Luke Francl's Portfolio

Publications

Running Individual Test Cases from Ant. September 12, 2003 (O'Reilly/Sun).

Eikon Image Search. February 16, 2002. Presented at CodeCon 2002.

Software

Ancept Media Server. AMS is a digital asset management system used to store digital media including documents, images, audio, and video. November 2001 - Present.

LIMO. The Lucene Index Monitor is a web-based tool for browsing the contents of Lucene indexes. It provides a feature set similar to the Lucene Index Toolkit LUKE, but because it is web-based, you do not need local access to the server that has the Lucene index. I added search and highlighting, query explanation, index file statistics, and unstored document reconstruction. November 2004 - December 2004.

Word Unmunger. The Word Unumger is a Python script which cleans up Microsoft Word-generated HTML. It is possibly my most widely-used and useful piece of software to date. November - December 2002.

Eikon Image Search. Eikon performs content-based image query using wavelets. That is, it matches similar images based on their structure. June 2001. Eikon was re-implemented in early 2002 using Java Servlets and demonstrated at CodeCon 2002.

ArsDigita ACS 4.x problem sets 1 and 2, completed at ArsDigita's intensive two week long web development Boot Camp, January 2001.

Software engineering project. An MOCVD (Metallo Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) simulator. Features: written in Java 2, uses XML for recipe input, extensible OO architecture, automatically generated JavaDoc. This project was completed in group of 4, coordinating with a group of 3 working on the storage section. I wrote the XML handling using SAX2, much of the main control loop, and helped with the UI. Because of the quality of our design and documentation, our implementation of the MOCVD simulator was chosen to be used in future software engineering classes. Fall Semester, 2000.

Digital Library IMAGES (Image Metadata AGgregation for Enhanced Searching) image metadata search engine prototype. Developed for the University Libraries, the IMAGES prototype featured: XML-based import and export, full-text search, and image display. November 2000.

Mailform script (read tutorial). Developed for the University Libraries to allow web page authors to create their own simple HTML email forms. Summer 2000.

University of Minnesota Libraries website back end. Developed to power the Libraries' redesigned website, this simple content management system features: PHP scripts, CSS, and databases which control title, website section, page level, site overview, and page comment submission, plus full documentation. Implemented in MySQL and PHP. Initiated and implemented "stretchy pages" (August 2000) instead of fixed-width 800x600 resolution secondary pages, but not responsible for graphics. Complete design and implementation of a site-wide authentication and access control system to tie all the Libraries resources together (May 2001). February 2000 - May 2001.

The Tent Map. This PHP script demonstrates chaotic orbits in a simple dynamical system (this program no longer works because of changes in PHP default settings). Final project for Math 5535, Dynamical Systems and Chaos. December 1999.

Websites and User Interface Design

I am not a graphic designer, but I am an avid reader of Edward Tufte, Don Norman, and Jakob Nielsen and try to put their principles into effect in my designs and day-to-day work.

Onion Networks website. Onion Networks needed a site that would be attractive, easy to use, and flexible enough to be extended to new uses by someone with minimal knowledge of HTML. The site features a news bar that can be used on either side or not at all, easy to use navigation; a light bandwidth footprint; and it works in all browsers. Summer 2001.
University Libraries homepage mockup. Significantly smaller and more elegant (and probably easier to use) than the Libraries' current 40K homepage, I developed this 7K contender on my own time because I had an idea for it. Unlike the current homepage, it downloads quickly and works at any resolution. August 2001.
MNLINK (library catalog) search results mockup based on study of Edward Tufte and Google. Extremely light on graphics, tasteful use of color, simple layout. August 2000.
The Mertle Collection on the History of Photomechanics. Made when I was still a "web developer", this site is pure flat HTML. I designed and implemented both the graphics and the layout. It's shamefully old, but I still like the design. February 1998.