIt; and seeing as I was able to follow the first tutorial, and create a simple program in just a few minutes, I was impressed.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Paco Peña, Hans van Gogh, Ricardo Mendeville, Ben Zwanink and Erica de Wijs for music lessons in the Conservatory of Rotterdam. Thanks to Alan Smith and Jaap van der Tuk for countless hours of chess instruction. Thanks to the tutors at City College Manchester for helping me get started with Web Design. Thanks to the developers of AutoIt and members of the official AutoIt Community, who have spent many hours explaining programming concepts and techniques. Thanks also to the countless people who have provided me with inspiration and encouragement over the years.
Email: nick2020@czardas.co.uk
Unless otherwise stated - you may reproduce any of the materials on this website which were created by me, providing that you acknowledge the author - Nick Wilkinson, and that you provide a link to this page. If the material does not belong to me, then you will need to get permission from the copyright holder. Thank you!