Uncover the power of MySQL 8 for Big Data About This Book ? Combine the powers of MySQL and Hadoop to build a solid Big Data solution for your organization ? Integrate MySQL with different NoSQL APIs and Big Data tools such as Apache Sqoop ? A comprehensive guide with practical examples on building a high performance Big Data pipeline with MySQL Who This Book Is For This book is intended for MySQL database administrators and Big Data professionals looking to integrate MySQL 8 and Hadoop to implement a high performance Big Data solution. Some previous experience with MySQL will be helpful, although the book will highlight the newer features introduced in MySQL 8. What You Will Learn ? Explore the features of MySQL 8 and how they can be leveraged to handle Big Data ? Unlock the new features of MySQL 8 for managing structured and unstructured Big Data ? Integrate MySQL 8 and Hadoop for efficient data processing ? Perform aggregation using MySQL 8 for optimum data utilization ? Explore different kinds of join and union in MySQL 8 to process Big Data efficiently ? Accelerate Big Data processing with Memcached ? Integrate MySQL with the NoSQL API ? Implement replication to build highly available solutions for Big Data In Detail With organizations handling large amounts of data on a regular basis, MySQL has become a popular solution to handle this structured Big Data. In this book, you will see how DBAs can use MySQL 8 to handle billions of records, and load and retrieve data with performance comparable or superior to commercial DB solutions with higher costs. Many organizations today depend on MySQL for their websites and a Big Data solution for their data archiving, storage, and analysis needs. However, integrating them can be challenging. This book will show you how to implement a successful Big Data strategy with Apache Hadoop and MySQL 8. It will cover real-time use case scenario to explain integration and achieve Big Data solutions using technologies such as Apache Hadoop, Apache Sqoop, and MySQL Applier. Also, the book includes case studies on Apache Sqoop and real-time event processing. By the end of this book, you will know how to efficiently use MySQL 8 to manage data for your Big Data applications. Style and approach Step by Step guide filled with real-world practical examples.

Explore over 110 recipes to analyze data and build predictive models with simple and easy-to-use R code About This Book ? Apply R to simplify predictive modeling with short and simple code ? Use machine learning to solve problems ranging from small to big data ? Build a training and testing dataset, applying different classification methods. Who This Book Is For This book is for data science professionals, data analysts, or people who have used R for data analysis and machine learning who now wish to become the go-to person for machine learning with R. Those who wish to improve the efficiency of their machine learning models and need to work with different kinds of data set will find this book very insightful. What You Will Learn ? Create and inspect transaction datasets and perform association analysis with the Apriori algorithm ? Visualize patterns and associations using a range of graphs and find frequent item-sets using the Eclat algorithm ? Compare differences between each regression method to discover how they solve problems ? Detect and impute missing values in air quality data ? Predict possible churn users with the classification approach ? Plot the autocorrelation function with time series analysis ? Use the Cox proportional hazards model for survival analysis ? Implement the clustering method to segment customer data ? Compress images with the dimension reduction method ? Incorporate R and Hadoop to solve machine learning problems on big data In Detail Big data has become a popular buzzword across many industries. An increasing number of people have been exposed to the term and are looking at how to leverage big data in their own businesses, to improve sales and profitability. However, collecting, aggregating, and visualizing data is just one part of the equation. Being able to extract useful information from data is another task, and a much more challenging one. Machine Learning with R Cookbook, Second Edition uses a practical approach to teach you how to perform machine learning with R. Each chapter is divided into several simple recipes. Through the step-by-step instructions provided in each recipe, you will be able to construct a predictive model by using a variety of machine learning packages. In this book, you will first learn to set up the R environment and use simple R commands to explore data. The next topic covers how to perform statistical analysis with machine learning analysis and assess created models, covered in detail later on in the book. You'll also learn how to integrate R and Hadoop to create a big data analysis platform. The detailed illustrations provide all the information required to start applying machine learning to individual projects. With Machine Learning with R Cookbook, machine learning has never been easier. Style and approach This is an easy-to-follow guide packed with hands-on examples of machine learning tasks. Each topic includes step-by-step instructions on tackling difficulties faced when applying R to machine learning.

Manage, fine-tune, secure and deploy your MongoDB solution with ease with the help of practical recipes About This Book ? Configure and deploy your MongoDB instance securely, without any hassle ? Optimize your database's query performance, perform scale-out operations, and make your database highly available ? Practical guide with a recipe-based approach to help you tackle any problem in the application and database administration aspects of MongoDB Who This Book Is For Database administrators with a basic understanding of the features of MongoDB and who want to professionally configure, deploy, and administer a MongoDB database, will find this book essential. If you are a MongoDB developer and want to get into MongoDB administration, this book will also help you. What You Will Learn ? Install and deploy MongoDB in production ? Manage and implement optimal indexes ? Optimize monitoring in MongoDB ? Fine-tune the performance of your queries ? Debug and diagnose your database's performance ? Optimize database backups and recovery and ensure high availability ? Make your MongoDB instance scalable ? Implement security and user authentication features in MongoDB ? Master optimal cloud deployment strategies In Detail MongoDB is a high-performance and feature-rich NoSQL database that forms the backbone of the systems that power many different organizations. Packed with many features that have become essential for many different types of software professional and incredibly easy to use, this cookbook contains more than 100 recipes to address the everyday challenges of working with MongoDB. Starting with database configuration, you will understand the indexing aspects of MongoDB. The book also includes practical recipes on how you can optimize your database query performance, perform diagnostics, and query debugging. You will also learn how to implement the core administration tasks required for high-availability and scalability, achieved through replica sets and sharding, respectively. You will also implement server security concepts such as authentication, user management, role-based access models, and TLS configuration. You will also learn how to back up and recover your database efficiently and monitor server performance. By the end of this book, you will have all the information you need—along with tips, tricks, and best practices—to implement a high-performance MongoDB solution. Style and approach This practical book follows a problem-solution approach to help you tackle any issues encountered while performing MongoDB administrative tasks. Each recipe is detailed, and explained in a very easy to understand manner

Discover the best way to build, design and launch professional websites with Squarespace quickly, without needing to learn any code About This Book ? Discover time-saving tricks and best practices, and avoid common pitfalls while creating a website ? Create visually stunning Responsive Design templates for your website with Squarespace 7 ? Understand how to monitor, measure, and manage your website after launching it Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for anyone who wants to learn how to use the latest version of Squarespace to create a website from scratch and take it through to go-live. You don't need any prior experience with Squarespace, HTML, or CSS, or building websites in general as everything is done using Squarespace's simple, browser-based interface. What You Will Learn ? Develop an essential Website Toolkit that will act as reference and materials for your entire project, ensuring you stay on-target to meet your objectives ? Set up your Squarespace account, learn how the interface works, and select the correct template for your website's purpose and goals ? Create your website framework, fill it with content, and arrange your pages using Squarespace's easy drag-and-drop tools ? Customize your site's look and feel to match your brand, and create a stunning visual impact for your website on all types of devices, including mobiles and tablets ? Configure the core functions your business needs, whether connecting to social media, promoting events, showcasing your work, or selling goods and services online ? Learn time-saving tricks and how to avoid common pitfalls from an experienced professional with years of Squarespace experience ? Gain valuable insights about search engine optimization, communicating effectively online, and other e-marketing advice ? How to monitor, measure, and manage your website post-launch In Detail Squarespace is a web-based tool that allows non-technical people to create and manage professional-looking websites quickly, without needing to write any code. It empowers business owners to take total control of their own websites, without needing to pay someone to design or maintain it. This book covers much more than just how to use Squarespace. It covers all aspects of creating a successful business website, from developing your brand identity, to writing and structuring content to match your target audience's needs, and dozens of other other valuable tips that will help your website shine. Most importantly, you'll learn the correct steps to follow in order to ensure your project is smooth and stress-free. The book starts by helping you plan your website project and gather all the raw materials you'll need. Next, you'll set up your account and become familiar with the terminology and tools that you'll be using. Once you've learned the basics of how the Squarespace interface, templates, and different page types operate, you will create the framework of your website, ready for you to insert content and functionality. Then, once all the core elements are in place, you'll apply the aesthetic fine-tuning needed to bring your website in line with your brand. After the aesthetics have been honed and all functions tested, you will launch your website and drive traffic to it, monitor it, and improve it. Style and approach This easy-to-follow guide will teach you to build websites the easiest way in the latest version of Squarespace.

Create engaging user experiences and awesome user interfaces using this guide About This Book ? Move beyond default UI templates, create and customize amazing UIs with Android Custom View ? Enable smooth data flow and create futuristic UIs by creating flexible custom views ? Scale your apps with responsive and data intensive views Who This Book Is For This book is for Android developers who want to create great user interfaces and move beyond the basics of the standard UI elements. They must have basic Android development knowledge along with basic Java programming. What You Will Learn ? Extend the standard UI widget framework by creating Custom views ? Add complex rendering, animations, and interactions to your views ? Optimize performance and decrease battery usage ? Implement custom views to share between multiple projects, or share it publicly ? Create 3D custom views using OpenGL ES In Detail To build great user interfaces for your Android apps that go beyond the standard UI elements, you need to use custom Android views. With these, you can give your app a distinctive look and ensure that it functions properly across multiple devices. This book will help you construct a great UI for your apps by teaching you how to create custom Android views. You will start by creating your first Android custom view and go through the design considerations. You will then see how the right choices will enable your custom view to perform seamlessly across multiple platforms and Android versions. You will create custom styleable attributes that work with Android XML layouts, learn to process touch events, define custom attributes, and add properties and events to them. By the end of this book, you will be able to create apps with custom views that are responsive and adaptable to make your app distinctive and an instant hit with its users. Style and approach The approach will be that of a step by step practical tutorial. The book will take you through a complete journey, right from creating your first Android view to customizing it to enable it to support any complex app.

Solve different problems in modelling deep neural networks using Python, Tensorflow, and Keras with this practical guide About This Book ? Practical recipes on training different neural network models and tuning them for optimal performance ? Use Python frameworks like TensorFlow, Caffe, Keras, Theano for Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, and more ? A hands-on guide covering the common as well as the not so common problems in deep learning using Python Who This Book Is For This book is intended for machine learning professionals who are looking to use deep learning algorithms to create real-world applications using Python. Thorough understanding of the machine learning concepts and Python libraries such as NumPy, SciPy and scikit-learn is expected. Additionally, basic knowledge in linear algebra and calculus is desired. What You Will Learn ? Implement different neural network models in Python ? Select the best Python framework for deep learning such as PyTorch, Tensorflow, MXNet and Keras ? Apply tips and tricks related to neural networks internals, to boost learning performances ? Consolidate machine learning principles and apply them in the deep learning field ? Reuse and adapt Python code snippets to everyday problems ? Evaluate the cost/benefits and performance implication of each discussed solution In Detail Deep Learning is revolutionizing a wide range of industries. For many applications, deep learning has proven to outperform humans by making faster and more accurate predictions. This book provides a top-down and bottom-up approach to demonstrate deep learning solutions to real-world problems in different areas. These applications include Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Time Series, and Robotics. The Python Deep Learning Cookbook presents technical solutions to the issues presented, along with a detailed explanation of the solutions. Furthermore, a discussion on corresponding pros and cons of implementing the proposed solution using one of the popular frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras and CNTK is provided. The book includes recipes that are related to the basic concepts of neural networks. All techniques s, as well as classical networks topologies. The main purpose of this book is to provide Python programmers a detailed list of recipes to apply deep learning to common and not-so-common scenarios. Style and approach Unique blend of independent recipes arranged in the most logical manner

Master the art of automating and managing your environment using PowerShell About This Book ? Find quick solutions to automate your environment with ease ? Work with large amounts of data effortlessly with PowerShell data types and secure them ? Packed with real-world examples to automate and simplify the management of your Windows environment Who This Book Is For If you are a system administrator who wants to become an expert in controlling and automating your Windows environment, then this book is for you. It is also for those new to the PowerShell language. What You Will Learn ? Optimize code through the use of functions, switches, and looping structures ? Install PowerShell on your Linux system ? Utilize variables, hashes, and arrays to store data ? Work with Objects and Operators to test and manipulate data ? Parse and manipulate different data types ? Write .NET classes with ease within the PowerShell ? Create and implement regular expressions in PowerShell *s ? Deploy applications and code with PowerShell’s Package management modules ? Leverage session-based remote management ? Manage files, folders, and registries through the use of PowerShell In Detail PowerShell *s offer a handy way to automate various chores. Working with these *s effectively can be a difficult task. This comprehensive guide starts from scratch and covers advanced-level topics to make you a PowerShell expert. The first module, PowerShell Fundamentals, begins with new features, installing PowerShell on Linux, working with parameters and objects, and also how you can work with .NET classes from within PowerShell. In the next module, you’ll see how to efficiently manage large amounts of data and interact with other services using PowerShell. You’ll be able to make the most of PowerShell’s powerful automation feature, where you will have different methods to parse and manipulate data, regular expressions, and WMI. After automation, you will enter the Extending PowerShell module, which covers topics such as asynchronous processing and, creating modules. The final step is to secure your PowerShell, so you will land in the last module, Securing and Debugging PowerShell, which covers PowerShell execution policies, error handling techniques, and testing. By the end of the book, you will be an expert in using the PowerShell language. Style and approach This practical guide covers all the advanced PowerShell functionalities that an administrator needs to learn to automate their environments.

Master realistic animations and graphics, particle systems, game AI and physics, sprites and VR development with Unity 2017 About This Book ? Create professional grade games with realistic animation and graphics, particle systems and game physics with Unity 2017 ? Unleash the power of C# *ing to create intelligent game AI and professional grade game workflows. ? Create immersive VR games using the latest Unity 2017 VR SDK. Who This Book Is For If you are a Unity developer who now wants to develop and deploy interesting games by leveraging the new features of Unity 2017, then this is the book for you. Basic knowledge of C# programming is assumed. What You Will Learn ? Explore hands-on tasks and real-world scenarios to make a Unity horror adventure game ? Create enemy characters that act intelligently and make reasoned decisions ? Use data files to save and restore game data in a way that is platform-agnostic ? Get started with VR development ? Use navigation meshes, occlusion culling, and Profiler tools ? Work confidently with GameObjects, rotations, and transformations ? Understand specific gameplay features such as AI enemies, inventory systems, and level design In Detail Do you want to make the leap from being an everyday Unity developer to being a pro game developer? Then look no further! This book is your one-stop solution to creating mesmerizing games with lifelike features and amazing gameplay. This book focuses in some detail on a practical project with Unity, building a first-person game with many features. You'll delve into the architecture of a Unity game, creating expansive worlds, interesting render effects, and other features to make your games special. You will create individual game components, use efficient animation techniques, and implement collision and physics effectively. Specifically, we'll explore optimal techniques for importing game assets, such as meshes and textures; tips and tricks for effective level design; how to animate and * NPCs; how to configure and deploy to mobile devices; how to prepare for VR development; how to work with version control; and more. By the end of this book, you'll have developed sufficient competency in Unity development to produce fun games with confidence. Style and approach This book takes an easy-to-follow, step-by-step tutorial approach. You will create an advanced level Unity game with an emphasis on leveraging advanced Unity 2017 features while developing the game in its entirety.

Getting started with the processes and the tools to continuously deliver high-quality software About This Book ? Incorporate popular development practices to prevent messy code ? Automate your build, integration, release, and deployment processes with Jenkins, Git, and Gulp―and learn how continuous integration (CI) can save you time and money ? Gain an end-to-end overview of Continuous Integration using different languages (JavaScript and C#) and tools (Gulp and Jenkins) Who This Book Is For This book is for developers who want to understand and implement Continuous Integration and Delivery in their daily work. A basic knowledge of at least JavaScript and HTML/CSS is required. Knowing C# and SQL will come in handy. Most programmers who have programmed in a (compiled) C-like language will be able to follow along. What You Will Learn ? Get to know all the aspects of Continuous Integration, Deployment, and Delivery ? Find out how Git can be used in a CI environment ? Set up browser tests using Karma and Selenium and unit tests using Jasmine ? Use Node.js, npm, and Gulp to automate tasks such as linting, testing, and minification ? Explore different Jenkins jobs to integrate with Node.js and C# projects ? Perform Continuous Delivery and Deployment using Jenkins ? Test and deliver a web API In Detail The challenge faced by many teams while implementing Continuous Deployment is that it requires the use of many tools and processes that all work together. Learning and implementing all these tools (correctly) takes a lot of time and effort, leading people to wonder whether it's really worth it. This book sets up a project to show you the different steps, processes, and tools in Continuous Deployment and the actual problems they solve. We start by introducing Continuous Integration (CI), deployment, and delivery as well as providing an overview of the tools used in CI. You'll then create a web app and see how Git can be used in a CI environment. Moving on, you'll explore unit testing using Jasmine and browser testing using Karma and Selenium for your app. You'll also find out how to automate tasks using Gulp and Jenkins. Next, you'll get acquainted with database integration for different platforms, such as MongoDB and PostgreSQL. Finally, you'll set up different Jenkins jobs to integrate with Node.js and C# projects, and Jenkins pipelines to make branching easier. By the end of the book, you'll have implemented Continuous Delivery and deployment from scratch. Style and approach This practical book takes a step-by-step approach to explaining all the concepts of Continuous Integration and delivery, and how it can help you deliver a high-quality product.

Discover exciting and fun projects by building brilliant applications for the Apple WatchAbout This BookExplore the opportunities opened up to developers by Apple’s latest device: the Apple WatchBe a crackerjack at developing software across a broad range of watch app categoriesFrom an eminent author, master all stages of development, from the first stage through to a completed projectWho This Book Is ForIf you have some basic knowledge of programming in Swift and are looking for the best way to get started with Apple Watch development, this book is just the right one for you!What You Will LearnUnderstand the concept of the Apple Watch as an autonomous device as well as it being paired with the iPhoneGet your app up and runningDesign exciting, inspiring, and attractive layouts for your appsMake your user interface more engaging using images and animationEnable your Watch and iPhone apps to transport and share dataLeverage the feature-rich set of WatchKit technologies provided by AppleConnect your apps to the InternetSubmit your app to the App StoreIn DetailWith Apple’s eagerly anticipated entry into the wearable arena, the field is wide open for a new era of app development. The Apple Watch is one of the most important technologies of our time.This easy-to-understand book takes beginners on a delightful journey of discovering the features available to the developer, right up to the completion of medium-level projects ready for App Store submission. It provides the fastest way to develop real-world apps for the Apple Watch by teaching you the concepts of Watch UI, visual haptic and audio, message and data exchange between watch and phone, Web communication, and finally Visual, haptic as well as audio feedback for users.By the end of this book, you will have developed at least four fully functioning apps for deployment on watchOS 2.Style and approachThis is a step-by-step guide to developing apps for the Apple Watch with the help of screenshots and fully coded working examples.

Understand, train, and be ready to develop 3D Web applications/video games using the Babylon.js framework, even for beginners About This Book Understand the basics of 3D (along with the theory) before practicing Each mini-project provides previous features, alongside the new feature you are learning, to supply the examples Learn from the best of the best, a developer at Microsoft, France Who This Book Is For Babylon.JS Essentials is intended for developers who want to enter the world of 3D development for the Web, or developers who want to add the Babylon.js framework to their skill set. The notion of Oriented Object Programming would be helpful to understand the architecture of the Babylon.js framework. Also, a familiarity with Web development would be useful, to understand the principles used. What You Will Learn Understand what the TypeScript language is and its benefits (compared to JavaScript) in large projects such as 3D engines Learn the basics of 3D using Babylon.js without too much theory but with an emphasis on practice, for a better understanding of the architecture Know the usage of Material—a fundamental principle of 3D engines in Babylon.js—and then customize the appearance of 3D objects Integrate collisions and physics in gameplay. Understand the notion of impostor for physics simulation Manage, create, and spatialize audio tracks in 3D scenes Go further with the Babylon.js framework to create actions on events Create rendering effects provided by the Babylon.js framework, such as post-processes In Detail Are you familiar with HTML5Do you want to build exciting games and Web applicationsThen explore the exciting world of game and Web development with one of the best frameworks out there: Babylon.JS. Starting from the beginning, the book introduces the required basics for 3D development and the knowledge you need to use the Babylon.js framework. It focuses on the simplicity provided by Babylon.js and uses a combination of theory and practice. All the chapters are provided with example files ready to run; each example file provides the previously learned features of the framework. Finally, developers will be ready to easily understand new features added to the framework in the future. Style and approach The book is a comprehensive guide packed with ready-to-run examples with a mix of theory and practice.

Create engaging apps with fragments to provide a rich user interface that dynamically adapts to the individual characteristics of your customers’ tablets and smartphones About This Book From an eminent author comes a book that will help you create engaging apps that dynamically adapt to individual device characteristics The only book that includes the latest fragment-oriented features and their role in Material design This book provides code-intensive discussions and detailed examples that help you understand better and learn faster. Who This Book Is For This book is for developers with a basic understanding of Android programming who would like to improve the appearance and usability of their applications by creating a more interactive user experience and dynamically adaptive UIs; providing better support for tablets and smartphones in a single app; and reducing the complexity of managing app UIs. What You Will Learn Learn the role and capabilities of fragments Use Android Studio's fragment-oriented features Create an app UI that works effectively on smartphones and tablets Manage the creation and life cycle of fragments Dynamically manage fragments using the FragmentTransaction class Learn the application design for communicating between fragments Leverage fragments when implementing applications that take advantage of the latest features of Material Design In Detail Today’s users expect mobile apps to be dynamic and highly interactive, with rich navigation features. These same apps must look fantastic whether running on a medium-resolution smartphone or high-resolution tablet. Fragments provide the toolset we need to meet these user expectations by enabling us to build our applications out of adaptable components that take advantage of the rich capabilities of each individual device and automatically adapt to their differences. This book looks at the impact fragments have on Android UI design and their role in both simplifying many common UI challenges and in providing best practices for incorporating rich UI behaviors. We look closely at the roll of fragment transactions and how to work with the Android back stack. Leveraging this understanding, we explore several specialized fragment-related classes such as ListFragment and DialogFragment. We then go on to discuss how to implement rich navigation features such as swipe-based screen browsing, and the role of fragments when developing applications that take advantage of the latest aspects of Material Design. You will learn everything you need to provide dynamic, multi-screen UIs within a single activity, and the rich UI features demanded by today’s mobile users. Style and approach A fast-paced learning guide that gives a hands-on, code-intensive approach with a focus on real-world applications.

Build your own secure enterprise or home penetration testing lab to dig into the various hacking techniques About This Book Design and build an extendable penetration testing lab with wireless access suitable for home and enterprise use Fill the lab with various components and customize them according to your own needs and skill level Secure your lab from unauthorized access and external attacks Who This Book Is For If you are a beginner or a security professional who wishes to learn to build a home or enterprise lab environment where you can safely practice penetration testing techniques and improve your hacking skills, then this book is for you. No prior penetration testing experience is required, as the lab environment is suitable for various skill levels and is used for a wide range of techniques from basic to advance. Whether you are brand new to online learning or you are a seasoned expert, you will be able to set up your own hacking playground depending on your tasks. What You Will Learn Determine your needs and choose the appropriate lab components for them Build a virtual or hardware lab network Imitate an enterprise network and prepare intentionally vulnerable software and services Secure wired and wireless access to your lab Choose a penetration testing framework according to your needs Arm your own wireless hacking platform Get to know the methods to create a strong defense mechanism for your system In Detail Starting with the basics of wireless networking and its associated risks, we will guide you through the stages of creating a penetration testing lab with wireless access and preparing your wireless penetration testing machine. This book will guide you through configuring hardware and virtual network devices, filling the lab network with applications and security solutions, and making it look and work like a real enterprise network. The resulting lab protected with WPA-Enterprise will let you practice most of the attack techniques used in penetration testing projects. Along with a review of penetration testing frameworks, this book is also a detailed manual on preparing a platform for wireless penetration testing. By the end of this book, you will be at the point when you can practice, and research without worrying about your lab environment for every task. Style and approach This is an easy-to-follow guide full of hands-on examples and recipes. Each topic is explained thoroughly and supplies you with the necessary configuration settings. You can pick the recipes you want to follow depending on the task you need to perform.

Over 100 recipes to help you solve the most common problems faced by Android Developers today About This Book Find the answers to your common Android programming problems, from set up to security, to help you deliver better applications, faster Uncover the latest features of Android Marshmallow to make your applications stand out Get up to speed with Android Studio 1.4 - the first Android Studio based on the IntelliJ IDE from JetBrains Who This Book Is For If you are new to Android development and want to take a hands-on approach to learning the framework, or if you are an experienced developer in need of clear working code to solve the many challenges in Android development, you can benefit from this book. Either way, this is a resource you’ll want to keep at your desk for a quick reference to solve new problems as you tackle more challenging projects. What You Will Learn Along with Marshmallow, get hands-on working with Google’s new Android Studio IDE Develop applications using the latest Android framework while maintaining backward-compatibility with the support library Master Android programming best practices from the recipes Create exciting and engaging applications using knowledge gained from recipes on graphics, animations, and multimedia Work through succinct steps on specifics that will help you complete your project faster Keep your app responsive (and prevent ANRs) with examples on the AsynchTask class Utilize Google Speech Recognition APIs for your app. Make use of Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to create Push Notifications for your users Get a better understanding of the Android framework through detailed explanations In Detail The Android OS has the largest installation base of any operating system in the world; there has never been a better time to learn Android development to write your own applications, or to make your own contributions to the open source community! This “cookbook” will make it easy for you to jump to a topic of interest and get what you need to implement the feature in your own application. If you are new to Android and learn best by “doing,” then this book will provide many topics of interest. Starting with the basics of Android development, we move on to more advanced concepts, and we’ll guide you through common tasks developers struggle to solve. The first few chapters cover the basics including Activities, Layouts, Widgets, and the Menu. From there, we cover fragments and data storage (including SQLite), device sensors, the camera, and GPS. Then we move on more advanced topics such as graphics and animation (including OpenGL), multi-threading with AsyncTask, and Internet functionality with Volley. We’ll also demonstrate Google Maps and Google Cloud Messaging (also known as Push Notifications) using the Google API Library. Finally, we’ll take a look at several online services designed especially for Android development. Take your application big-time with full Internet web services without having to become a server admin by leveraging the power of Backend as a Service (BaaS) providers. Style and approach This book progresses from the fundamentals of Android Development to more advanced concepts, with recipes to solve the most common problems faced by developers. This cookbook makes it easy to jump to specific topics of interest, where you’ll find simple steps to implement the solution and get a clear explanation of how it works.

Build and customize a wide range of powerful Unity AI systems with over 70 hands-on recipes and techniques About This Book Empower your agent with decision making capabilities using advanced minimaxing and Negamaxing techniques Discover how AI can be applied to a wide range of games to make them more interactive. Instigate vision and hearing abilities in your agent through collider based and graph based systems Who This Book Is For This book is intended for those who already have a basic knowledge of Unity and are eager to get more tools under their belt to solve AI and gameplay-related problems. What You Will Learn Use techniques such as A*and A*mbush to empower your agents with path finding capabilities. Create a representation of the world and make agents navigate it Construct decision-making systems to make the agents take different actions Make different agents coordinate actions and create the illusion of technical behavior Simulate senses and apply them in an awareness system Design and implement AI in board games such as Tic-Tac-Toe and Checkers Implement efficient prediction mechanism in your agents with algorithms such as N-Gram predictor and na?ve Bayes classifier Understand and analyze how the influence maps work. In Detail Unity 5 comes fully packaged with a toolbox of powerful features to help game and app developers create and implement powerful game AI. Leveraging these tools via Unity’s API or built-in features allows limitless possibilities when it comes to creating your game’s worlds and characters. This practical Cookbook covers both essential and niche techniques to help you be able to do that and more. This Cookbook is engineered as your one-stop reference to take your game AI programming to the next level. Get to grips with the essential building blocks of working with an agent, programming movement and navigation in a game environment, and improving your agent's decision making and coordination mechanisms - all through hands-on examples using easily customizable techniques. Discover how to emulate vision and hearing capabilities for your agent, for natural and humanlike AI behaviour, and improve them with the help of graphs. Empower your AI with decision-making functions through programming simple board games such as Tic-Tac-Toe and Checkers, and orchestrate agent coordination to get your AIs working together as one. Style and approach This recipe-based guide will take you through implementing various AI algorithms. Each topic is explained and placed among other related techniques, sometimes building on the knowledge from previous chapters. There are also references to more technical books and papers, so you can dig deeper if you want to.

Leverage the power of Scala with different tools to build scalable, robust data science applicationsAbout This BookA complete guide for scalable data science solutions, from data ingestion to data visualizationDeploy horizontally scalable data processing pipelines and take advantage of web frameworks to build engaging visualizationsBuild functional, type-safe routines to interact with relational and NoSQL databases with the help of tutorials and examples providedWho This Book Is ForIf you are a Scala developer or data scientist, or if you want to enter the field of data science, then this book will give you all the tools you need to implement data science solutions.What You Will LearnTransform and filter tabular data to extract features for machine learningImplement your own algorithms or take advantage of MLLib’s extensive suite of models to build distributed machine learning pipelinesRead, transform, and write data to both SQL and NoSQL databases in a functional mannerWrite robust routines to query web APIsRead data from web APIs such as the GitHub or Twitter APIUse Scala to interact with MongoDB, which offers high performance and helps to store large data sets with uncertain query requirementsCreate Scala web applications that couple with JavaScript libraries such as D3 to create compelling interactive visualizationsDeploy scalable parallel applications using Apache Spark, loading data from HDFS or HiveIn DetailScala is a multi-paradigm programming language (it supports both object-oriented and functional programming) and *ing language used to build applications for the JVM. Languages such as R, Python, Java, and so on are mostly used for data science. It is particularly good at analyzing large sets of data without any significant impact on performance and thus Scala is being adopted by many developers and data scientists. Data scientists might be aware that building applications that are truly scalable is hard. Scala, with its powerful functional libraries for interacting with databases and building scalable frameworks will give you the tools to construct robust data pipelines.This book will introduce you to the libraries for ingesting, storing, manipulating, processing, and visualizing data in Scala.Packed with real-world examples and interesting data sets, this book will teach you to ingest data from flat files and web APIs and store it in a SQL or NoSQL database. It will show you how to design scalable architectures to process and modelling your data, starting from simple concurrency constructs such as parallel collections and futures, through to actor systems and Apache Spark. As well as Scala’s emphasis on functional structures and immutability, you will learn how to use the right parallel construct for the job at hand, minimizing development time without compromising scalability. Finally, you will learn how to build beautiful interactive visualizations using web frameworks.This book gives tutorials on some of the most common Scala libraries for data science, allowing you to quickly get up to speed with building data science and data engineering solutions.Style and approachA tutorial with complete examples, this book will give you the tools to start building useful data engineering and data science solutions straightaway

Harness the power of ElasticSearch to build and manage scalable search and analytics solutions with this fast-paced guideAbout This BookNew to ElasticSearchHere’s what you need—a highly practical guide that gives you a quick start with ElasticSearch using easy-to-follow examples; get up and running with ElasticSearch APIs in no timeGet the latest guide on ElasticSearch 2.0.0, which contains concise and adequate information on handling all the issues a developer needs to know while handling data in bulk with search relevancyLearn to create large-scale ElasticSearch clusters using best practicesLearn from our experts—written by Bharvi Dixit who has extensive experience in working with search servers (especially ElasticSearch)Who This Book Is ForAnyone who wants to build efficient search and analytics applications can choose this book. This book is also beneficial for skilled developers, especially ones experienced with Lucene or Solr, who now want to learn Elasticsearch quickly.What You Will LearnGet to know about advanced Elasticsearch concepts and its REST APIsWrite CRUD operations and other search functionalities using the ElasticSearch Python and Java clientsDig into wide range of queries and find out how to use them correctlyDesign schema and mappings with built-in and custom analyzersExcel in data modeling concepts and query optimizationMaster document relationships and geospatial dataBuild analytics using aggregationsSetup and scale Elasticsearch clusters using best practicesLearn to take data backups and secure Elasticsearch clustersIn DetailWith constantly evolving and growing datasets, organizations have the need to find actionable insights for their business. ElasticSearch, which is the world's most advanced search and analytics engine, brings the ability to make massive amounts of data usable in a matter of milliseconds. It not only gives you the power to build blazing fast search solutions over a massive amount of data, but can also serve as a NoSQL data store.This guide will take you on a tour to become a competent developer quickly with a solid knowledge level and understanding of the ElasticSearch core concepts. Starting from the beginning, this book will cover these core concepts, setting up ElasticSearch and various plugins, working with analyzers, and creating mappings. This book provides complete coverage of working with ElasticSearch using Python and performing CRUD operations and aggregation-based analytics, handling document relationships in the NoSQL world, working with geospatial data, and taking data backups. Finally, we’ll show you how to set up and scale ElasticSearch clusters in production environments as well as providing some best practices.Style and approachThis is an easy-to-follow guide with practical examples and clear explanations of the concepts. This fast-paced book believes in providing very rich content focusing majorly on practical implementation. This book will provide you with step-by-step practical examples, letting you know about the common errors and solutions along with ample screenshots and code to ensure your success.

Leverage the power of Python design patterns to solve real-world problems in software architecture and designAbout This BookUnderstand the structural, creational, and behavioral Python design patternsGet to know the context and application of design patterns to solve real-world problems in software architecture, design, and application developmentGet practical exposure through sample implementations in Python v3.5 for the design patterns featuredWho This Book Is ForThis book is for Software architects and Python application developers who are passionate about software design. It will be very useful to engineers with beginner level proficiency in Python and who love to work with Python 3.5What You Will LearnEnhance your skills to create better software architectureUnderstand proven solutions to commonly occurring design issuesExplore the design principles that form the basis of software design, such as loose coupling, the Hollywood principle and the Open Close principle among othersDelve into the object-oriented programming concepts and find out how they are used in software applicationsDevelop an understanding of Creational Design Patterns and the different object creation methods that help you solve issues in software developmentUse Structural Design Patterns and find out how objects and classes interact to build larger applicationsFocus on the interaction between objects with the command and observer patternsImprove the productivity and code base of your application using Python design patternsIn DetailWith the increasing focus on optimized software architecture and design it is important that software architects think about optimizations in object creation, code structure, and interaction between objects at the architecture or design level. This makes sure that the cost of software maintenance is low and code can be easily reused or is adaptable to change. The key to this is reusability and low maintenance in design patterns.Building on the success of the previous edition, Learning Python Design Patterns, Second Edition will help you implement real-world scenarios with Python’s latest release, Python v3.5.We start by introducing design patterns from the Python perspective. As you progress through the book, you will learn about Singleton patterns, Factory patterns, and Fa?ade patterns in detail. After this, we’ll look at how to control object access with proxy patterns. It also covers observer patterns, command patterns, and compound patterns.By the end of the book, you will have enhanced your professional abilities in software architecture, design, and development.Style and approachThis is an easy-to-follow guide to design patterns with hands-on examples of real-world scenarios and their implementation in Python v3.5. Each topic is explained and placed in context, and for the more inquisitive, there are more details on the concepts used.

Gain insights into Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency and a powerful technology, to optimize your Bitcoin mining techniquesAbout This BookLearn how to use the advanced features of Bitcoin walletsSet up your Bitcoin mining operations to mine with efficiencyExplore what the future holds for mining and blockchains in this pragmatic guideWho This Book Is ForIf you have never mined before, this book will ensure that you know what mining is all about. If you are familiar with Bitcoin mining, then it will help you to optimize your mining operations at a deeper level. A basic understanding of computers and operating systems is assumed, and some familiarity with cryptocurrency basics would be an added advantage.What You Will LearnGet introduced to Bitcoin mining from the ground upFind out about mining software and the different types of mining hardwareMaster setup techniques to enable efficient miningExamine the pros and cons of the different types of mining hardwareDeduce the differences between solo and pool miningTake a peek into professional mining farmsExplore the future of mining and blockchain-based applicationsIn DetailBlockchain is being billed as the technology of the future. Bitcoin is the first application of that technology. Mining is what makes it all possible. Exploring mining from a practical perspective will help you make informed decisions about your mining setup. Understanding what the future may hold for blockchains, and therefore for mining, will help you position yourself to take advantage of the impending changes.This practical guide starts with an introduction to Bitcoin wallets, as well as mining hardware and software. You will move on to learn about different mining techniques using the CPU, GPU, FPGA, and ultimately the ASIC as an example. After this, you will gain an insight into solo mining and pool mining, and see the differences between the two. The book will then walk you through large-scale mining and the challenges faced during such operations. Finally, you will take a look into the future to see a world where blockchain-based applications are commonplace and mining is ubiquitous.Style and approachThis is a practical guide that includes detailed step-by-step instructions and examples on each essential concept of Bitcoin mining.

Create responsive and intelligent game AI using Blueprints in Unreal Engine 4 About This Book Understand and apply your Game AI better through various projects such as adding randomness and probability, and introducing movement Configure and debug Game AI logic using multiple methodologies Bridge the gap between your knowledge and Game AI in Unreal Engine 4 Who This Book Is For This book is for programmers and artists who want to expand their knowledge of Game AI in relation to Unreal Engine 4. You are recommended to have some experience of exploring Unreal Engine 4 prior to this book because we jump straight into Game AI. What You Will Learn Understand the fundamental components of Game AI within Unreal Engine 4 Skillfully introduce Game AI within Unreal Engine 4 Configure, customize, and assign Navigation and AI components to your pawn Create, debug, and analyze Game AI behavior Design responsive Game AI using the Behavior Tree methodology Create smart objects designed to interact with AI Utilize advanced AI features within your project to maximize the user experience In Detail Unreal Engine is a powerful game development engine that provides rich functionalities to create 2D and 3D games. It is one of the three big game engines used, alongside Unity and CryEngine. Developers have the opportunity to build cross-platform mobile and desktop games from scratch. With Blueprints in Unreal Engine 4, you’re able to fully leverage the visual aid that Behavior Trees are built on. Rarely has there been an opportunity to prototype powerful Game AI and have immediate control over constructing, *ing, and viewing the response in a live gaming environment. This book will show you how to apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to your Unreal Script using C++ as your *ing language through multiple projects. With the knowledge gained through this book, you’ll be able to leverage the benefits of Unreal Engine 4. We’ll start with an introduction to AI, and you’ll learn how it is applied to gaming. Then you’ll jump right in and create a simple AI bot and apply basic behaviors to allow it to move randomly. Furthermore, you will get to know the difference between an AI Controller and a Player Controller. As you progress, you’ll find out how to implement randomness and probability traits. Using Navmesh, we will impart navigation components such as Character Movement, MoveTo Nodes, Settings, and World Objects, and implement behavior trees. You will see different techniques to sense the environment and create your own sensory system, and will implement Steering Behaviors, Path Following, Avoidance, and Projectiles. At the end of the book, we will troubleshoot any issues that might crop up while building the entire game. Style and approach This easy-to-follow project-based guide throws you directly into the excitement of Game AI in an approachable and comprehensive manner.

Customize and automate Google Applications using Apps Script About This Book Gain insight into customizing and automating Google applications with JavaScript Create add-ons for Google Sheets, Docs, or Forms; automate your workflow; integrate with external APIs; and more. A step-by-step guide to building real-world solutions Who This Book Is For Newbies to google apps * but having practical experience in Java*. What You Will Learn Learn about the Google Apps * platform and work with *s to develop Google apps Create custom menus and dialogs Parse and send emails Generate Google calendar events Build Translator and RSS reader applications Develop interactive web pages Design interactive web-forms Form a workflow application In Detail Google Apps Script is a cloud-based *ing language based on JavaScript to customize and automate Google applications. Apps Script makes it easy to create and publish add-ons in an online store for Google Sheets, Docs, and Forms. It serves as one single platform to build, code, and ultimately share your App on the Web store. This book begins by covering the basics of the Google application platform and goes on to empower you to automate most of the Google applications. You will learn the concepts of creating a menu, sending mails, building interactive web pages, and implementing all these techniques to develop an interactive Web page as a form to submit sheets You will be guided through all these tasks with plenty of screenshots and code snippets that will ensure your success in customizing and automating various Google applications This guide is an invaluable tutorial for beginners who intend to develop the skills to automate and customize Google applications Style and approach An easy-to-follow yet comprehensive guide, filled with many code examples and screenshots illustrating various Google Apps *s.