I design hardware from scratch and write firmware/drivers as necessary. Assembly, C, C++ at that level. Larger applications allow other languages. Java, C# and Python are favorites. PERL as necessary. Ruby when permitted. I use mySQL for most database work. It hooks up nicely with C, C++ and Python. Apache is my web server of choice on Linux. IIS on Windows platforms. Altova's XMLSPY is a great tool for dealing with XML and ferreting out issues with XSLT substitutions. Embedded PHP is also a satisfactory approach if you aren't shuffling XML between platforms.
My boss just sent me a little e-mail exchange from a company developing a new display. It uses 1W LEDs to achieve a daylight readable display. The software developer for the project is "crapping out" in the words of the concerned manufacturer. They need a someone competent in PIC microcontroller programming to solve their problems. Fancy that. I have everything necessary on my desk. Compilers, manuals and FLASH programmer. Send me the schematics, interface protocols and a due date.
We are looking for the proper I-face now and need anyone with ATEasy experience that knows where to place System Layer commands vs Driver Layer commands. It’s not that easy.