Gain sharp insights into your data and solve real-world data science problems with R—from data munging to modeling and visualization About This Book Handle your data with precision and care for optimal business intelligence Restructure and transform your data to inform decision-making Packed with practical advice and tips to help you get to grips with data mining Who This Book Is For If you are a data scientist or R developer who wants to explore and optimize your use of R’s advanced features and tools, this is the book for you. A basic knowledge of R is required, along with an understanding of database logic. What You Will Learn Connect to and load data from R’s range of powerful databases Successfully fetch and parse structured and unstructured data Transform and restructure your data with efficient R packages Define and build complex statistical models with glm Develop and train machine learning algorithms Visualize social networks and graph data Deploy supervised and unsupervised classification algorithms Discover how to visualize spatial data with R In Detail R is an essential language for sharp and successful data analysis. Its numerous features and ease of use make it a powerful way of mining, managing, and interpreting large sets of data. In a world where understanding big data has become key, by mastering R you will be able to deal with your data effectively and efficiently. This book will give you the guidance you need to build and develop your knowledge and expertise. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, this book will help you to understand and use data for a competitive advantage. Beginning with taking you through essential data mining and management tasks such as munging, fetching, cleaning, and restructuring, the book then explores different model designs and the core components of effective analysis. You will then discover how to optimize your use of machine learning algorithms for classification and recommendation systems beside the traditional and more recent statistical methods. Style and approach Covering the essential tasks and skills within data science, Mastering Data Analysis provides you with solutions to the challenges of data science. Each section gives you a theoretical overview before demonstrating how to put the theory to work with real-world use cases and hands-on examples.

Over 150 real-world recipes to simplify database management, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance your productivity About This Book This book helps you build a strong foundation to get you comfortable using PowerShell with SQL Server, empowering you to create more complex *s for your day-to-day job The book provides numerous guidelines, tips, and explanations on how and when to use PowerShell cmdlets, WMI, SMO, .NET classes, or other components It offers easy-to-follow, practical recipes to help you get the most out of SQL Server and PowerShell Who This Book Is For If you are a SQL Server database professional (DBA, developer, or BI developer) who wants to use PowerShell to automate, integrate, and simplify database tasks, this books is for you. Prior knowledge of *ing would be helpful, but it is not necessary. What You Will Learn Explore database objects and execute queries on multiple servers Manage and monitor the running of SQL Server services and accounts Back up and restore databases Create an inventory of database properties and server configuration settings Maintain permissions and security for users Work with CLR assemblies, XML, and BLOB objects in SQL Manage and deploy SSIS packages and SSRS reports In Detail PowerShell can be leveraged when automating and streamlining SQL Server tasks. PowerShell comes with a rich set of cmdlets, and integrates tightly with the .NET framework. Its *ing capabilities are robust and flexible, allowing you to simplify automation and integration across different Microsoft applications and components. The book starts with an introduction to the new features in SQL Server 2014 and PowerShell v5 and the installation of SQL Server. You will learn about basic SQL Server administration tasks and then get to know about some security-related topics such as the authentication mode and assigning permissions. Moving on, you will explore different methods to back up and restore your databases and perform advanced administration tasks such as working with Policies, Filetables, and SQL audits. The next part of the book covers more advanced HADR tasks such as log shipping and data mirroring, and then shows you how to develop your server to work with BLOB, XML, and JSON. Following on from that, you will learn about SQL Server's BI stack, which includes SSRS reports, the SSIS package, and the SSAS cmdlet and database. Snippets not specific to SQL Server will help you perform tasks quickly on SQL servers. Towards the end of the book, you will find some useful information, which includes a PowerShell tutorial for novice users, some commonly-used PowerShell and SQL Server syntax, and a few online resources. Finally, you will create your own SQL Server Sandbox VMs. All these concepts will help you to efficiently manage your administration tasks. Style and approach SQL Server 2014 with PowerShell v5 Cookbook is an example-focused book that provides step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish specific SQL Server tasks using PowerShell. Each recipe is followed by an analysis of the steps or design decisions taken and additional information about the task at hand. Working *s are provided for all examples so that you can dive in right away. You can read this book sequentially by chapter or you can pick and choose which topics you need right away.

Harness the power of RStudio to create web applications, R packages, markdown reports and pretty data visualizationsAbout This BookDiscover the multi-functional use of RStudio to support your daily work with R codeLearn to create stunning, meaningful, and interactive graphs and learn to embed them into easy communicable reports using multiple R packagesDevelop your own R packages and Shiny web apps to share your knowledge and collaborate with others.Who This Book Is ForThis book is aimed at R developers and analysts who wish to do R statistical development while taking advantage of RStudio’s functionality to ease their development efforts. R programming experience is assumed as well as being comfortable with R’s basic structures and a number of functions.What You Will LearnDiscover the RStudio IDE and details about the user interfaceCommunicate your insights with R Markdown in static and interactive waysLearn how to use different graphic systems to visualize your dataBuild interactive web applications with the Shiny framework to present and share your resultsUnderstand the process of package development and assemble your own R packagesEasily collaborate with other people on your projects by using Git and GitHubManage the R environment for your organization with RStudio and Shiny serverApply your obtained knowledge about RStudio and R development to create a real-world dashboard solutionIn DetailRStudio helps you to manage small to large projects by giving you a multi-functional integrated development environment, combined with the power and flexibility of the R programming language, which is becoming the bridge language of data science for developers and analyst worldwide. Mastering the use of RStudio will help you to solve real-world data problems.This book begins by guiding you through the installation of RStudio and explaining the user interface step by step. From there, the next logical step is to use this knowledge to improve your data analysis workflow. We will do this by building up our toolbox to create interactive reports and graphs or even web applications with Shiny. To collaborate with others, we will explore how to use Git and GitHub with RStudio and how to build your own packages to ensure top quality results. Finally, we put it all together in an interactive dashboard written with R.Style and approachAn easy-to-follow guide full of hands-on examples to master RStudio.Beginning from explaining the basics, each topic is explained with a lot of details for every feature.

Delve into the SAP Data Services environment to efficiently prepare, implement, and develop ETL processes About This Book Install and configure the SAP Data Services environment Develop ETL techniques in the Data Services environment Implement real-life examples of Data Services uses through step-by-step instructions to perform specific ETL development tasks Who This Book Is For This book is for IT technical engineers who want to get familiar with the EIM solutions provided by SAP for ETL development and data quality management. The book requires familiarity with basic programming concepts and basic knowledge of the SQL language. What You Will Learn Install, configure, and administer the SAP Data Services components Run through the ETL design basics Maximize the performance of your ETL with the advanced patterns in Data Services Extract methods from various databases and systems Get familiar with the transformation methods available in SAP Data Services Load methods into various databases and systems Code with the Data Services *ing language Validate and cleanse your data, applying the Data quality methods of the Information Steward In Detail Want to cost effectively deliver trusted information to all of your crucial business functionsSAP Data Services delivers one enterprise-class solution for data integration, data quality, data profiling, and text data processing. It boosts productivity with a single solution for data quality and data integration. SAP Data Services also enables you to move, improve, govern, and unlock big data. This book will lead you through the SAP Data Services environment to efficiently develop ETL processes. To begin with, you’ll learn to install, configure, and prepare the ETL development environment. You will get familiarized with the concepts of developing ETL processes with SAP Data Services. Starting from smallest unit of work- the data flow, the chapters will lead you to the highest organizational unit—the Data Services job, revealing the advanced techniques of ETL design.You will learn to import XML files by creating and implementing real-time jobs. It will then guide you through the ETL development patterns that enable the most effective performance when extracting, transforming, and loading data. You will also find out how to create validation functions and transforms.Finally, the book will show you the benefits of data quality management with the help of another SAP solution—Information Steward.Style and approach This book is an easy-to-follow guide with step-by-step instructions to perform specific ETL development tasks.

Learn to process massive real-time data streams using Storm and Python—no Java required!About This Book Learn to use Apache Storm and the Python Petrel library to build distributed applications that process large streams of data Explore sample applications in real-time and analyze them in the popular NoSQL databases MongoDB and Redis Discover how to apply software development best practices to improve performance, productivity, and quality in your Storm projects Who This Book Is For This book is intended for Python developers who want to benefit from Storm’s real-time data processing capabilities. If you are new to Python, you’ll benefit from the attention to key supporting tools and techniques such as automated testing, virtual environments, and logging. If you’re an experienced Python developer, you’ll appreciate the thorough and detailed examples What You Will Learn Install Storm and learn about the prerequisites Get to know the components of a Storm topology and how to control the flow of data between them Ingest Twitter data directly into Storm Use Storm with MongoDB and Redis Build topologies and run them in Storm Use an interactive graphical debugger to debug your topology as it’s running in Storm Test your topology components outside of Storm Configure your topology using YAML In Detail Big data is a trending concept that everyone wants to learn about. With its ability to process all kinds of data in real time, Storm is an important addition to your big data “bag of tricks.” At the same time, Python is one of the fastest-growing programming languages today. It has become a top choice for both data science and everyday application development. Together, Storm and Python enable you to build and deploy real-time big data applications quickly and easily. You will begin with some basic command tutorials to set up storm and learn about its configurations in detail. You will then go through the requirement scenarios to create a Storm cluster. Next, you’ll be provided with an overview of Petrel, followed by an example of Twitter topology and persistence using Redis and MongoDB. Finally, you will build a production-quality Storm topology using development best practices. Style and approach This book takes an easy-to-follow and a practical approach to help you understand all the concepts related to Storm and Python.

Design, build and simulate complex robots using Robot Operating System and master its out-of-the-box functionalities About This Book Develop complex robotic applications using ROS for interfacing robot manipulators and mobile robots with the help of high end robotic sensors Gain insights into autonomous navigation in mobile robot and motion planning in robot manipulators Discover the best practices and troubleshooting solutions everyone needs when working on ROS Who This Book Is For If you are a robotics enthusiast or researcher who wants to learn more about building robot applications using ROS, this book is for you. In order to learn from this book, you should have a basic knowledge of ROS, GNU/Linux, and C++ programming concepts. The book will also be good for programmers who want to explore the advanced features of ROS. What You Will Learn Create a robot model of a Seven-DOF robotic arm and a differential wheeled mobile robot Work with motion planning of a Seven-DOF arm using MoveIt! Implement autonomous navigation in differential drive robots using SLAM and AMCL packages in ROS Dig deep into the ROS Pluginlib, ROS nodelets, and Gazebo plugins Interface I/O boards such as Arduino, Robot sensors, and High end actuators with ROS Simulation and motion planning of ABB and Universal arm using ROS Industrial Explore the ROS framework using its latest version In Detail The area of robotics is gaining huge momentum among corporate people, researchers, hobbyists, and students. The major challenge in robotics is its controlling software. The Robot Operating System (ROS) is a modular software platform to develop generic robotic applications.This book discusses the advanced concepts in robotics and how to program using ROS. It starts with deep overview of the ROS framework, which will give you a clear idea of how ROS really works. During the course of the book, you will learn how to build models of complex robots, and simulate and interface the robot using the ROS MoveIt motion planning library and ROS navigation stacks.After discussing robot manipulation and navigation in robots, you will get to grips with the interfacing I/O boards, sensors, and actuators of ROS. One of the essential ingredients of robots are vision sensors, and an entire chapter is dedicated to the vision sensor, its interfacing in ROS, and its programming.You will discuss the hardware interfacing and simulation of complex robot to ROS and ROS Industrial (Package used for interfacing industrial robots).Finally, you will get to know the best practices to follow when programming using ROS.Style and approach This is a simplified guide to help you learn and master advanced topics in ROS using hands-on examples.

Learn JavaScript test-driven development using popular frameworks and tools About This Book Learn the life cycle of TDD and its importance in real-world application Gain knowledge about popular tools and analyze features, syntax, and how they help in JavaScript testing Implement test-driven programming exercises using the practical code examples Who This Book Is For If you have an intermediate knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and want to learn how and why the test-driven development approach is better for your assignments, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn Basic TDD fundamentals, life cycle, and benefits Become acquainted with the concepts and elements of unit testing and writing basic unit tests for JavaScript Understand the way JsUnit, Qunit, Karma and DalekJs work Use the Jasmine framework Interpret feature detection and devise tests specific to cross-browser compatibility Integrate jsTestDriver with Eclipse and run tests with jsTestDriver Explore re-factoring, adding and notifying observers Understand test-driven development in case of server-side JS In Detail Initially, all processing used to happen on the server-side and simple output was the response to web browsers. Nowadays, there are so many JavaScript frameworks and libraries created that help readers to create charts, animations, simulations, and so on. By the time a project finishes or reaches a stable state, so much JavaScript code has already been written that changing and maintaining it further is tedious. Here comes the importance of automated testing and more specifically, developing all that code in a test-driven environment. Test-driven development is a methodology that makes testing the central part of the design process – before writing code developers decide upon the conditions that code must meet to pass a test. The end goal is to help the readers understand the importance and process of using TDD as a part of development. This book starts with the details about test-driven development, its importance, need, and benefits. Later the book introduces popular tools and frameworks like YUI, Karma, QUnit, DalekJS, JsUnit and goes on to utilize Jasmine, Mocha, Karma for advanced concepts like feature detection, server-side testing, and patterns. We are going to understand, write, and run tests, and further debug our programs. The book concludes with best practices in JavaScript testing. By the end of the book, the readers will know why they should test, how to do it most efficiently, and will have a number of versatile tests (and methods for devising new tests) to get to work immediately. Style and approach Easy-to-follow guide with suitable examples for developing JavaScript code in the test-Driven environment, with popular tools and frameworks. User experience and statements are also included to help readers make a better choice of tool for real-world projects.

Master the art of developing message-based applications with RabbitMQAbout This BookLearn how to administer, manage, and extend your own message broker, RabbitMQDevelop clients to make a message bridge between your software systems using RabbitMQDiscover how to achieve proficiency with RabbitMQ with the well-defined de*ions of the topicsWho This Book Is ForIf you are an intermediate-level RabbitMQ developer, who wants to achieve professional-level expertise in the subject, this book is for you. You’ll also need to have a decent understanding of message queuing.What You Will LearnAdminister RabbitMQ using different toolsUnderstand the roots and details of messaging, message brokers, and AMQP protocolScale the RabbitMQ server using the clusters and high availability techniquesExtend RabbitMQ by developing the Erlang OTP-based applications that use the RabbitMQ APIManage the RabbitMQ server using its powerful toolsMonitor the RabbitMQ Server using different open source tools such as Nagios, Munin, and ZabbixEnsure your RabbitMQ’s security using SSL, SASL, and access controlDevelop RabbitMQ clients using Java, Python, and C# with an industry exampleIn DetailRabbitMQ is one of the most powerful Open Source message broker software, which is widely used in tech companies such as Mozilla, VMware, Google, AT&T, and so on. RabbitMQ gives you lots of fantastic and easy-to-manage functionalities to control and manage the messaging facility with lots of community support. As scalability is one of our major modern problems, messaging with RabbitMQ is the main part of the solution to this problem.This book explains and demonstrates the RabbitMQ server in a detailed way. It provides you with lots of real-world examples and advanced solutions to tackle the scalability issues.You’ll begin your journey with the installation and configuration of the RabbitMQ server, while also being given specific details pertaining to the subject. Next, you’ll study the major problems that our server faces, including scalability and high availability, and try to get the solutions for both of these issues by using the RabbitMQ mechanisms. Following on from this, you’ll get to design and develop your own plugins using the Erlang language and RabbitMQ’s internal API. This knowledge will help you to start with the management and monitoring of the messages, tools, and applications. You’ll also gain an understanding of the security and integrity of the messaging facilities that RabbitMQ provides. In the last few chapters, you will build and keep track of your clients (senders and receivers) using Java, Python, and C#.Style and approach An easy-to-follow guide, full of hands-on examples based around managing, monitoring, extending, and securing RabbitMQ and its internal tools. You will learn how to develop your own clients using Java, Python, and C#.

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!

Learn the essence of data science and visualization using R in no time at allAbout This BookBecome a pro at making stunning visualizations and dashboards quickly and without hassleFor better decision making in business, apply the R programming language with the help of useful statistical techniques.From seasoned authors comes a book that offers you a plethora of fast-paced techniques to detect and analyze data patternsWho This Book Is ForIf you are an aspiring data scientist or analyst who has a basic understanding of data science and has basic hands-on experience in R or any other analytics tool, then R Data Science Essentials is the book for you.What You Will LearnPerform data preprocessing and basic operations on dataImplement visual and non-visual implementation data exploration techniquesMine patterns from data using affinity and sequential analysisUse different clustering algorithms and visualize themImplement logistic and linear regression and find out how to evaluate and improve the performance of an algorithmExtract patterns through visualization and build a forecasting algorithmBuild a recommendation engine using different collaborative filtering algorithmsMake a stunning visualization and dashboard using ggplot and R shinyIn DetailWith organizations increasingly embedding data science across their enterprise and with management becoming more data-driven it is an urgent requirement for analysts and managers to understand the key concept of data science. The data science concepts discussed in this book will help you make key decisions and solve the complex problems you will inevitably face in this new world.R Data Science Essentials will introduce you to various important concepts in the field of data science using R. We start by reading data from multiple sources, then move on to processing the data, extracting hidden patterns, building predictive and forecasting models, building a recommendation engine, and communicating to the user through stunning visualizations and dashboards.By the end of this book, you will have an understanding of some very important techniques in data science, be able to implement them using R, understand and interpret the outcomes, and know how they helps businesses make a decision.Style and approachThis easy-to-follow guide contains hands-on examples of the concepts of data science using R.

Get up and running with developing effective Hybrid Mobile Apps with IonicAbout This BookDevelop engaging mobile experiences with a native-looking UI in Ionic and AngularJSBuild mobile applications with a native UI and interactions with device APIs using popular web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScriptCreate an e-commerce mobile app using tutorials and code samplesWho This Book Is ForThis book is ideal for any web developer who wants to enter into the world of mobile app development but has no clue where to start. Ionic is an ideal starting point and provides a smooth learning curve to help you build hybrid apps using web technologies and to develop native apps for iOS and Android, you do not need to know multiple languages. This book will also be useful for Hybrid App developers who have not found the perfect framework to ensure users get a rich experience from your apps.What You Will LearnGet to know about Hybrid Apps and AngularJSSet up a development environment to build Hybrid AppsNavigate around the components and routing in IonicUse different Ionic directives for a mobile-specific experienceIntegrate an Ionic App with backend web servicesWork with plugins to include native functionality in your hybrid appsTest your apps on real devicesBuild an e-commerce app for iOS and Android from scratchIn DetailHybrid Apps are a promising choice in mobile app development to achieve cost effectiveness and rapid development. However, they were not preferred over native apps until few years back due to a poor performance and bad user experience, but everything has changed with the release of Ionic. It has evolved as the most popular choice for Hybrid Mobile App development as it tends to match the native experience and provides robust components/tools to build apps.Getting Started with Ionic equips any web developer with the basic knowledge needed to use modern web technologies to build amazing hybrid mobile apps using Ionic.This fast-paced, practical book explains all the important concepts of AngularJS and Cordova Framework required to develop apps, then gives you a brief introduction to hybrid mobile applications. It will guide you through setting up the environment to develop mobile apps, and through the multiple options and features available in Ionic so you can use them in your mobile apps. Features such as the Side Menu, Tabs, Touch Interactions, and native features such as Bar Code, Camera, and Geolocations are all covered.. Finally, we’ll show you how to use Cordova plugins and publish your apps.Style and approachGetting started with Ionic is a compact, easy-to-follow guide to developing hybrid mobile apps using Ionic with real world examples of building an e-commerce app.

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.

Create powerful applications with the most robust open source web mapping library using this advanced guideAbout This BookDevelop responsive and platform-independent web mapping applications with OpenLayers 3Learn the key points of creating great applications with native JavaScript through the step-by-step examplesMaster the use of the library, from compiling custom builds to developing a complete WebGIS applicationWho This Book Is ForThis book is intended for front-end developers with basic understanding of JavaScript and GIS concepts, and preferably for those who are familiar with the fundamentals of OpenLayers 3. You might have never used OpenLayers 3 as a seasoned JavaScript developer. If this is the case and you are eager to learn web mapping, this book will definitely set you on the right track.What You Will LearnUse the advanced functionality of the OpenLayers 3 library effectivelyImplement the library in your application, shaping it to your needsManage layers and the layer stack dynamicallyCreate not only stunning but also accurate thematic mapsExtend OpenLayers 3 with your own custom classesDevelop mobile-friendly web mapping applicationsMake stunning effects with canvas manipulation, or visualize point clouds with WebGLIntegrate third-party applications, and create custom builds that completely satisfy your needsIn DetailOpenLayers 3 allows you to create stunning web mapping and WebGIS applications. It uses modern, cutting edge browser technologies. It is written with Closure Library, enabling you to build browser-independent applications without painful debugging ceremonies, which even have some limited fallback options for older browsers.With this guide, you will be introduced to the world of advanced web mapping and WebGIS.First, you will be introduced to the advanced features and functionalities available in OpenLayers 3. Next, you will be taken through the key points of creating custom applications with OpenLayers 3. You will then learn how to create the web mapping application of yours (or your company's) dream with this open source, expense-free, yet very powerful library. We’ll also show you how to make amazing looking thematic maps and create great effects with canvas manipulation.By the end of this book, you will have a strong command of web mapping and will be well on your way to creating amazing applications using OpenLayers 3.Style and approachThis is an advanced guide packed with comprehensive examples, and it concentrates on the advanced parts of OpenLayers 3 and JavaScript. It intentionally skips the basic and well-known methodologies, but discusses the hard-to-understand ones in great detail.

Arm yourself with over 65 hands-on recipes to master the skills of building scalable web applications with Ember.jsAbout This BookThis book is your one-stop solution to the key features of Ember.js. Become skilled in the art of building web-apps in a fraction of the code you'd write in other frameworks.Build JavaScript apps that don't break the web! Our 100 recipes will make this a cakewalk for you!This books makes learning Ember.js easy by breaking down each topic into simple-to-understand recipesWho This Book Is ForAnyone who wants to explore Ember.js and wishes to get hands on making sophisticated web apps with less coding will find this book handy. Prior experience in Coding and familiarity with JavaScript is recommended. If you’ve heard of Ember.js or are just curious on how a single-page application framework works, then this book is for you.What You Will LearnSkip the boilerplate code with Ember CLI generatorsCreate a component with actions and eventsSet up a model with Ember Data using fixture dataCreate several different types of test cases and run themManage and set up user authentication using Ember Simple AuthAdd animated transitions to your app with Liquid FireSet up a service and initializer with dependency injectionCreate a working chat applicationSet up an Ember Service and initializer with dependency injectionCreate a working chat applicationIn DetailEmber.js is an open source JavaScript framework that will make you more productive. It uses common idioms and practices, making it simple to create amazing single-page applications. It also lets you create code in a modular way using the latest JavaScript features. Not only that, it has a great set of APIs to get any task done. The Ember.js community is welcoming newcomers and is ready to help you when needed.This book provides in-depth explanations on how to use the Ember.js framework to take you from beginner to expert. You’ll start with some basic topics and by the end of the book, you’ll know everything you need to know to build a fully operational Ember application.We’ll begin by explaining key points on how to use the Ember.js framework and the associated tools. You’ll learn how to effectively use Ember CLI and how to create and deploy your application. We’ll take a close look at the Ember object model and templates by examining bindings and observers. We’ll then move onto Ember components, models, and Ember Data. We’ll show you examples on how to connect to RESTful databases. Next we’ll get to grips with testing with integration and acceptance tests using QUnit. We will conclude by covering authentication, services, and Ember add-ons. We’ll explore advanced topics such as services and initializers, and how to use them together to build real-time applications.Style and approachEach recipe in this book will make it that much easier to understand Ember.js. Recipe after recipe, you will learn the concepts of Ember.js by following the simple step-by-step processes

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.

Master the principles and techniques of multithreaded programming with the Java 8 Concurrency APIAbout This BookImplement concurrent applications using the Java 8 Concurrency API and its new componentsImprove the performance of your applications or process more data at the same time, taking advantage of all of your resources.Construct real-world examples related to machine learning, data mining, image processing, and client/server environmentsWho This Book Is ForIf you are a competent Java developer with a good understanding of concurrency but have no knowledge of how to effectively implement concurrent programs or use streams to make processes more efficient, then this book is for you.What You Will LearnDesign concurrent applications by converting a sequential algorithm into a concurrent oneDiscover how to avoid all the possible problems you can get in concurrent algorithmsUse the Executor framework to manage concurrent tasks without creating threadsExtend and modify Executors to adapt their behavior to your needsSolve problems using the divide and conquer technique and the Fork/Join frameworkProcess massive data sets with parallel streams and Map/Reduce implementationControl data-race conditions using concurrent data structures and synchronization mechanismsTest and monitor concurrent applicationsIn DetailConcurrency programming allows several large tasks to be divided into smaller sub-tasks, which are further processed as individual tasks that run in parallel. All the sub-tasks are combined together once the required results are achieved; they are then merged to get the final output. The whole process is very complex. This process goes from the design of concurrent algorithms to the testing phase where concurrent applications need extra attention. Java includes a comprehensive API with a lot of ready-to-use components to implement powerful concurrency applications in an easy way, but with a high flexibility to adapt these components to your needs.The book starts with a full de*ion of design principles of concurrent applications and how to parallelize a sequential algorithm. We'll show you how to use all the components of the Java Concurrency API from basics to the most advanced techniques to implement them in powerful concurrency applications in Java.You will be using real-world examples of complex algorithms related to machine learning, data mining, natural language processing, image processing in client / server environments. Next, you will learn how to use the most important components of the Java 8 Concurrency API: the Executor framework to execute multiple tasks in your applications, the phaser class to implement concurrent tasks divided into phases, and the Fork/Join framework to implement concurrent tasks that can be split into smaller problems (using the divide and conquer technique). Toward the end, we will cover the new inclusions in Java 8 API, the Map and Reduce model, and the Map and Collect model. The book will also teach you about the data structures and synchronization utilities to avoid data-race conditions and other critical problems. Finally, the book ends with a detailed de*ion of the tools and techniques that you can use to test a Java concurrent application.Style and approach A complete guide implementing real-world examples with algorithms related to machine learning, data mining, and natural language processing in client/server environments. All the examples are explained in a step-by-step approach.

Learn the art of regression analysis with PythonAbout This BookBecome competent at implementing regression analysis in PythonSolve some of the complex data science problems related to predicting outcomesGet to grips with various types of regression for effective data analysisWho This Book Is ForThe book targets Python developers, with a basic understanding of data science, statistics, and math, who want to learn how to do regression analysis on a dataset. It is beneficial if you have some knowledge of statistics and data science.What You Will LearnFormat a dataset for regression and evaluate its performanceApply multiple linear regression to real-world problemsLearn to classify training pointsCreate an observation matrix, using different techniques of data analysis and cleaningApply several techniques to decrease (and eventually fix) any overfitting problemLearn to scale linear models to a big dataset and deal with incremental dataIn DetailRegression is the process of learning relationships between inputs and continuous outputs from example data, which enables predictions for novel inputs. There are many kinds of regression algorithms, and the aim of this book is to explain which is the right one to use for each set of problems and how to prepare real-world data for it. With this book you will learn to define a simple regression problem and evaluate its performance. The book will help you understand how to properly parse a dataset, clean it, and create an output matrix optimally built for regression. You will begin with a simple regression algorithm to solve some data science problems and then progress to more complex algorithms. The book will enable you to use regression models to predict outcomes and take critical business decisions. Through the book, you will gain knowledge to use Python for building fast better linear models and to apply the results in Python or in any computer language you prefer.Style and approach This is a practical tutorial-based book. You will be given an example problem and then supplied with the relevant code and how to walk through it. The details are provided in a step by step manner, followed by a thorough explanation of the math underlying the solution. This approach will help you leverage your own data using the same techniques.

Over 100 effective recipes to help you design, implement, and manage the software-defined and massively scalable Ceph storage systemAbout This BookImplement a Ceph cluster successfully and gain deep insights into its best practicesHarness the abilities of experienced storage administrators and architects, and run your own software-defined storage systemThis comprehensive, step-by-step guide will show you how to build and manage Ceph storage in production environmentWho This Book Is ForThis book is aimed at storage and cloud system engineers, system administrators, and technical architects who are interested in building software-defined storage solutions to power their cloud and virtual infrastructure. If you have basic knowledge of GNU/Linux and storage systems, with no experience of software defined storage solutions and Ceph, but eager to learn this book is for you.What You Will LearnUnderstand, install, configure, and manage the Ceph storage systemGet to grips with performance tuning and benchmarking, and gain practical tips to run Ceph in productionIntegrate Ceph with OpenStack Cinder, Glance, and nova componentsDeep dive into Ceph object storage, including s3, swift, and keystone integrationBuild a Dropbox-like file sync and share service and Ceph federated gateway setupGain hands-on experience with Calamari and VSM for cluster monitoringFamiliarize yourself with Ceph operations such as maintenance, monitoring, and troubleshootingUnderstand advanced topics including erasure coding, CRUSH map, cache pool, and system maintenanceIn DetailCeph is a unified, distributed storage system designed for excellent performance, reliability, and scalability. This cutting-edge technology has been transforming the storage industry, and is evolving rapidly as a leader in software-defined storage space, extending full support to cloud platforms such as Openstack and Cloudstack, including virtualization platforms. It is the most popular storage backend for Openstack, public, and private clouds, so is the first choice for a storage solution. Ceph is backed by RedHat and is developed by a thriving open source community of individual developers as well as several companies across the globe.This book takes you from a basic knowledge of Ceph to an expert understanding of the most advanced features, walking you through building up a production-grade Ceph storage cluster and helping you develop all the skills you need to plan, deploy, and effectively manage your Ceph cluster. Beginning with the basics, you’ll create a Ceph cluster, followed by block, object, and file storage provisioning. Next, you’ll get a step-by-step tutorial on integrating it with OpenStack and building a Dropbox-like object storage solution. We’ll also take a look at federated architecture and CephFS, and you’ll dive into Calamari and VSM for monitoring the Ceph environment. You’ll develop expert knowledge on troubleshooting and benchmarking your Ceph storage cluster. Finally, you’ll get to grips with the best practices to operate Ceph in a production environment.Style and approach This step-by-step guide is filled with practical tutorials, making complex scenarios easy to understand.