01
Animated number selection
Instead of placing six random values in a text box, the selected numbers moved in from the right side of the form and stopped in designated positions.
EARLY SOFTWARE PROJECT
2004Super LottoMachine.
The assignment was to generate six random numbers. I turned it into a database-backed application.
Microsoft AccessVBADatabaseAnimationStatistics
THE ASSIGNMENT
Six numbers were only the starting point.
In a Visual Basic programming class, the original requirement was simple: create a program that selected six random numbers and displayed them in a text box.
I wanted to explore what else I could make the technology do. For extra credit, I expanded the assignment into a Microsoft Access application programmed with VBA, with a custom interface, animated number selection, multiple drawing options, stored results, output controls, and statistics.
It became an early example of a pattern that would continue throughout my career: understand the requirement, then look for ways to make the solution more useful.
ORIGINAL ARTIFACT
The application, preserved from 2004.
LOTTO MACHINE • MICROSOFT ACCESS / VBA
Original portfolio scan dated February 19, 2004. The interface shows the generated lottery numbers, repeat checking, Quick Pick controls, stored result history, printing/file commands, and statistics.
BEYOND THE REQUIREMENT
A classroom exercise became an application.
02
Duplicate handling
The application could check generated numbers for repeats and replace duplicates so a drawing produced a valid set.
03
Quick Pick workflows
The interface supported individual number selection, Quick Pick, and Multiple Quick Pick rather than a single one-off result.
04
Persistent results
Generated results were stored in the Microsoft Access database, creating data that could be reviewed and analyzed after each drawing.
05
Output & reporting
Results could be displayed, saved, and printed, extending the assignment into a usable application workflow.
06
Frequency statistics
The project tracked which numbers had been selected and how frequently they appeared across generated results.
RELATED EXPERIMENT
Bouncing Circles
Another project from the same period explored animation and interface controls. It could generate from 1 to 500 circles, track their position and color, vary their radius, use single or multiple colors, animate a banner, and make the circles flash.
The experiment demonstrates the animation, state-management, and UI exploration happening alongside the lottery application.
Original portfolio artifact • February 19, 2004
WHY IT MATTERS
An early database mindset.
The interesting part of this project is not the lottery itself. It is the decision to turn generated information into persistent data that could be reviewed, counted, analyzed, and reported.
Years before SQL development, enterprise analytics, BI, and data engineering became my profession, I was already interested in the relationship between application behavior and the data behind it.