Get to grips with object-oriented programming in Swift to efficiently build powerful real-world applicationsAbout This BookLeverage the most efficient object-oriented design patterns in your Swift applicationsWrite robust, safer, and better code using the blueprints that generate objectsBuild a platform with object-oriented code by using real-world elements and represent them in your appWho This Book Is ForIf you are an iOS developer who has a basic idea of object-oriented programming and want to incorporate its concepts with Swift to optimize your application's code and create reusable and easily to understand building blocks, then this book is for you. This is a very useful resource for developers who want to shift from Objective C, C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, or other object-oriented languages to SwiftWhat You Will LearnBuild solid, stable, and reliable applications using SwiftWork with encapsulation, abstraction, and polymorphism using Swift 2.0Customize constructors and destructors based on your needsDevelop Swift 2.0 with classes, instances, properties, and methodsTake advantage of generic code to maximize code reuse and generalize behaviorsUse state of inheritance, specialization, and the possibility to overload membersWrite high quality object-oriented code to build apps for iOS or Mac OS XIn DetailObject-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of objects; these are data structures that contain data in the form of fields, often known as attributes and code. Objects are everywhere, and so it is very important to recognize elements, known as objects, from real-world situations and know how they can easily be translated into object-oriented code.Object-Oriented Programming with Swift is an easy-to-follow guide packed full of hands-on examples of solutions to common problems encountered with object-oriented code in Swift. It starts by helping you to recognize objects using real-life scenarios and demonstrates how working with them makes it simpler to write code that is easy to understand and reuse.You will learn to protect and hide data with the data encapsulation features of Swift. Then, you will explore how to maximize code reuse by writing code capable of working with objects of different types. After that, you'll discover the power of parametric polymorphism and will combine generic code with inheritance and multiple inheritance. Later, you move on to refactoring your existing code and organizing your source for easy maintenance and extensions.By the end of the book, you will be able to create better, stronger, and more reusable code, which will help you build better applications.Style and approachThis simple guide is packed with practical examples of solutions to common problems. Each chapter includes exercises and the possibility for you to test your progress by answering questions.

Integrate the power of R with the simplicity of Shiny to deliver cutting-edge analytics over the WebAbout This BookUse Shiny's built-in functions to produce engaging user interfaces, and integrate them into your own web pagesImplement powerful user-contributed packages to access graphics from the web, make your own dashboards, use interactive maps, and moreExtend Shiny using JavaScript and jQuery with minimal coding using this handy, step-by-step guideWho This Book Is ForThis book is for anybody who wants to produce interactive data summaries over the web, whether you want to share them with a few colleagues or the whole world. No previous experience with R, Shiny, HTML, or CSS is required to begin using this book, although you should possess some previous experience with programming in a different language.What You Will LearnBuild interactive applications using Shiny's built-in widgetsUse the built-in layout functions in Shiny to produce user-friendly applicationsIntegrate Shiny applications with web pages and customize them using HTML and CSSHarness the power of JavaScript and jQuery to customize your applicationsEngage your users and build better analytics using interactive plotsDebug your applications using Shiny's built-in functionsDeliver simple and powerful analytics across your organization using Shiny dashboardsShare your applications with colleagues or over the Internet using cloud services or your own serverIn DetailR is a highly flexible and powerful tool for analyzing and visualizing data. Most of the applications built using various libraries with R are desktop-based. But what if you want to go on the webHere comes Shiny to your rescue!Shiny allows you to create interactive web applications using the excellent analytical and graphical capabilities of R. This book will guide you through basic data management and analysis with R through your first Shiny application, and then show you how to integrate Shiny applications with your own web pages. Finally, you will learn how to finely control the inputs and outputs of your application, along with using other packages to build state-of-the-art applications, including dashboards.Style and approachLearn by doing! Each chapter includes code and examples to use and adapt for your own applications. As the chapters progress, the code and examples are built upon until you have all the materials required to build a large, complex, real-world analytics application.

Harness the power of procedural content generation to design unique games with UnityAbout This BookLearn the basics of PCG developmentDevelop a 2D game from start to finishExplore all the different ways PCG can be applied in gamesWho This Book Is ForThis book is for Unity game developers, especially those who work on indie games. You should be familiar with Unity and C# *ing but you'll be able to jump in and start learning PCG straightaway.What You Will LearnUnderstand the theory of Procedural Content GenerationLearn the uses of Pseudo Random NumbersCreate reusable algorithm designs for PCGEvaluate the data structures for PCGDevelop smaller games with larger amounts of contentGenerate content instead of spending time designing every minute detailLearn when and how to add PCG to your gameLearn the fundamental techniques of PCGIn DetailProcedural Content Generation is a process by which game content is developed using computer algorithms, rather than through the manual efforts of game developers. This book teaches readers how to develop algorithms for procedural generation that they can use in their own games. These concepts are put into practice using C# and Unity is used as the game development engine.This book provides the fundamentals of learning and continued learning using PCG. You'll discover the theory of PCG and the mighty Pseudo Random Number Generator. Random numbers such as die rolls and card drafting provide the chance factor that makes games fun and supplies spontaneity. This book also takes you through the full development of a 2D game.Starting with level generation, you'll learn how PCG can make the game environment for you. You'll move into item generation and learn the different techniques to procedurally create game items. Thereafter, you'll be guided through the more abstract PCG areas such as scaling difficulty to the player and even generating music! The book helps you set up systems within your games where algorithms create computationally generated levels, art assets, quests, stories, characters, and weapons; these can substantially reduce the burden of manually creating every aspect of the game.Finally, you'll get to try out your new PCG skills on 3D terrain generation.Style and approachAn easy-to-follow, project-based guide that will let you build a complete game by the end of the book using PCG.

Design, build, and automate 10 real-world OpenStack administrative tasks with AnsibleAbout This BookAutomate real-world OpenStack cloud operator administrative tasksConstruct a collection of automation code to save time on managing your OpenStack cloudUse this step-by-step tutorial to automate such tasks with AnsibleWho This Book Is ForIf you are an OpenStack-based cloud operator and/or infrastructure administrator and are interested in automating administrative functions, then this book is exactly what you are looking for. Having a functioning OpenStack environment is helpful, but most certainly not necessary.What You Will LearnEfficiently execute OpenStack administrative tasksFamiliarize yourself with how Ansible works and assess the defined best practicesCreate Ansible playbooks and rolesAutomate tasks to customize your OpenStack cloudReview OpenStack automation considerations when automating administrative tasksExamine and automate advanced OpenStack tasks and designated use casesGet a high-level overview of OpenStack and the current production-ready projectsDeep dive into OpenStack CLI tools and find out how to use themIn DetailMost organizations are seeking methods to improve business agility because they have realized just having a cloud is not enough. Being able to improve application deployments, reduce infrastructure downtime, and eliminate daily manual tasks can only be accomplished through some sort of automation.Packed with real-world OpenStack administrative tasks, this book will walk you through working examples and explain how these tasks can be automated using one of the most popular open source automation tools—Ansible.We will start with a brief overview of OpenStack and Ansible and highlight some best practices. Each chapter will provide an introduction to handling various Cloud Operator administration tasks such as creating multiple users/tenants, setting up Multi-Tenant Isolation, customizing your clouds quotas, taking instance snapshots, evacuating compute hosts for maintenance, and running cloud health checks, and a step-by-step tutorial on how to automate these tasks with Ansible.Style and approachThis easy-to-follow reference guide is packed with examples of real-world OpenStack administration tasks; each task is explained in detail and then subsequently turned into automation code.

Explore the possibility of building truly native, cross-platform mobile applications using your JavaScript skill—NativeScript!About This BookSave your marketing time by building for iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile platforms simultaneouslyBe an ace at utilizing the features of NativeScript and its ability to communicate with each of the host device libraries nativelyProficiently, build your fully cross-platform communication application exhibiting the fundamentals of NativeScriptWho This Book Is ForIf you are a JavaScript developer and want to build cross-platform applications, then this book is just the right one for you!What You Will LearnInstall and compile your application in NativeScriptGet important know-how on the NativeScript project structureDevelop and style your screens for multiple platformsCreate a full-featured cross-platform communication applicationImport and use several third-party componentsSimplify and deal with device resolution and cross-platform issuesTest and deploy your applicationIn DetailNativeScript allows you to build a fast cross-platform application that has a native UI. NativeScript is a true cross-platform framework that generates native speed applications using the native components of the host platform, all using JavaScript. Although NativeScript allows you to build your application in JavaScript, you have full access to the host OS from your code, allowing you to easily tweak or use new platform features instantly at native code speeds.Whether you have already developed multiple applications or zero applications, this book will help you to develop your next application in a cross-platform framework quickly, saving you a massive amount of time and money.This book concisely shows you NativeScript’s built-in framework that allows you to rapidly develop a fully-working compiled cross-platform application in just a few chapters. It starts by laying the foundation of NativeScript and working through the fundamentals to create a basic shell of the application. Moving on, you’ll see how to build a full-fledged application step by step. We’ll show you how to use plugins, and how to communicate with the native OS libraries easily so that you can customize your application as if your app was created in Java or Objective C. We then deal with the issues that arise from being cross platform and compensate for the different screen sizes, screen resolutions, and device abilities. Finally, we progress to testing and deploying your app.Style and approach A stepwise guide for building cross-platform mobile applications with the help of easy-to-understand examples.

Create complex websites quickly and easily using the building blocks of Drupal 8, the most powerful version of Drupal yetAbout This BookBuild complete, complex websites with no prior knowledge of web development entirely using the intuitive Drupal user interfaceFollow a practical case study chapter-by-chapter to construct a complete website as you progressEnsure your sites are modern, responsive and mobile-friendly through utilizing the full features available in Drupal 8Who This Book Is ForIf you want to learn to use Drupal 8 for the first time, or you are transitioning over from a previous version of Drupal, this is the book for you. No knowledge of PHP, MySQL, or HTML is assumed or requiredWhat You Will LearnSet up a local “stack” development environment and install your first Drupal 8 siteFind out what is available in Drupal 8 coreDefine content types and taxonomies—and find out when you should do soUse the powerful Views moduleGet hands-on with image and media handlingExtend Drupal using custom community modulesDevelop the look and feel of your website using Drupal themesManage site users and permissionsIn DetailDrupal 8 sets a new standard for ease of use, while offering countless new ways to tailor and deploy your content to the Web. Drupal 8 allows user to easily customize data structures, listings, and pages, and take advantage of new capabilities for displaying data on mobile devices, building APIs, and adapting to multilingual needs.The book takes you step by step through building a Drupal 8 website. Start with the basics, such as setting up a local “stack” development environment and installing your first Drupal 8 site, then move on to image and media handling, and extending Drupal modules. Push your knowledge by getting to grips with the modular nature of Drupal, and learning to extend it by adding new functionalities to create your new modules. By the end of the book, you will be able to develop and manage a modern and responsive website using Drupal.Style and approachThis is an absolute beginners’ guide, providing step-by-step instructions to help you learn Drupal 8 from scratch.

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.

Build your first interactive map and build location-aware applications using cutting-edge examples in PythonAbout This BookLearn the full geo-processing workflow using Python with open source packagesCreate press-quality styled maps and data visualization with high-level and reusable codeProcess massive datasets efficiently using parallel processingWho This Book Is ForGeospatial Development By Example with Python is intended for beginners or advanced developers in Python who want to work with geographic data. The book is suitable for professional developers who are new to geospatial development, for hobbyists, or for data scientists who want to move into some simple development.What You Will LearnPrepare a development environment with all the tools needed for geo-processing with PythonImport point data and structure an application using Python’s resourcesCombine point data from multiple sources, creating intuitive and functional representations of geographic objectsFilter data by coordinates or attributes easily using pure PythonMake press-quality and replicable maps from any dataDownload, transform, and use remote sensing data in your mapsMake calculations to extract information from raster data and show the results on beautiful mapsHandle massive amounts of data with advanced processing techniquesProcess huge satellite images in an efficient wayOptimize geo-processing times with parallel processingIn DetailFrom Python programming good practices to the advanced use of analysis packages, this book teaches you how to write applications that will perform complex geoprocessing tasks that can be replicated and reused.Much more than simple *s, you will write functions to import data, create Python classes that represent your features, and learn how to combine and filter them.With pluggable mechanisms, you will learn how to visualize data and the results of analysis in beautiful maps that can be batch-generated and embedded into documents or web pages.Finally, you will learn how to consume and process an enormous amount of data very efficiently by using advanced tools and modern computers’ parallel processing capabilities.Style and approachThis easy-to-follow book is filled with hands-on examples that illustrate the construction of three sample applications of how to write reusable and interconnected Python code for geo-processing.

Learn the fundamentals of vRealize Automation to accelerate the delivery of your IT servicesAbout This BookLearn to install the vRealize Automation product in a distributed architecture using a load balancerPlan backup and recovery strategies for every vRealize automation componentUse vRealize Automation to manage applications and improve operational efficiency using this simple and intuitive guideWho This Book Is ForThis book is for anyone who wants to start their journey with vRealize Automation. It is your one-stop instruction guide to installing and configuring a distributed setup using NSX load balancer. Regardless of whether or not you have used vRealize Automation before, following the steps provided in each chapter will get you started with the product.What You Will LearnUnderstand the basic building blocks of vRealize Automation before embarking on the journey of installationFamiliarize yourself with the requirements and steps that need to be performed during the first phase of the distributed installationCarry out a functional validation of the first phase of installation before completing the installationBuild a blueprint for vSphere endpoint, an essential step for a successful deployment of a service catalogCreate, configure, and deploy tenants, endpoints, blueprints, and the service catalogGet to grips with the failover process for all components in vRealize AutomationLearn to configure the NSX loadbalancer for vRealize Orchestrator for high availabilityLeverage ASD to develop XaaS (Anything as a Service) in vRealize Automation to deliver valuable competenceIn DetailWith the growing interest in Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC), vRealize Automation offers data center users an organized service catalog and governance for administrators. This way, end users gain autonomy while the IT department stays in control, making sure security and compliance requirements are met. Learning what each component does and how they dovetail with each other will bolster your understanding of vRealize Automation.The book starts off with an introduction to the distributed architecture that has been tested and installed in large scale deployments. Implementing and configuring distributed architecture with custom certificates is unarguably a demanding task, and it will be covered next. After this, we will progress with the installation. A vRealize Automation blueprint can be prepared in multiple ways; we will focus solely on vSphere endpoint blueprint. After this, we will discuss the high availability configuration via NSX loadbalancer for vRealize Orchestrator. Finally, we end with Advanced Service Designer, which provides service architects with the ability to create advanced services and publish them as catalog items.Style and approachThis book takes a step-by-step approach, is explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style, and includes ample screenshots . Each topic is explained sequentially through planning, preparing, installing, configuring, and validating of all vRealize Automation’s components.

Harness the power of DevOps to boost your skill set and make your IT organization perform betterAbout This BookGet to know the background of DevOps so you understand the collaboration between different aspects of an IT organization and a software developerImprove your organization's performance to ensure smooth production of software and servicesDeploy top-quality software and ensure software maintenance and release management with this practical guideWho This Book Is ForThis book is aimed at developers and system administrators who wish to take on larger responsibilities and understand how the infrastructure that builds today's enterprises works. This book is also great for operations personnel who would like to better support developers. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of DevOps.What You Will LearnAppreciate the merits of DevOps and continuous delivery and see how DevOps supports the agile processUnderstand how all the systems fit together to form a larger wholeSet up and familiarize yourself with all the tools you need to be efficient with DevOpsDesign an application that is suitable for continuous deployment systems with Devops in mindStore and manage your code effectively using different options such as Git, Gerrit, and GitlabConfigure a job to build a sample CRUD applicationTest the code using automated regression testing with Jenkins SeleniumDeploy your code using tools such as Puppet, Ansible, Palletops, Chef, and VagrantMonitor the health of your code with Nagios, Munin, and GraphiteExplore the workings of Trac—a tool used for issue trackingIn DetailDevOps is a practical field that focuses on delivering business value as efficiently as possible. DevOps encompasses all the flows from code through testing environments to production environments. It stresses the cooperation between different roles, and how they can work together more closely, as the roots of the word imply—Development and Operations.After a quick refresher to DevOps and continuous delivery, we quickly move on to looking at how DevOps affects architecture. You'll create a sample enterprise Java application that you’ll continue to work with through the remaining chapters. Following this, we explore various code storage and build server options. You will then learn how to perform code testing with a few tools and deploy your test successfully. Next, you will learn how to monitor code for any anomalies and make sure it’s running properly. Finally, you will discover how to handle logs and keep track of the issues that affect processesStyle and approachThis book is primarily a technical guide to DevOps with practical examples suitable for people who like to learn by implementing concrete working code. It starts out with background information and gradually delves deeper into technical subjects.

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.

Identify and safeguard your network against both internal and external threats, hackers, and malware attacksAbout This BookLay your hands on physical and virtual evidence to understand the sort of crime committed by capturing and analyzing network trafficConnect the dots by understanding web proxies, firewalls, and routers to close in on your suspectA hands-on guide to help you solve your case with malware forensic methods and network behaviorsWho This Book Is ForIf you are a network administrator, system administrator, information security, or forensics professional and wish to learn network forensic to track the intrusions through network-based evidence, then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of Linux and networking concepts is expected.What You Will LearnUnderstand Internetworking, sources of network-based evidence and other basic technical fundamentals, including the tools that will be used throughout the bookAcquire evidence using traffic acquisition software and know how to manage and handle the evidencePerform packet analysis by capturing and collecting data, along with content analysisLocate wireless devices, as well as capturing and analyzing wireless traffic data packetsImplement protocol analysis and content matching; acquire evidence from NIDS/NIPSAct upon the data and evidence gathered by being able to connect the dots and draw links between various eventsApply logging and interfaces, along with analyzing web proxies and understanding encrypted web trafficUse IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) and build real-world forensic solutions, dealing with malwareIn DetailWe live in a highly networked world. Every digital device—phone, tablet, or computer is connected to each other, in one way or another. In this new age of connected networks, there is network crime. Network forensics is the brave new frontier of digital investigation and information security professionals to extend their abilities to catch miscreants on the network.The book starts with an introduction to the world of network forensics and investigations. You will begin by getting an understanding of how to gather both physical and virtual evidence, intercepting and analyzing network data, wireless data packets, investigating intrusions, and so on. You will further explore the technology, tools, and investigating methods using malware forensics, network tunneling, and behaviors. By the end of the book, you will gain a complete understanding of how to successfully close a case.Style and approachAn easy-to-follow book filled with real-world case studies and applications. Each topic is explained along with all the practical tools and software needed, allowing the reader to use a completely hands-on approach.

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.

Build amazing cross-platform mobile apps with Ionic, the HTML5 framework that makes modern mobile application development simpleAbout This BookLearn how to use one of the most exciting mobile development frameworks around to build even better appsFollow the featured sample projects to experience Ionic’s impressive capabilitiesExtend your developer skillset to build, test, and launch mobile apps with confidenceWho This Book Is ForThis book is for anyone who wants to see Ionic in action - and find out how it could transform the way they build mobile apps. If you’re a JavaScript web developer, you’ll be building great projects in no time.What You Will LearnLearn Ionic by creating three complete mobile applicationsGet to know the Ionic CLIAdd basic and advanced features to the Ionic frameworkConnect an Ionic app with a Firebase back endIntegrate PhoneGap plugins with NG-CordovaTest your apps to improve and optimize performanceIn DetailChange doesn’t have to be challenging. Sometimes it can be simple – sometimes it just makes sense. With Ionic, mobile development has never been so simple, so elegant and obvious. By helping developers to harness AngularJS and HTML5 for mobile development, it’s the perfect framework for anyone obsessed with performance, and anyone that understands just how important a great user experience really is.This book shows you how to get started with Ionic framework immediately. But it doesn’t just give you instructions and then expect you to follow them. Instead it demonstrates what Ionic is capable of through three practical projects you can follow and build yourself.From a basic to-do list app, a London tourist app, to a complete social media app, all three projects have been designed to help you learn Ionic at its very best. From setting up your project to developing on both the server side and front end, and best practices for testing and debugging your projects, you’ll quickly become a better mobile developer, delivering high performance mobile apps that look awesome.Ionic Framework by Example is for people who don’t want to learn now, build later – it’s for people who want to learn and build at the same time – so they can meet today’s mobile development challenges head on and deliver better products than anyone else.Style and approachThis book isn’t just an instruction manual. It doesn’t just tell you what to do – it shows you. Featuring three sample projects, it’s been created so you can get started with Ionic immediately.

Develop fun and exciting games and create amazing animations for your existing apps with SpriteKit, Apple's 2D game development frameworkAbout This BookLearn the key concepts of game development in iOSTake advantage of SpriteKit to create your own games and improve your appsFollow the step-by-step chapters to create a complete product ready to submit to the App StoreWho This Book Is ForGetting Started with SpriteKit is for beginner-level iOS developers who want to add an extra edge to their apps and create amazing games using SpriteKit. It doesn’t matter whether you have experience in iOS development or not as this book will show you the swift tricks you can use to create games.What You Will LearnCreate and configure a SpriteKit project from scratchLoad and manage the basic elements of games such as sprites, labels, and geometrical primitivesHandle touch events, detect collisions, and play sound audio filesCreate complex elements, animate sprites, and run the parallax effectComplete your games with key components such as a main menu, transitions between scenes, a tutorial, and the ability to load and save dataIncrease the efficiency of your device using the accelerometer or by adding shaders, lights, and shadowsGain complementary techniques such as creating or finding audio resources, applying SpriteKit to apps, or using third-party toolsIn DetailSpriteKit is Apple’s game engine to develop native iOS games. Strongly boosted by the Apple Inc., Cupertino, it has increased in popularity since its first release. This book shows you the solutions provided by SpriteKit to help you create any 2D game you can imagine and apply them to create animations that will highlight your existing apps.This book will give you the knowledge you need to apply SpriteKit to your existing apps or create your own games from scratch.Throughout the book, you will develop a complete game. The beautiful designs implemented in the game in this book will easily lead you to learn the basis of 2D game development, including creating and moving sprites, and adding them to a game scene. You will also discover how to apply advanced techniques such as collision detection, action execution, playing music, or running animations to give a more professional aspect to the game. You will finish your first game by learning how to add a main menu and a tutorial, as well as saving and loading data from and to the player’s device.Finally, you will find out how to apply some mobile games techniques such as accelerometer use or touch detection.Style and approachWritten in an informal way with plenty of illustrative screenshots, this easy-to-follow and practical guide will help you get the most from SpriteKit. The main part of the book provides step-by-step instructions to develop of a complete product, while the last chapters give you some complementary techniques than can be used in mobile 2D game development.

Get to know techniques and approaches to procedurally generate game content in C++ using Simple and Fast Multimedia LibraryAbout This BookThis book contains a bespoke Simple and Fast Multimedia Library (SFML) game engine with complete online documentationThrough this book, you’ll create games that are non-predictable and dynamic and have a high replayability factorGet a breakdown of the key techniques and approaches applied to a real game.Who This Book Is ForIf you are a game developer who is familiar with C++ and is looking to create bigger and more dynamic games, then this book is for you. The book assumes some prior experience with C++, but any intermediate concepts are clarified in detail. No prior experience with SFML is required.What You Will LearnDiscover the systems and ideology that lie at the heart of procedural systemsUse Random number generation (RNG) with C++ data types to create random but controlled resultsBuild levels procedurally with randomly located items and eventsCreate dynamic game objects at runtimeConstruct games using a component-based approachAssemble non-predictable game events and scenariosOperate procedural generation to create dynamic content fast and easilyGenerate game environments for endless replayabilityIn DetailProcedural generation is a growing trend in game development. It allows developers to create games that are bigger and more dynamic, giving the games a higher level of replayability. Procedural generation isn’t just one technique, it’s a collection of techniques and approaches that are used together to create dynamic systems and objects. C++ is the industry-standard programming language to write computer games. It’s at the heart of most engines, and is incredibly powerful. SFML is an easy-to-use, cross-platform, and open-source multimedia library. Access to computer hardware is broken into succinct modules, making it a great choice if you want to develop cross-platform games with ease.Using C++ and SFML technologies, this book will guide you through the techniques and approaches used to generate content procedurally within game development.Throughout the course of this book, we’ll look at examples of these technologies, starting with setting up a roguelike project using the C++ template. We’ll then move on to using RNG with C++ data types and randomly scattering objects within a game map. We will create simple console examples to implement in a real game by creating unique and randomised game items, dynamic sprites, and effects, and procedurally generating game events. Then we will walk you through generating random game maps. At the end, we will have a retrospective look at the project.By the end of the book, not only will you have a solid understanding of procedural generation, but you’ll also have a working roguelike game that you will have extended using the examples provided.Style and approachThis is an easy-to-follow guide where each topic is explained clearly and thoroughly through the use of a bespoke example, then implemented in a real game project.

Design and develop state-of-the-art applications using Force.com's powerful development platformAbout This BookFlaunt your skillsets by developing complex applications that include demanding concepts such as triggers, Visualforce controllers, batch jobs, and Lightning componentsEarn the gratitude of your colleagues by structuring a project so that multiple developers can work independently of each otherKevin Poorman, the author of the book and a Force.com MVP, shares his years of Force.com knowledge and experience with you through the medium of telling examplesWho This Book Is ForIf you're a Force.com developer with a fundamental understanding of Apex and JavaScript but now want to enhance your skills with tips, tricks, and guidance on the best architectural and engineering practices, then this book is for you.What You Will LearnCreating triggers, and the best practices for writing themDeveloping a number of Visualforce controllers and extensionsIntegrating third-party web APIs into your Apex codeWriting unit tests that cover testing bulk safety, user and profile settings, and negative testsCreating a Lightning component for use in Salesforce1Getting acquainted with various methods for deploying metadata between orgsUsing the Rest sObject API for access to Salesforce objects and data using the REST methodologyLearning about overarching architectural considerations such as naming conventions, testing practices, and data modeling practicesIn DetailForce.com is an extremely powerful, scalable, and secure cloud platform, delivering a complete technology stack, ranging from databases and security to workflow and the user interface. With salesforce.com's Force.com cloud platform, you can build any business application and run it on your servers.The book will help you enhance your skillset and develop complex applications using Force.com. It gets you started with a quick refresher of Force.com's development tools and methodologies, and moves to an in-depth discussion of triggers, bulkification, DML order of operations, and trigger frameworks. Next, you will learn to use batchable and schedulable interfaces to process massive amounts of information asynchronously. You will also be introduced to Salesforce Lightning and cover components—including backend (apex) controllers, frontend (JavaScript) controllers, events, and attributes—in detail.Moving on, the book will focus on testing various apex components: what to test, when to write the tests, and—most importantly—how to test. Next, you will develop a changeset and use it to migrate your code from one org to another, and learn what other tools are out there for deploying metadata. You will also use command-line tools to authenticate and access the Force.com Rest sObject API and the Bulk sObject API; additionally, you will write a custom Rest endpoint, and learn how to structure a project so that multiple developers can work independently of each other without causing metadata conflicts.Finally, you will take an in-depth look at the overarching best practices for architecture (structure) and engineering (code) applications on the Force.com platform.Style and approach A step-by-step tutorial, with plenty of tips and tricks that will help you develop complex Force.com applications.

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.

Unveil many hidden gems of programming functionally by taking the foundational steps with ElixirAbout This BookExplore the functional paradigms of programming with Elixir through use of helpful examplesConcise step-by-step instructions to teach you difficult technical conceptsBridge the gap between functional programming and ElixirWho This Book Is ForThis book targets developers new to Elixir, as well as Erlang, in order to make them feel comfortable in functional programming with Elixir, thus enabling them to develop more scalable and fault-tolerant applications.Although no knowledge of Elixir is assumed, some programming experience with mainstream Object-Oriented programming languages such a Ruby, Python, Java, C# would be beneficial.What You Will LearnExplore Elixir to create resilient, scalable applicationsCreate fault-tolerant applicationsBecome better acquainted with Elixir code and see how it is structured to build and develop functional programsLearn the basics of functional programmingGain an understanding of effective OTP principlesDesign program-distributed applications and systemsWrite and create branching statements in ElixirLearn to do more with less using Elixir's metaprogrammingBe familiar with the facilities Elixir provides for metaprogramming, macros, and extending the Elixir languageIn DetailElixir, based on Erlang’s virtual machine and ecosystem, makes it easier to achieve scalability, concurrency, fault tolerance, and high availability goals that are pursued by developers using any programming language or programming paradigm. Elixir is a modern programming language that utilizes the benefits offered by Erlang VM without really incorporating the complex syntaxes of Erlang.Learning to program using Elixir will teach many things that are very beneficial to programming as a craft, even if at the end of the day, the programmer isn't using Elixir. This book will teach you concepts and principles important to any complex, scalable, and resilient application. Mostly, applications are historically difficult to reason about, but using the concepts in this book, they will become easy and enjoyable. It will teach you the functional programing ropes, to enable them to create better and more scalable applications, and you will explore how Elixir can help you achieve new programming heights. You will also glean a firm understanding of basics of OTP and the available generic, provided functionality for creating resilient complex systems. Furthermore, you will learn the basics of metaprogramming: modifying and extending Elixir to suite your needs.Style and approach An exploration of functional programming and Elixir with easy to follow examples using Elixir and the functional style. All the topics, concepts, and principles covered are clearly and concisely explained with either code examples or in depth discussions, or both!

Transition smoothly from Java to the most widely used functional JVM-based language – ClojureAbout This BookWrite apps for the multithreaded world with Clojure’s flavor of functional programmingDiscover Clojure’s features and advantages and use them in your existing projectsThe book is designed so that you’ll be able put to use your existing skills and software knowledge to become a more effective Clojure developerWho This Book Is ForThis book is intended for Java developers, who are looking for a way to expand their skills and understand new paradigms of programming. Whether you know a little bit about functional languages, or you are just getting started, this book will get you up and running with how to use your existing skills in Clojure and functional programming.What You Will LearnUnderstand the tools for the Clojure world and how they relate to Java tools and standards (like Maven)Learn about immutable data structures, and what makes them feasible for everyday programmingWrite simple multi-core programs using Clojure’s core concepts, like atoms, agents and refsUnderstand that in Clojure, code is data, and how to take advantage of that fact by generating and manipulating code with macrosLearn how Clojure interacts with Java, how the class loaders work and how to use Clojure from Java or the other way aroundDiscover a new, more flexible meaning of polymorphism and understand that OOP is not the only way to get itIn DetailWe have reached a point where machines are not getting much faster, software projects need to be delivered quickly, and high quality in software is more demanding as ever.We need to explore new ways of writing software that helps achieve those goals. Clojure offers a new possibility of writing high quality, multi-core software faster than ever, without having to leave your current platform.Clojure for Java developers aims at unleashing the true potential of the Clojure language to use it in your projects. The book begins with the installation and setup of the Clojure environment before moving on to explore the language in-depth. Get acquainted with its various features such as functional programming, concurrency, etc. with the help of example projects. Additionally, you will also, learn how the tooling works, and how it interacts with the Java environment.By the end of this book, you will have a firm grip on Clojure and its features, and use them effectively to write more robust programs.Style and approachAn easy to follow, step-by-step, guide on how to start writing Clojure programs making use of all of its varied features and advantages. As this is a new language, certain new concepts are supported with theoretical section followed by simple projects to help you gain a better understanding and practice of how Clojure works.