Over 60 recipes that will tailor and customize your experience with Magento 2 About This Book Solve common problems encountered while extending your Magento 2 store to fit your business needs Delve into the exciting and enhanced features of Magento 2 such as customizing security permissions, intelligent filtered search options, easy third-party integration, among others Learn to build and maintain a Magento 2 shop via a visual-based page editor and customize the look and feel using Magento 2’s offerings on the go Who This Book Is For This book is for every developer who has knowledge of PHP and wants to extend or customize the functionality of their Magento 2 system. If you have prior experience of the Magento platform, you will find this book useful in exploring the advanced features. What You Will Learn Install a Magento 2 shop with sample data Upgrade the data in a Magento 1 shop to a Magento 2 shop Manage the look and feel of the shop with custom themes Extend the shop with custom functionality such as forms, grids, and more Accelerate your store with some performance tool Build and structure your own shipping module Test your shop with automated tests and manage your product display In Detail With the challenges of growing an online business, Magento 2 is an open source e-commerce platform with innumerable functionalities that gives you the freedom to make on-the-fly decisions. It allows you to customize multiple levels of security permissions and enhance the look and feel of your website, and thus gives you a personalized experience in promoting your business. Style and approach This book is packed with a wide range of techniques to modify and extend the functionality of your online store. It contains easy-to-understand recipes starting with the basics and moving on to cover advanced topics. Many recipes work with code examples that can be downloaded from the book’s website.

Improve search experiences with ElasticSearch’s powerful indexing functionality – learn how with this practical ElasticSearch tutorial, packed with tips! About This Book Improve user’s search experience with the correct configuration Deliver relevant search results – fast! Save time and system resources by creating stable clusters Who This Book Is For If you understand the importance of a great search experience this book will show you exactly how to build one with ElasticSearch, one of the world’s leading search servers. What You Will Learn Learn how ElasticSearch efficiently stores data – and find out how it can reduce costs Control document metadata with the correct mapping strategies and by configuring indices Use ElasticSearch analysis and analyzers to incorporate greater intelligence and organization across your documents and data Find out how an ElasticSearch cluster works – and learn the best way to configure it Perform high-speed indexing with low system resource cost Improve query relevance with appropriate mapping, suggest API, and other ElasticSearch functionalities In Detail Beginning with an overview of the way ElasticSearch stores data, you’ll begin to extend your knowledge to tackle indexing and mapping, and learn how to configure ElasticSearch to meet your users’ needs. You’ll then find out how to use analysis and analyzers for greater intelligence in how you organize and pull up search results – to guarantee that every search query is met with the relevant results! You’ll explore the anatomy of an ElasticSearch cluster, and learn how to set up configurations that give you optimum availability as well as scalability. Once you’ve learned how these elements work, you’ll find real-world solutions to help you improve indexing performance, as well as tips and guidance on safety so you can back up and restore data. Once you’ve learned each component outlined throughout, you will be confident that you can help to deliver an improved search experience – exactly what modern users demand and expect. Style and approach This is a comprehensive guide to performing efficient indexing and providing relevant search results using mapping, analyzers, and other ElasticSearch functionalities.

Deliver a better mobile user experience by improving and optimizing your website – follow these practical steps for cutting-edge application development About This Book Optimize your website or application for an improved mobile performance Learn how to create lightweight, intuitive mobile UI and make sure it's supported by a robust application architecture Find out how to improve the performance of your applications by asking the right design questions at each stage in the development workflow Who This Book Is For This book has been created for web developers who want to optimize their website for today’s mobile users. If you understand just how important user experience is, this book is for you – it will help you throughout the entire optimization process. What You Will Learn Learn the three pillars of mobile performance Find out how to ask – and answer – crucial design questions such as ‘mobile or responsive?’ Learn how to minify CSS and JavaScript for improved performance Monitor and debug your website with the leading browser testing tools Explore the impact of caching on performance – and improve it using JavaScript and CSS frameworks Make third-party plugins your friend – avoid common issues and pitfalls In Detail With users increasingly accessing the web on mobile devices, it’s crucial to make sure your website is built to seamlessly fit this radical change in user behavior. Mobile Web Performance Optimization is designed to help you do exactly that – it’s been created to help you build fast, and mobile-user-friendly websites and applications. Featuring guidance through a range of techniques and tools essential to modern mobile development, this accessible guide will make sure you’re delivering a seamless and intuitive experience for your website’s users. Begin by exploring the fundamental components of mobile web design and website optimization, before learning how to put the concepts into practice. Featuring cross-platform solutions, insights on developing lightweight yet robust UI, and insights on how to successfully manage data, this application development book takes you through every stage in the development process – so you can be confident that you’re asking the right questions and using the best tools in the most effective way. By the end, you’ll understand implicitly what it means to ‘build for performance’- you’ll be a more confident developer, capable of building projects that adapt to a changing world. Style and approach This book takes a step-by-step approach to mobile web optimization, explaining the topics in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each topic includes detailed explanations of the basic and advanced features of mobile web optimization.

Over 50 recipes to learn how to use Pentaho Analytics and MongoDB to create powerful analysis and reporting solutions About This Book Create reports and stunning dashboards with MongoDB data Accelerate data access and maximize productivity with unique features of Pentaho for MongoDB A step-by-step recipe-based guide for making full use of Pentaho suite tools with MongoDB Who This Book Is For This book is intended for data architects and developers with a basic level of knowledge of MongoDB. Familiarity with Pentaho is not expected. What You Will Learn Extract, load, and transform data from MongoDB collections to other datasources Design Pentaho Reports using different types of connections for MongoDB Create a OLAP mondrian schema for MongoDB Explore your MongoDB data using Pentaho Analyzer Utilize the drag and drop web interface to create dashboards Use Kettle Thin JDBC with MongoDB for analysis Integrate advanced dashboards with MondoDB using different types of connections Publish and run a report on Pentaho BI server using a web interface In Detail MongoDB is an open source, schemaless NoSQL database system. Pentaho as a famous open source Analysis tool provides high performance, high availability, and easy scalability for large sets of data. The variant features in Pentaho for MongoDB are designed to empower organizations to be more agile and scalable and also enables applications to have better flexibility, faster performance, and lower costs. Whether you are brand new to online learning or a seasoned expert, this book will provide you with the skills you need to create turnkey analytic solutions that deliver insight and drive value for your organization. The book will begin by taking you through Pentaho Data Integration and how it works with MongoDB. You will then be taken through the Kettle Thin JDBC Driver for enabling a Java application to interact with a database. This will be followed by exploration of a MongoDB collection using Pentaho Instant view and creating reports with MongoDB as a datasource using Pentaho Report Designer. The book will then teach you how to explore and visualize your data in Pentaho BI Server using Pentaho Analyzer. You will then learn how to create advanced dashboards with your data. The book concludes by highlighting contributions of the Pentaho Community. Style and approach A comprehensive, recipe-based guide to take complete advantage of the Pentaho Analytics for MongoDB.

Create and develop exciting games from start to finish using SFML About This Book Familiarize yourself with the SFML library and explore additional game development techniques Craft, shape, and improve your games with SFML and common game design elements A practical guide that will teach you how to use utilize the SFML library to build your own, fully functional applications Who This Book Is For This book is intended for game development enthusiasts with at least decent knowledge of the C++ programming language and an optional background in game design. What You Will Learn Create and open a window by using SFML Utilize, manage, and apply all of the features and properties of the SFML library Employ some basic game development techniques to make your game tick Build your own code base to make your game more robust and flexible Apply common game development and programming patterns to solve design problems Handle your visual and auditory resources properly Construct a robust system for user input and interfacing Develop and provide networking capabilities to your game< In Detail Simple and Fast Multimedia Library (SFML) is a simple interface comprising five modules, namely, the audio, graphics, network, system, and window modules, which help to develop cross-platform media applications. By utilizing the SFML library, you are provided with the ability to craft games quickly and easily, without going through an extensive learning curve. This effectively serves as a confidence booster, as well as a way to delve into the game development process itself, before having to worry about more advanced topics such as “rendering pipelines” or “shaders.” With just an investment of moderate C++ knowledge, this book will guide you all the way through the journey of game development. The book starts by building a clone of the classical snake game where you will learn how to open a window and render a basic sprite, write well-structured code to implement the design of the game, and use the AABB bounding box collision concept. The next game is a simple platformer with enemies, obstacles and a few different stages. Here, we will be creating states that will provide custom application flow and explore the most common yet often overlooked design patterns used in game development. Last but not the least, we will create a small RPG game where we will be using common game design patterns, multiple GUI. elements, advanced graphical features, and sounds and music features. We will also be implementing networking features that will allow other players to join and play together. By the end of the book, you will be an expert in using the SFML library to its full potential. Style and approach An elaborate take on the game development process in a way that compliments the reader’s existing knowledge, this book provides plenty of examples and is kind to the uninitiated. Each chapter builds upon the knowledge gained from the previous one and offers clarifications on common issues while still remaining within the scope of its own subject and retaining clarity.

Harness the power of Linux to create versatile and robust embedded solutions About This Book Create efficient and secure embedded devices using Linux Minimize project costs by using open source tools and programs Explore each component technology in depth, using sample implementations as a guide Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for Linux developers and system programmers who are already familiar with embedded systems and who want to know how to create best-in-class devices. A basic understanding of C programming and experience with systems programming is needed. What You Will Learn Understand the role of the Linux kernel and select an appropriate role for your application Use Buildroot and Yocto to create embedded Linux systems quickly and efficiently Create customized bootloaders using U-Boot Employ perf and ftrace to identify performance bottlenecks Understand device trees and make changes to accommodate new hardware on your device Write applications that interact with Linux device drivers Design and write multi-threaded applications using POSIX threads Measure real-time latencies and tune the Linux kernel to minimize them In Detail Mastering Embedded Linux Programming takes you through the product cycle and gives you an in-depth de*ion of the components and options that are available at each stage. You will begin by learning about toolchains, bootloaders, the Linux kernel, and how to configure a root filesystem to create a basic working device. You will then learn how to use the two most commonly used build systems, Buildroot and Yocto, to speed up and simplify the development process. Building on this solid base, the next section considers how to make best use of raw NAND/NOR flash memory and managed flash eMMC chips, including mechanisms for increasing the lifetime of the devices and to perform reliable in-field updates. Next, you need to consider what techniques are best suited to writing applications for your device. We will then see how functions are split between processes and the usage of POSIX threads, which have a big impact on the responsiveness and performance of the final device The closing sections look at the techniques available to developers for profiling and tracing applications and kernel code using perf and ftrace. Style and approach This book is an easy-to-follow and pragmatic guide consisting of an in-depth analysis of the implementation of embedded devices. Each topic has a logical approach to it; this coupled with hints and best practices helps you understand embedded Linux better.

Visualize and analyze your Hadoop data using Hunk About This Book Explore your data in Hadoop and NoSQL data stores Create and optimize your reporting experience with advanced data visualizations and data analytics A comprehensive developer's guide that helps you create outstanding analytical solutions efficiently Who This Book Is For If you are Hadoop developers who want to build efficient real-time Operation Intelligence Solutions based on Hadoop deployments or various NoSQL data stores using Hunk, this book is for you. Some familiarity with Splunk is assumed. What You Will Learn Deploy and configure Hunk on top of Cloudera Hadoop Create and configure Virtual Indexes for datasets Make your data presentable using the wide variety of data visualization components and knowledge objects Design a data model using Hunk best practices Add more flexibility to your analytics solution via extended SDK and custom visualizations Discover data using MongoDB as a data source Integrate Hunk with AWS Elastic MapReduce to improve scalability In Detail Hunk is the big data analytics platform that lets you rapidly explore, analyse, and visualize data in Hadoop and NoSQL data stores. It provides a single, fluid user experience, designed to show you insights from your big data without the need for specialized skills, fixed schemas, or months of development. Hunk goes beyond typical data analysis methods and gives you the power to rapidly detect patterns and find anomalies across petabytes of raw data. This book focuses on exploring, analysing, and visualizing big data in Hadoop and NoSQL data stores with this powerful full-featured big data analytics platform. You will begin by learning the Hunk architecture and Hunk Virtual Index before moving on to how to easily analyze and visualize data using Splunk Search Language (SPL). Next you will meet Hunk Apps which can easy integrate with NoSQL data stores such as MongoDB or Sqqrl. You will also discover Hunk knowledge objects, build a semantic layer on top of Hadoop, and explore data using the friendly user-interface of Hunk Pivot. You will connect MongoDB and explore data in the data store. Finally, you will go through report acceleration techniques and analyze data in the AWS Cloud. Style and approach A step-by-step guide starting right from the basics and deep diving into the more advanced and technical aspects of Hunk.

Master Material Design and create beautiful, animated interfaces for mobile and web applications About This Book Master the highly acclaimed Material Design paradigm and give your apps and pages the look that everyone is talking about Get a mix of key theoretical concepts combined with enough practical examples to put each theory into practice so you can create elegant material interfaces with Android Studio and Polymer Written by Kyle Mew, successful author with over a decade of mobile and web development experience, this book has both the touch of a developer as well as an experienced writer Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for web developers and designers who are interested in implementing Material Design in their mobile and web apps. No prior knowledge or experience of Material Design is required, but some familiarity with procedural languages such as Java and markup languages such as HTML will provide an advantage. What You Will Learn Implement Material Design on both mobile and web platforms that work on older handsets and browsers Design stylish layouts with the Material Theme Create and manage cards, lists, and grids Design and implement sliding drawers for seamless navigation Coordinate components to work together Animate widgets and create transitions and animation program flow Use Polymer to bring Material Design to your web pages In Detail Google's Material Design language has taken the web development and design worlds by storm. Now available on many more platforms than Android, Material Design uses color, light, and movements to not only generate beautiful interfaces, but to provide intuitive navigation for the user. Learning Material Design will teach you the fundamental theories of Material Design using code samples to put these theories into practice. Focusing primarily on Android Studio, you’ll create mobile interfaces using the most widely used and powerful material components, such as sliding drawers and floating action buttons. Each section will introduce the relevant Java classes and APIs required to implement these components. With the rules regarding structure, layout, iconography, and typography covered, we then move into animation and transition, possibly Material Design's most powerful concept, allowing complex hierarchies to be displayed simply and stylishly. With all the basic technologies and concepts mastered, the book concludes by showing you how these skills can be applied to other platforms, in particular web apps, using the powerful Polymer library. Style and approach Learning Material Design combines the theories behind material design with practical examples of how these can be implemented and further reinforcing the guidelines covering style, layout and structure.

Transform your WordPress website into a fully-featured e-commerce store with the power of WooCommerce About This Book Offers do-it-yourself e-commerce solution using WordPress and WooCommerce Discover the new Onboarding wizard that makes complex processes user-friendly Manage your online store and expand its functions using plugins Who This Book Is For This book is suitable for everybody running their own WordPress website, such as small business owners and marketers. It has been written for users, not for programmers, who want to add e-commerce functionality to their existing WordPress website. The book will also appeal to Web design agencies working with WordPress and looking for ways to improve their services for clients working with WordPress. What You Will Learn Use WooCommerce settings to set up the behavior of the online store Get familiar with the downloadable and variable products Set up shipping and payment methods Use discount coupons for marketing purposes Choose the right WooCommerce theme for your online store Customize your website using the Storefront theme as a base Handle orders, payments, and emails on a daily basis with ease Work with WooCommerce reporting possibilities Expanding your online store with the functionalities offered by WooCommerce In Detail Building an online store is often considered to be a difficult, complex task. Using the combination of WordPress and the WooCommerce plugin, this is no longer the case. WooCommerce is the most popular e-commerce platform for WordPress and is being rapidly developed by WooThemes. It provides a strong e-commerce solution to set up your own online store in just a couple of hours. This easy and practical book will help you make the most of WooCommerce to be able to set up and run your online store yourself. Installing WooCommerce is an easy task, but this book will explain in detail all the possible settings. After that you'll be adding products, different payment methods, and shipping solutions to your store. You will then customize your store by adding themes to change the look and feel. Once your store is running, you'll learn how to use discount coupons, process your orders, look at reports, and even expand the functionality further with additional plugins. By the end of the book, you will learn everything you need to add a fully functional online store to you WordPress website and start running an online business. Style and approach This book is a practical, step-by-step guide that will help you manage your online store easily and efficiently, and expand its functions using the WooCommerce plug-in

Leverage the capability of Banana Pi with exciting real-world projects About This Book Delve into the expanse of Banana Pi’s self-managing functionalities and develop real-world projects Gain hands-on experience of developing various wireless, multimedia, robotic, and sensor-based applications with Banana Pi Develop your applications using Banana Pi through a project-based approach Who This Book Is For This book is designed for those who are interested in exploring the capabilities of Banana Pro. Basic know-how of Linux and embedded systems would be an added advantage. What You Will Learn Remotely connect to Banana Pro and program the embedded board Use Banana Pro as a hotspot or provide an AirPlay server for wireless audio transmission Find out about the different programming languages that can be used with Banana Pro Build and program your own multimedia centre in order to watch television and movies Connect peripherals such as a camera, LCD, or hard disk to Banana Pro Manage and regulate your Linux system with Banana Pro Stream music wirelessly from your mobile phone to Banana Pro In Detail This book follows a tactical plan that will guide you through the implementation of Banana Pro and its configurations. You will then learn the various programming languages used with Banana Pi with the help of examples. In no time at all, you’ll be working on a wireless project that implements AirPlay servers, hotspots, and so on. Following this, you’ll develop a retro-style arcade kiosk game. Then we’ll move on to explore the multimedia features of Banana Pro by designing and building an enclosure for it. After this, you’ll learn to build a remote-controlled smart car and we’ll examine how to control a robotic arm. The book will conclude with the creation of a home sensor system that has the ability to expand or shrink to suit any home. Style and approach This book follows a project-based approach that covers the most important features of Banana Pro. Every chapter dives into the practical side of the implementation.

Harness the power of VMware vRealize Operations to efficiently manage your IT infrastructure About This Book Extract the optimum performance, availability, and capacity of your IT infrastructure with the help of vRealise Operations Manager Leverage the power of strategic reports to drive tactful decision-making within the IT department A pragmatic guide to proficiently manage your applications and storage Who This Book Is For If you are a vSphere administrator and wish to optimize your virtual environment, this book is your go-to guide on vRealize Operations. As a vSphere administrator, it is assumed that you have a good understanding of both physical and virtual infrastructure. A basic knowledge of application monitoring and log analysis would be useful when we dive into the capabilities of the solution. What You Will Learn Architect, design, and install vRealize Operations Migrate from the previous vCenter Operations Manager 5.x version, configure vR Ops policies, and create custom groups Use out-of-the-box Dashboards, Views, and Reports and create your own customized Dashboards, Views, and Reports Apply the Alerting framework of Symptoms, Recommendations, and Actions, and create your own Alerting content Leverage the power of Capacity Planning to maximize the utilization of your virtual infrastructure Manage the rest of your infrastructure, including storage and applications, with vRealize Operations Management Packs Extend the solution with vRealize Hyperic and Log Insight In Detail This book will enable you to deliver on the operational disciplines of Performance, Health, Capacity, Configuration, and Compliance by making the best use of solutions provided by vRealize Operations. Starting with architecture, design, and sizing, we will ensure your implementation of vRealize Operations is a success. We will dive into the utilization of a solution to manage your vSphere infrastructure. Then, we will employ out-of-the-box Dashboards and the very powerful Views and Reporting functionality of vRealize Operations to create your custom dashboards and address your reporting requirements. Next, we go through the Alerting framework and how Symptoms, Recommendations, and Actions are used to achieve efficient operations. Later you will master the topic of Capacity Planning, where we look at how important it is to craft appropriate policies to match your requirements, and we’ll consider attitude toward capacity risk, which will aid you to build future project requirements into your capacity plans. Finally, we will look at extending the solution to manage Storage, Applications, and other IT infrastructures using Management Packs from Solution Exchange, as well as how the solution can be enhanced with the integration of Log Insight. Style and approach This book is a pragmatic, step-by-step guide that will quickly build your knowledge of the key capabilities of vRealize Operations. As well as learning about the solution, we will provide you with real-world examples that will help you customize and enhance your virtual environment.

Learn all the Java and Android skills you need to start making powerful mobile applications About This Book Kick-start your Android programming career, or just have fun publishing apps to the Google Play marketplace A first-principles introduction to Java, via Android, which means you’ll be able to start building your own applications from scratch Learn by example and build three real-world apps and over 40 mini apps throughout the book Who This Book Is For Are you trying to start a career in programming, but haven’t found the right way inDo you have a great idea for an app, but don’t know how to make it a realityOr maybe you’re just frustrated that “to learn Android, you must know java.” If so, Android Programming for Beginners is for you. You don’t need any programming experience to follow along with this book, just a computer and a sense of adventure. What You Will Learn Master the fundamentals of coding Java for Android Install and set up your Android development environment Build functional user interfaces with the Android Studio visual designer Add user interaction, data captures, sound, and animation to your apps Manage your apps’ data using the built-in Android SQLite database Find out about the design patterns used by professionals to make top-grade applications Build, deploy, and publish real Android applications to the Google Play marketplace In Detail Android is the most popular OS in the world. There are millions of devices accessing tens of thousands of applications. It is many people's entry point into the world of technology; it is an operating system for everyone. Despite this, the entry-fee to actually make Android applications is usually a computer science degree, or five years’ worth of Java experience. Android Programming for Beginners will be your companion to create Android applications from scratch—whether you’re looking to start your programming career, make an application for work, be reintroduced to mobile development, or are just looking to program for fun. We will introduce you to all the fundamental concepts of programming in an Android context, from the Java basics to working with the Android API. All examples are created from within Android Studio, the official Android development environment that helps supercharge your application development process. After this crash-course, we’ll dive deeper into Android programming and you’ll learn how to create applications with a professional-standard UI through fragments, make location-aware apps with Google Maps integration, and store your user’s data with SQLite. In addition, you’ll see how to make your apps multilingual, capture images from a device’s camera, and work with graphics, sound, and animations too. By the end of this book, you’ll be ready to start building your own custom applications in Android and Java. Style and approach With more than 40 mini apps to code and run, Android Programming for Beginners is a hands-on guide to learning Android and Java. Each example application demonstrates a different aspect of Android programming. Alongside these mini apps, we push your abilities by building three larger applications to demonstrate Android application development in context.

Develop rich, interactive, and real-world web applications using knockout.js About This Book Master the full range of features provided by knockout.js such as declarative binding, automatic refresh, dependency tracking, and templating using this project based guide Tackle real-world problems such as page navigation, forms, composite UI components, maps integration, server interaction for CRUD operations, and application security Discover the power of knockout.js as you build applications with complexity ranging from beginner to advanced Extend and customize knockout.js to harness its full potential Integrate with third party libraries and APIs to build fully featured applications Who This Book Is For This book is intended for designers and developers who want to learn how to use Knockout to develop rich, interactive, and modular web applications. The book assumes no prior knowledge of the Knockout library but basic familiarity with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript would be helpful. What You Will Learn Explore the basic concept behind the Model-View-View Model (MVVM) design pattern and how it is implemented by Knockout Develop a modular application skeleton based on the module pattern that can be used as a template for your projects Create single page, rich, interactive, modular, real-world applications using Knockout Use knockout.js with other libraries and APIs such as JQuery, Bootstrap, and Google Maps API to give your users a richer experience Create a real-world dynamic web form to capture user information and learn how Knockout makes it easier to capture, validate, and submit form data Develop and use dynamic UI components such as grids, tabs, dialogs, and wizards Extend knockout.js to add custom extenders, binding handlers, and observables Communicate with the backend server using JSON over restful web services Secure your single page application using token-based authentication In Detail Knockout is an open source JavaScript library that lets you develop rich, interactive, and modular web applications. It reduces the complexities of JavaScript and HTML development by following the Model-View-View Model (MVVM) design pattern. It allows you to efficiently develop highly scalable, testable, and maintainable web applications that are rich and interactive. Knockout is a pure JavaScript library and supports all major browsers. This book starts with introducing the key features and concepts of knockout.js. It helps you create an application skeleton and a hello world application. You will develop a To-Do list application that aims to show the basic features of knockout.js in action such as data binding and observables, following which you will develop a dynamic online customer registration form that captures and validates customer information. This book will further walk your way to develop a customer banking portal, which demonstrates the use of knockout.js with components such as navigation bars, tabs, carousel, master details view, panels, forms, wizards, and modal dialogs. You will also discover to use token-based authentication and authorization to secure the customer banking portal and move on to creating an editable products grid with CRUD operations. Finally, you will explore using the Google maps api with knockout.js. By working along with the examples, this book will not only leave you with the basic understanding of knockout.js fundamentals but you will also have a web application ready instantly. Style and approach The book takes an iterative approach in explaining and building the sample applications. The applications are built in small portions with each portion delivering a set of features. It is an easy-to-follow yet comprehensive hands-on guide, which is full of real-world applications.

A step-by-step guide that paves the way for developing fantastic games with Unreal Engine 4About This BookLearn about game development and the building blocks that go into creating a gameA simple tutorial for beginners to get acquainted with the Unreal Engine architectureLearn about the features and functionalities of Unreal Engine 4 and how to use them to create your own gamesWho This Book Is ForIf you are new to game development and want to learn how games are created using Unreal Engine 4, this book is the right choice for you. You do not need prior game development experience, but it is expected that you have played games before. Knowledge of C++ would prove to be useful.What You Will LearnLearn what a game engine is, the history of Unreal Engine, and how game studios create gamesExplore the Unreal Engine 4 editor controls and learn how to use the editor to create a room in a game levelUnderstand the basic structures of objects in a game, such as the differences between BSP and static meshesMake objects interactive using level blueprintsLearn more about computer graphics rendering; how materials and light are rendered in your gameGet acquainted with the Material Editor to create materials and use different types of lights in the game levelsUtilize the various editors, tools, and features such as UI, the particle system, audio, terrain manipulation, and cinematics in Unreal Engine 4 to create game levelsIn DetailUnreal Engine 4 is a powerful game development engine that provides rich functionalities to create 2D and 3D games across multiple platforms. Many people know what a game is and they play games every day, but how many of them know how to create a gameUnreal Engine technology powers hundreds of games, and thousands of individuals have built careers and companies around skills developed using this engine.Learning Unreal Engine 4 Game Development starts with small, simple game ideas and playable projects that you can actually finish. The book first teaches you the basics of using Unreal Engine to create a simple game level. Then, you'll learn how to add details such as actors, animation, effects, and so on to the game. The complexity will increase over the chapters and the examples chosen will help you learn a wide variety of game development techniques. This book aims to equip you with the confidence and skills to design and build your own games using Unreal Engine 4. By the end of this book, you'll have learnt about the entire Unreal suite and know how to successfully create fun, simple games.Style and approach This book explains in detail what goes into the development of a game, provides hands-on examples that you can follow to create the different components of a game, and provides sufficient background/theory to equip you with a solid foundation for creating your own games.

Uncover the secrets of Linux binary analysis with this handy guideAbout This BookGrasp the intricacies of the ELF binary format of UNIX and LinuxDesign tools for reverse engineering and binary forensic analysisInsights into UNIX and Linux memory infections, ELF viruses, and binary protection schemesWho This Book Is ForIf you are a software engineer or reverse engineer and want to learn more about Linux binary analysis, this book will provide you with all you need to implement solutions for binary analysis in areas of security, forensics, and antivirus. This book is great for both security enthusiasts and system level engineers. Some experience with the C programming language and the Linux command line is assumed.What You Will LearnExplore the internal workings of the ELF binary formatDiscover techniques for UNIX Virus infection and analysisWork with binary hardening and software anti-tamper methodsPatch executables and process memoryBypass anti-debugging measures used in malwarePerform advanced forensic analysis of binariesDesign ELF-related tools in the C languageLearn to operate on memory with ptraceIn DetailLearning Linux Binary Analysis is packed with knowledge and code that will teach you the inner workings of the ELF format, and the methods used by hackers and security analysts for virus analysis, binary patching, software protection and more.This book will start by taking you through UNIX/Linux object utilities, and will move on to teaching you all about the ELF specimen. You will learn about process tracing, and will explore the different types of Linux and UNIX viruses, and how you can make use of ELF Virus Technology to deal with them.The latter half of the book discusses the usage of Kprobe instrumentation for kernel hacking, code patching, and debugging. You will discover how to detect and disinfect kernel-mode rootkits, and move on to analyze static code. Finally, you will be walked through complex userspace memory infection analysis.This book will lead you into territory that is uncharted even by some experts; right into the world of the computer hacker.Style and approachThe material in this book provides detailed insight into the arcane arts of hacking, coding, reverse engineering Linux executables, and dissecting process memory. In the computer security industry these skills are priceless, and scarce. The tutorials are filled with knowledge gained through first hand experience, and are complemented with frequent examples including source code.

Over 50 hands-on recipes that will help you develop amazing real-time applications using GPIO, RS232, ADC, DAC, timers, audio codecs, graphics LCD, and a touch screen About This Book This book focuses on programming embedded systems using a practical approach Examples show how to use bitmapped graphics and manipulate digital audio to produce amazing games and other multimedia applications The recipes in this book are written using ARM’s MDK Microcontroller Development Kit which is the most comprehensive and accessible development solution Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at those with an interest in designing and programming embedded systems. These could include electrical engineers or computer programmers who want to get started with microcontroller applications using the ARM Cortex-M4 architecture in a short time frame. The book’s recipes can also be used to support students learning embedded programming for the first time. Basic knowledge of programming using a high level language is essential but those familiar with other high level languages such as Python or Java should not have too much difficulty picking up the basics of embedded C programming. What You Will Learn Use ARM’s uVision MDK to configure the microcontroller run time environment (RTE), create projects and compile download and run simple programs on an evaluation board. Use and extend device family packs to configure I/O peripherals. Develop multimedia applications using the touchscreen and audio codec beep generator. Configure the codec to stream digital audio and design digital filters to create amazing audio effects. Write multi-threaded programs using ARM’s real time operating system (RTOS). Write critical sections of code in assembly language and integrate these with functions written in C. Fix problems using ARM’s debugging tool to set breakpoints and examine variables. Port uVision projects to other open source development environments. In Detail Embedded microcontrollers are at the core of many everyday electronic devices. Electronic automotive systems rely on these devices for engine management, anti-lock brakes, in car entertainment, automatic transmission, active suspension, satellite navigation, etc. The so-called internet of things drives the market for such technology, so much so that embedded cores now represent 90% of all processor’s sold. The ARM Cortex-M4 is one of the most powerful microcontrollers on the market and includes a floating point unit (FPU) which enables it to address applications. The ARM Cortex-M4 Microcontroller Cookbook provides a practical introduction to programming an embedded microcontroller architecture. This book attempts to address this through a series of recipes that develop embedded applications targeting the ARM-Cortex M4 device family. The recipes in this book have all been tested using the Keil MCBSTM32F400 board. This board includes a small graphic LCD touchscreen (320x240 pixels) that can be used to create a variety of 2D gaming applications. These motivate a younger audience and are used throughout the book to illustrate particular hardware peripherals and software concepts. C language is used predominantly throughout but one chapter is devoted to recipes involving assembly language. Programs are mostly written using ARM’s free microcontroller development kit (MDK) but for those looking for open source development environments the book also shows how to configure the ARM-GNU toolchain. Some of the recipes described in the book are the basis for laboratories and assignments undertaken by undergraduates. Style and approach The ARM Cortex-M4 Cookbook is a practical guide full of hands-on recipes. It follows a step-by-step approach that allows you to find, utilize and learn ARM concepts quickly.

Create robust and extensible iOS apps using the advanced features of Swift 2 About This Book Get up to speed with the new features of Swift 2 by following the exhaustive examples in this book Specialize in developing real iOS apps, and 2D and 3D videogames using Swift and Cocoapods Learn how to build server API apps to feed your iOS client apps Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for those who want to learn to develop app in Swift, starting the right way. Whether you are an expert Objective-C programmer or are new to this platform, you’ll quickly grasp the code of real world apps, and discover how to use Swift effectively. Prior experience in development for Apple devices would be helpful, but is not mandatory. What You Will Learn Create a server in Swift to deliver JSON data to an iOS app Take advantage of Cocoapods to use third-party libraries Use a clean and effective architecture to decrease complexity and speed up development Take advantage of the most useful parts of the iOS SDK Build games with SpriteKit and SceneKit Develop an app running on the cloud to act as an API server for your client’s apps In Detail Swift is no longer the unripe language it was when launched by Apple at WWDC14, now it’s a powerful and ready-for-production programming language that has empowered most new released apps. Swift is a user-friendly language with a smooth learning curve; it is safe, robust, and really flexible. Swift 2 is more powerful than ever; it introduces new ways to solve old problems, more robust error handling, and a new programming paradigm that favours composition over inheritance. Swift 2 by Example is a fast-paced, practical guide to help you learn how to develop iOS apps using Swift. Through the development of seven different iOS apps and one server app, you’ll find out how to use either the right feature of the language or the right tool to solve a given problem. We begin by introducing you to the latest features of Swift 2, further kick-starting your app development journey by building a guessing game app, followed by a memory game. It doesn’t end there, with a few more apps in store for you: a to-do list, a beautiful weather app, two games: Flappy Swift and Cube Runner, and finally an ecommerce app to top everything off. By the end of the book, you’ll be able to build well-designed apps, effectively use AutoLayout, develop videogames, and build server apps. Style and approach These easy-to-follow tutorials show you how to build real-world apps. The difficulty and complexity level increases chapter by chapter. Each chapter is dedicated to build a new app, beginning from a basic and unstyled app through to a full 3D game. The last two chapters show you how to build a complete client-server ecommerce app right from scratch.

Explore Raspberry Pi's architecture through innovative and fun projects About This Book Explore Raspberry Pi 2’s hardware through the Assembly, C/C++, and Python programming languages Experiment with connecting electronics up to your Raspberry Pi 2 and interacting with them through software Learn about the Raspberry Pi 2 architecture and Raspbian operating system through innovative projects Who This Book Is For Raspberry Pi Computer Architecture Essentials is for those who are new and those who are familiar with the Raspberry Pi. Each topic builds upon earlier ones to provide you with a guide to Raspberry Pi’s architecture. From the novice to the expert, there is something for everyone. A basic knowledge of programming and Linux would be helpful but is not required. What You Will Learn Set up your Raspberry Pi 2 and learn about its hardware Write basic programs in Assembly Language to learn about the ARM architecture Use C and C++ to interact with electronic components Find out about the Python language and how to use it to build web applications Interact with third-party microcontrollers Experiment with graphics and audio programming Expand Raspberry Pi 2’s storage mechanism by using external devices Discover Raspberry Pi 2’s GPIO pins and how to interact with them In Detail With the release of the Raspberry Pi 2, a new series of the popular compact computer is available for you to build cheap, exciting projects and learn about programming. In this book, we explore Raspberry Pi 2’s hardware through a number of projects in a variety of programming languages. We will start by exploring the various hardware components in detail, which will provide a base for the programming projects and guide you through setting up the tools for Assembler, C/C++, and Python. We will then learn how to write multi-threaded applications and Raspberry Pi 2’s multi-core processor. Moving on, you’ll get hands on by expanding the storage options of the Raspberry Pi beyond the SD card and interacting with the graphics hardware. Furthermore, you will be introduced to the basics of sound programming while expanding upon your knowledge of Python to build a web server. Finally, you will learn to interact with the third-party microcontrollers. From writing your first Assembly Language application to programming graphics, this title guides you through the essentials. Style and approach This book takes a step-by-step approach to exploring Raspberry Pi’s architecture through projects that build upon each other. Each project provides you with new information on how to interact with an aspect of the Raspberry Pi and Raspbian operating system, providing a well-rounded guide.

Extend the power of your infrastructure and applications with Salt modules About This Book Get the most up-to-date practical resource on writing new Salt modules and extending Salt Learn through use cases and encounter both commonly-used modules as well as advanced ones Effectively troubleshoot problems and hiccups encountered while building and putting modules to work Who This Book Is For This book is for both new and existing Salt developers who are looking to build and write new Salt modules. Some prior Python development experience is expected. What You Will Learn Understand the working of Salt's Loader system Write several of the most common types of Salt modules Interact between different kinds of modules and build new ones Submit open source modules upstream to the Salt project Make Salt interact with third-party services and applications In Detail Salt already ships with a very powerful set of tools, but that doesn't mean that they all suit your needs perfectly. By adding your own modules and enhancing existing ones, you can bring the functionality that you need to increase your productivity. Extending SaltStack follows a tutorial-based approach to explain different types of modules, from fundamentals to complete and full-functioning modules. Starting with the Loader system that drives Salt, this book will guide you through the most common types of modules. First you will learn how to write execution modules. Then you will extend the configuration using the grain, pillar, and SDB modules. Next up will be state modules and then the renderers that can be used with them. This will be followed with returner and output modules, which increase your options to manage return data. After that, there will be modules for external file servers, clouds, beacons, and finally external authentication and wheel modules to manage the master. With this guide in hand, you will be prepared to create, troubleshoot, and manage the most common types of Salt modules and take your infrastructure to new heights! Style and approach This book follows a step-by-step tutorial-based approach explaining the different types of modules, from fundamentals to complete and full-functioning modules.

A one-stop guide to the essentials of web development including popular frameworks such as jQuery, Bootstrap, AngularJS, and Node.js About This Book Understand the essential elements of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, including how and when to use them Walk through three of the best and most popular web development frameworks – jQuery, Bootstrap, and AngularJS References for any function you will need in your day-to-day web development Who This Book Is For This book is perfect for beginners but more advanced web developers will also benefit. Laid out so you can refer to as much or as little as you need to, with this book you can exhaustively explore essential concepts for modern web developers. What You Will Learn Explore detailed explanations of all the major HTML elements and attributes, illustrated with examples Take a deep dive into CSS properties and functions and master their usage Find clear, concise de*ions of JavaScript syntax and expressions Recognize various JavaScript design patterns and learn the basics of JavaScript object-orientated programming Implement the latest ECMAScript 6 for client-side *ing in your web applications Discover new ways to develop your website's front end quickly and easily using Bootstrap Write JavaScript extensibly using jQuery-JavaScript's feature-rich library Delve into the key Node.js modules used in JavaScript server-side programming Access AngularJS 's important modules, controllers, directives, and services quickly In Detail This comprehensive reference guide takes you through each topic in web development and highlights the most popular and important elements of each area. Starting with HTML, you will learn key elements and attributes and how they relate to each other. Next, you will explore CSS pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements, followed by CSS properties and functions. This will introduce you to many powerful and new selectors. You will then move on to JavaScript. This section will not just introduce functions, but will provide you with an entire reference for the language and paradigms. You will discover more about three of the most popular frameworks today—Bootstrap, which builds on CSS, jQuery which builds on JavaScript, and AngularJS, which also builds on JavaScript. Finally, you will take a walk-through Node.js, which is a server-side framework that allows you to write programs in JavaScript. Style and approach This book is an easy-to-follow, comprehensive reference guide. Each topic, function, or element is listed methodically along with parameters, return values, and de*ions. Examples are also included to help you put the concepts to use quickly in the real world.

An example-based practical guide to get you up and running with Unity 5.x About This Book The most updated resource on Unity 5.x with comprehensive discussion on all the new features of Unity 5.x Understand the core concepts surrounding Unity5 game development with this power-packed hands-on guide Brush up your existing game development skills and create games that have a brilliant gameplay using the excellent examples from this book Who This Book Is For The ideal target audience for this book would be game developers. They need not have previous experience with Unity since this book will cover all the basics about game development with unity. This would also be a very good resource for Unity developers who want to brush up their basic Unity skills and also get up and running with creating interesting games with Unity 5.x. What You Will Learn Understand core Unity concepts, such as game objects, components, and scenes Learn level design techniques for building immersive and interesting worlds Learn to make functional games with C# *ing Use the toolset creatively to build games of different themes and styles Learn to handle player controls and input functionality Dive into the process of working with terrains and world-creation tools Import custom content into Unity from third-party tools, such as Maya and Blender Get to grips with making both 2D and 3D games In Detail Unity is an exciting and popular engine in the game industry. Throughout this book, you’ll learn how to use Unity by making four fun game projects, from shooters and platformers to exploration and adventure games. Unity 5 By Example is an easy-to-follow guide for quickly learning how to use Unity in practical context, step by step, by making real-world game projects. Even if you have no previous experience of Unity, this book will help you understand the toolset in depth. You'll learn how to create a time-critical collection game, a twin-stick space shooter, a platformer, and an action-fest game with intelligent enemies. In clear and accessible prose, this book will present you with step-by-step tutorials for making four interesting games in Unity 5 and explain all the fundamental concepts along the way. Starting from the ground up and moving toward an intermediate level, this book will help you establish a strong foundation in making games with Unity 5. Style and approach This book would be a very unique resource for any game developer who wants to get up and running with Unity. The unique example based approach will take you through the most basic games towards the more complex ones and will gradually build your skill level.