thinklunatic's Blog

De MonsterDebugger for debugging Flash

thinklunatic — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:40:05 +0000

Here another post on De MonsterDebugger debugger tool. In my recent post on Alcon vs De MonsterDebugger, i gave a very generally overview, here another detailed features on De MonsterDebugger.

De Monster Debugger key features:

Tree Structure – lets you walk through your entire application on code-level
Live editting – you can edit properties and instantly see the effects in your application
Detailed traces – trace Strings, Numbers, XML, Arrays, Objects with great detail
Method Testing – you can run most methods and catch the results instantly
Open Source – you can use it for free

Here a video created by Lee Brimelow as he demonstrates the usage of the tool.

Alcon Vs De MonsterDebugger

thinklunatic — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:13:57 +0000

Was trying out these 2 Flash / Flex / Air debugger for a few days and i strongly recommend these 2 applications to any actionscript developers. It allow us to see what the frame rate, flash render time and also the memory consumation of the application we are building.

Alcon

For the Alcon, there a flash render time (the time flash take to render a frame). This is a very useful information as we should always try to keep it as low as possible in order to maintain a high frame rate. There also code like Debug.inspect to inspect object properties, however we are unable to change it values at run-time.

De MonsterDebugger

As for De MonsterDebugger, there no flash render time being display, however, we are able to change the properties of our array, object, movieclips, etc properties at run-time. This can be quite handy for fast tweaking.

For those out there who are paying more attention and focus to optimisation and streamlining of flash / flex / air, you will need to check out these 2 applications.

StageManager in AS3

thinklunatic — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:13:42 +0000

In AS3, i often get frustrated over adding Event Listeners to the stage in other classes. Often we will get the follow error:

TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.

After reading the first few chapters in the book – Actionscript 3.0 Design Patterns. I thought of using the Singleton Pattern and created a StageManager, purpose of it was to allow any class to access the stage and add Event listeners to it easily. Well, i tried this out last night and i think i might had the solution i want, as least it works fine for me now. Now to add an Event Listener in another class, all i need to do is just simply import in the StageManager class in and call the STAGE property and add a Listener to it:

StageManager.STAGE.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onStageClick, false, 0, true);

Yes, it that simple, however, prior to this, we will need to init the StageManager in the Base Class by just adding 2 sentence:
StageManager.getInstance();
StageManager.STAGE = this.stage;

Feel feel to download my sample and try it out & feel free to comment how you guys feel about this.

stageListener.zip

Rest of Helsinki

thinklunatic — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:26:31 +0000

More photos on Helsinki streets, shops, churches and etc that i had missed out in previous posts. There is also the Temppeliaukio Kirkko, also know as the Church in the Rock. It is built inside the rock and had a very big copper dome, i found this church really fantastic and amazing! There was also the Sibelius Monument which is crazy, a gigantic piece of metal sculpture that was formed up by huge metal pipes.

Anyway, here a tip for budget backpackers, you can save a lot in the transportation and museums entry fee by purchasing the Helsinki Card. It cover most of the museums and the public transport, don’t bother to get the 72 hours card, just get the 24 hours card. After purchasing the card, you will need to validate the card by writing down the date and time for the first usage. Always use a PENCIL to fill up and just erase the pencil writing tomorrow and rewrite a new date and time. I had tried this method out, but i got the 72 hours card.

Toy Museum at Suomenlinna

Khai Favorite - CLOWNS!!

Uspenski Cathedral

Main Street of Helsinki

Stockmann's Department Store

Helsinki Grand Casino

Temppeliaukio Kirkko

Sibelius Monument

The Metal Pipes

Cinemas

National Museum of Finland (Suomen Kansallismuseo)

1st Jan 2009 Activites

thinklunatic — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:52:19 +0000

First day of 2009, most of the museums and shops were closed here as it was a public holiday. I just went to the Olympic Stadium for a look and after that went back to the hostel.

Back at hostel, i took all my dirty and smelly clothing out to wash. Yes, for the first time in Yiyong’s life, he is washing his own clothes and stuffs. Kinda of no choice as my clothes are finishing and if i dont wash today then i will be out of clothes and underwear to wear for the rest of my trip. I don’t want to be chou chou!!

Hmm, washing clothes isn’t that hard after that or should i say thanks to the technology, we got the luxury of washing machine and dryer. So i simply just need to throw the clothes into the washing machine, pour in the required amount of washing powder and start the washing machine. I can even go back to my room and catch a 40 minutes nap.

Well i think the most difficult part will be packing the clothes back into my backpack. Hai, when i was leaving for my trip, there is one kind soul who offer to help me to pack my bag and with her help, we manage to pack my bag in around an hour or so. Now i’m alone without her, i’m taking ages to pack, how i wish she would appear beside me now to help me out. ARGH!!!

Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium Soccer Field

Inside The Stadium

Throwing my Clothes Into The Washing Machine

Washing in Progress, Time for a Nap!!

Not Chou Chou Anymore!!

Repacking Time. ARGH!!!

New Year Coundown at Helsinki

thinklunatic — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:13:13 +0000

I had decided to go over to the Senate Square for the new year countdown. Heard from the hostel management that there will be fireworks. I wasn’t really a fireworks fan but there no harm in going over to take a look instead of staying alone inside the room.

I reached the square at slightly after 9 pm and caught some bands performance. However, it was strange that after the bands performance, there was NO more performance, i was like wondering to myself “What now? Just stand here in the cold till 12 am?” Hmm, i just took a walk around the market square and saw people releasing fireworks.

I went back to the senate square at around 11 pm, there were some dancing and singing going on on the stage, but it always the same 2 singers singing for nearly an hour. The performance last till near to 12 am then there was a speech given by the priest i think.

Finally it 12 am, the hour that everyone was waiting for. By this time, the square was already pack with thousands of people and when the clock stuck 12, the fireworks were released. It was a long 8 minutes of fireworks, it was really NICE!! AWESOME!!

Cathedral With Stage on the Square

Performance At Senate Square

Serving Hot Drinks to Keep One Warm

Senate Square Pack With People

Senate Square After The Count Down

Better View of Cathedral

Statue of Alexander II

Helsinki Sea Life

thinklunatic — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:16:46 +0000

Came across the Helsinki Sea Life brochure and it state that there 10 different shark species, colourful fish of coral reefs, rays, jelly fish, sea horses and many others. Hmm, after seeing the leaflet then i realise i haven’t been diving for the past 6 months. Argh!!! I MISS MY SHARKS, i should pay them a visit even though we be separated by a glass.

However, it was a total disappointment, first the ocean tank is under renovation, so i can’t see my big sharks. The only sharks left is those small leopard sharks. Argh!! Anyway, i realise i liked jelly fish alot, everytime i saw jellyfish when i went diving or in aquarium, they never failed to amaze me. They are so nice and elegant.

I STILL MISS MY BIG OCEAN and SHARKS!!!

Helsinki Sea Life

Jelly Fish!! Nice!!

More Jelly Fish!!

Amazing Creatures

Helsinki Market Square & Market Hall – Kauppatori

thinklunatic — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:01:06 +0000

One of the most famous Market Square in the city although there are still other marketplaces. It is situated near the centre of Helsinki and just beside the harbor and quays fetching people to and fro from Suomenlinna.

You can find a lot of local wooden carved products here, as well as knitted hats, souvenirs. There also stalls that sell fish, vegetable and fruit products. During the day, the market is usually flock by hundred of tourists. Further to the left of the Market Square is the Market Hall. The Market Hall is quite similar to the Market Square except that they had more specialists shops that sell products like vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat to even cheese.

Walking Around Market Square

The Vegetable Stall

Food Tent

The Market Hall

Interior of the Market Hall

Cheese!! So Many Different Type

Sashimi

Tabby & Yen, it STRAWBERRIES!! There Cherries too, one of my favourite as well!

Helsinki – Ateneum Art Museum

thinklunatic — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:10:54 +0000

Ateneum Art Museum houses a collection of Finnish art, there is also a small collection of art by Van Gogh, Munch and etc. This is not the type of place that i will like or find it interesting, but from 19 Sep 2008 to 18 Jan 2009, there was this exhibitions called Mika Waltari And Artist Friends.

This Multimedia installation art was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Finnish author Mika Waltari. It was really a very wonderful multimedia installation art, one of the best i ever seen.

Ateneum Art Museum

Mika Waltari And Artist Friends Exhibition

Helsinki – Kiasma Museum

thinklunatic — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:24:42 +0000

1 Museum that i like the most in Helsinki was the Museum of Contemporary Art – Kiasma. The Museum offers exhbitions, art, installation projects and etc. Some of the projects i had seen really inspired me. I kept pondering what is the direction of my art, design, interactive? Is it contemporary as well?

True is i don’t really know, what is contemporary art in the first place? When i look up the meaning in Wikipedia, i got this “Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced since World War II.” That not the art i want to present and produce. I want to produce something that allow user to interactive with it and produce different result, each result will be an art piece that is unique by itself. I also want to present the whole process in creating this art piece. Am i trying to create a new form of art?

Anyway, that the light bulb i got after visiting the museum, of course, it was being trigger off when i view some art projects in the museum, their idea and concept were so creative and inspiring that it just kept me thinking, how nice will it be if the audiences could interactive with them.

One particular exhibition i like was the Chair Puzzle, that how i called it. It show a group of people arranging tables and chairs. I had uploaded a sector of the video onto youtube, hope you guys will enjoy it.

Kiasma, Musuem of Contemporary Art

Kiasma Main Floor

Interesting Way To Present the Concept & Idea

I Like The Photos a Lot. Feel Like Freedom?

Tree Cut Out from MacDonald Paper Bag

Video Installation