Where code matters
I’m Jarle, founder of The Last Viking and a freelance C++ developer for hire. I have held many fancy job titles, like Senior Software Architect and Principle Software Developer - but when I look in the mirror I see only a very passionate and curious software developer.
More about my personal qualifications at cpp-freelancer.com.
I am one of those guys who got a home computer back in the 1980s and got hooked. The moment I lay my hands on my first computer, I knew that this was the passion of my life. I learned the C programming language and wrote my own multi-user BBS under an early version of QNX, running on 8086 and 80186 PC's (ancient things built to run MS-DOS for a single user at most). The same year I was hired as a PC technician by a large university hospital in Norway. I spent the days making computer cables, servicing terminals and printers and a few PCs and Macs, and the nights hacking together software in C. A year later I started to work full time as a software developer. Since then, I’ve worked at both small startups and large enterprises. Being mindful about my love of programming, I have turned down roles focused on management. I don’t mind earning less. It's more important for me to do what I love.
Today I work for my own company in the EU, offering freelance services and developing useful software.
Do you need a hand with your project? Hire me.
Latest blog posts
- Monthly update, November and December 2025
New projects - Logfault v0.8.5 is released
Simple to use, header only C++ library for application-logging on all major platforms. - Monthly update, October 2025
Released Beta III of NextApp. - I wrote the textbook on hardware
In 2004, my book "Maskinvare og operativsystemer" was published by Fagbokforlaget, the leading academic publisher in Norway. - Monthly update, September 2025
NextApp is is good shape, boost 1.89 broke my projects
Software Products
- NextApp — A cross-platform personal organizer and GTD powerhouse. Join the beta to help shape v1.
- Settled — The wellness app (Android).
Open source projects (selected)
- QVocalWriter — Speech to text, translate and chat app running AIs safely on the local PC/laptop.
- yahat-cpp — Minimal HTTP server for embedded REST APIs and metrics endpoints (OpenMetrics-friendly).
- restc-cpp — A pragmatic C++ REST client that makes JSON APIs straightforward.
- RESTinCurl — A minimal libcurl-based HTTP client wrapper.
- logfault — Header-only logging for modern C++ on all major platforms.
- shinysocks — A small, fast SOCKS proxy (single binary, simple config).
...and many more →
Blog & insights
Monthly updates, deep dives in modern C++, distributed systems, and tooling → Blog