Programming

Although the Neuromatiq program was created using Adobe Flash, it was built entirely from AS3 (ActionScript 3) code lines that I developed block by block. The Flash library only contains the fonts, the loader, and the descriptive icons used for the "See also" section. Everything else is loaded externally, giving the application enormous flexibility since these external elements can be modified outside of Flash.

There are more lines of code than there are in the entire text of the thesis. That said, no lines of code are redundant, thanks to the wide range of features offered by the program: animated home screen, navigation tools, customized video player, image gallery, and interactive animations.

I rewrote the entire program code at least three times to meet performance, stability, and design requirements and to avoid bugs. This is the case, for example, with the loader at startup, which loads all necessary thesis content before launching the application—a feature not initially planned. The loader takes a few seconds, but it is much more practical than waiting for the DVD drive to spin up every time you need to access the text.

Neuromatiq is an extremely dynamic Flash/AS3 application: the data to be loaded is organized in XML files that can be accessed and edited with a simple text editor. The thesis texts are formatted in HTML and styled with a single CSS stylesheet. This means if I change my mind about the layout, colors, or font style, I only need to modify one line of code for it to apply to all texts used.

The specific section for interactive animations (still in the preliminary stage) allows users to manipulate 3D organs in three-dimensional space; this is vital for understanding the spatial arrangement of the organs. The implementation of these graphic models from 3DS MAX software was achieved using the Flare3D API.