Develop fantastic games and solve common development problems with Unreal Engine 4 About This Book Investigate the big world of Unreal Engine, computer graphics rendering and Material editor to implement in your games Construct a top-notch game by using the assets offered by Unreal Engine, thereby reducing the time to download, create assets on your own. Understand when and why to use different features and functionalities of Unreal Engine 4 to create your own games Learn to use Unreal 4 by making a first person puzzle game, Blockmania, for Android. Who This Book Is For This path is ideal for those who have a strong interest in game development and some development experience. An intermediate understanding of C++ is recommended. What You Will Learn Explore the Unreal Engine 4 editor controls and learn how to use the editor to create a room in a game level Get clued up about working with Slate, Unreal’s UI solution through the UMG Editor Put together your own content and materials to build cutscenes and learn how to light scenes effectively Get tips and tricks on how to create environments using terrain for outdoor areas and a workflow for interiors as well using brushes Explore the ways to package your game for Android Devices and porting it to the Google Playstore Know inside out about creating materials, and applying them to assets for better performance Understand the differences between BSP and static meshes to make objects interactive In Detail Unreal Engine technology powers hundreds of games. This Learning Path will help you create great 2D and 3D games that are distributed across multiple platforms. The first module, Learning Unreal Engine Game Development, starts with small, simple game ideas and playable projects. It starts by showing you the basics in the context of an individual game level. Then, you'll learn how to add details such as actors, animation, effects, and so on to the game. This module aims to equip you with the confidence and skills to design and build your own games using Unreal Engine 4. By the end of this module, you will be able to put into practise your own content. After getting familiar with Unreal Engine’s core concepts, it’s time that you dive into the field of game development. In this second module, Unreal Engine Game Development Cookbook we show you how to solve development problems using Unreal Engine, which you can work through as you build your own unique project. Every recipe provides step-by-step instructions, with explanations of how these features work, and alternative approaches and research materials so you can learn even more. You will start by building out levels for your game, followed by recipes to help you create environments, place meshes, and implement your characters. By the end of this module, you will see how to create a health bar and main menu, and then get your game ready to be deployed and published. The final step is to create your very own game that will keep mobile users hooked. This is what you'll be learning in our third module, Learning Unreal Engine Android Game Development,Once you get the hang of things, you will start developing our game, wherein you will graduate from movement and character control to AI and spawning. Once you've created your application, you will learn how to port and publish your game to the Google Play Store. With this course, you will be inspired to come up with your own great ideas for your future game development projects. Style and approach A practical collection of bestselling Packt titles, this Learning Path aims to help you skill up with Unreal Engine by curating some of our best titles into an essential, sequential collection.

Unleash the power of Swift and discover the skills required to build incredible robust iOS applications About This Book Write expressive, understandable, and maintainable Swift 2 code with this hands-on course Unveil the complex underpinnings of Swift to turn your app ideas into reality Specialize in developing real iOS apps, and 2D and 3D video games using Swift and Cocoapods Dive deep into protocol extensions, learn new error handling model and use featured Swift design patterns to write more efficient code Who This Book Is For This course would be for app developers who are new to developing for iOS or OSX and are trying to get grips with Swift for the first time. What You Will Learn From a solid understanding of the Swift 2 language Get to know the practical aspects of how a computer program actually works Understand the paradigms used by Apple’s frameworks, so you are not intimidated by them Create a server in Swift to deliver JSON data to an iOS app Take advantage of Cocoapods to use third-party libraries Build games with SpriteKit and SceneKit Develop an app running on the cloud to act as an API server for your client’s apps Dive into the core components of Swift 2 including operators, collections, control flow, and functions Create and use classes, structures, and enums including object-oriented topics such as inheritance, protocols, and extensions Develop a practical understanding of sub*s, optionals, and closures Master Objective-C interoperability with mix and match Access network resources using Swift Implement various standard design patterns in the Swift language In Detail The Swift––Developing iOS Applications course will take you on a journey to become an efficient iOS and OS X developer, with the latest trending topic in town. Right from the basics to the advanced level topics, this course would cover everything in detail. We’ll embark our journey by dividing the learning path into four modules. Each of these modules are a mini course in their own right; and as you complete each one, you’ll gain key skills and be ready for the material in the next module. The first module is like a step-by-step guide to programming in Swift 2. Each topic is separated into compressible sections that are full of practical examples and easy-to-understand explanations. Each section builds on the previous topics, so you can develop a proficient and comprehensive understanding of app development in Swift 2. By the end of this module, you’ll have a basic understanding of Swift 2 and its functionalities. The second module will be the an easy-to-follow guide filled with tutorials to show you how to build real-world apps. The difficulty and complexity level increases chapter by chapter. Each chapter is dedicated to build a new app, beginning from a basic and unstyled app through to a full 3D game. The last two chapters show you how to build a complete client-server e-commerce app right from scratch. You’ll be able to build well-designed apps, effectively use AutoLayout, develop videogames, and build server apps. The third and the last module of our course will take an example-based approach where each concept covered is supported by example code to not only give you a good understanding of the concept, but also to demonstrate how to properly implement it. Style and approach This course includes all the resources that will help you jump into the app development .This course covers all the important aspects Swift application development and is divided into individual modules so that you develop your skill after the completion of a module and get ready for the next. Through this comprehensive course, you'll learn how to use Swift programming with hands-on examples from scratch to finish!

Develop and implement a fully-functional, systematic CRM plan with CiviCRM About This Book Develop an integrated online system that manages contacts, donations, event registrations, memberships, bulk e-mail, campaigns, case management, and other functions such as activity tracking, grant distribution, and reporting. Plan a constituency relationship management strategy with ladders of engagement that will improve how your organization realizes its mission. Use case studies and step-by-step examples to put the raw concepts into real-life terminology and build your solutions. Who This Book Is For The book is primarily for administrators tasked with implementing, configuring, maintaining, and updating CiviCRM, and staff users who are looking to better understand the tools available in order to become power users. CiviCRM is software that may be used by advocacy groups, non-profit, and non-governmental organizations, elected officials, professional and trade associations, government entities, political campaigns and parties, and other similar organizations, and this book will prove useful to all such users. What You Will Learn Install and configure your CiviCRM Analyze your current workflows and processes to translate them effectively into the CiviCRM model Build an integrated system to solicit, retain, and manage your donors and members through robust management and reporting tools for administrators Raise more money with CiviCRM with effective solicitation campaigns Market events effectively and track registrations and payments Improve communications with constituents using targeted broadcast e-mail campaigns Track ongoing communications with constituents including from Outlook and Gmail using activities and case management tools Take advantage of the many CiviCRM tools to generate both simple and complex event structures and manage registrants through every phase of the project In Detail CiviCRM provides a powerful toolbox of resources to help organizations manage relationships with constituents. It is free, open source, web-based, and geared specifically to meet the constituent relationship management needs of the not-for-profit sector. Beginning with broader questions about how your organization is structured, which existing workflows are critical to your operations, and the overarching purpose of a centralized CRM, the book proceeds step by step through configuring CiviCRM, understanding the choices when setting up the system, importing data, and exploring the breadth of tools available throughout the system. You will see how to best use this software to handle event registrations, accept and track contributions, manage paid and free memberships and sub*ions, segment contacts, send bulk e-mails with open and click-through tracking, manage outreach campaigns, and set up case management workflows that match your organization’s roles and rules. With specific emphasis on helping implementers ask the right questions, consider key principals when setting up the system, and understand usage through case studies and examples, the book comprehensively reviews the functionality of CiviCRM and the opportunities it provides. With this book, you can help your organization better achieve its mission as a charity, industry association, professional society, political advocacy group, community group, government agency, or other similar organization and position yourself to become a power user who efficiently and effectively navigates the system. Style and approach This guide is packed with step-by-step tutorials and real-life examples interspersed with practical advice and best practices on how to use CiviCRM strategically. You will be able to quickly grasp and implement the basic elements of CiviCRM before moving on to more advanced tools.

Create modular scalable enterprise-grade applications with JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 About This Book Leverage the power of JBoss EAP 7 along with Java EE 7 to create professional enterprise grade applications. Get you applications cloud ready and make them highly scalable using this advanced guide. Become a pro Java Developer and move ahead of the crowd with this advanced practical guide. Who This Book Is For The ideal target audience for this book is Java System Administrators who already have some experience with JBoss EAP and who now want explore in depth creating Enterprise grade apps with the latest JBoss EAP version. What You Will Learn Configure services using the Command Line Interface Deliver fault tolerant server configurations Harden the application server with advanced techniques Expand the application server's horizon with tools such as like Docker/OpenShift Create enterprise ready configurations using clustering techniques. Deliver advanced security solutions and learn how to troubleshoot common network/performance issues In Detail The JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) has been one of the most popular tools for Java developers to create modular, cloud-ready, and modern applications. It has achieved a reputation for architectural excellence and technical savvy, making it a solid and efficient environment for delivering your applications. The book will first introduce application server configuration and the management instruments that can be used to control the application server. Next, the focus will shift to enterprise solutions such as clustering, load balancing, and data caching; this will be the core of the book. We will also discuss services provided by the application server, such as database connectivity and logging. We focus on real-world example configurations and how to avoid common mistakes. Finally, we will implement the knowledge gained so far in terms of Docker containers and cloud availability using RedHat's OpenShift. Style and approach If you are a Java developer who wants to level-up to modern day Java web development with the latest Java EE 7 and JBoss EAP 7, this book is the ideal solution for you. It addresses (in a clear and simple way) proof-of-concept scenarios such as clustering and cloud and container configurations, and explains how to solve common issues.

Start empowering users and protecting corporate data, while managing Identities and Access with Microsoft Azure in different environments About This Book Deep dive into the Microsoft Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) solution Design, implement and manage simple and complex hybrid identity and access management environments Learn to apply solution architectures directly to your business needs and understand how to identify and manage business drivers during transitions Who This Book Is For This book is for business decision makers, IT consultants, and system and security engineers who wish to plan, design, and implement Identity and Access Management solutions with Microsoft Azure. What You Will Learn Apply technical de*ions and solution architectures directly to your business needs and deployments Identify and manage business drivers and architecture changes to transition between different scenarios Understand and configure all relevant Identity and Access Management key features and concepts Implement simple and complex directory integration, authentication, and authorization scenarios Get to know about modern identity management, authentication, and authorization protocols and standards Implement and configure a modern information protection solution Integrate and configure future improvements in authentication and authorization functionality of Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 In Detail Microsoft Azure and its Identity and Access Management is at the heart of Microsoft’s Software as a Service, including Office 365, Dynamics CRM, and Enterprise Mobility Management. It is an essential tool to master in order to effectively work with the Microsoft Cloud. Through practical, project based learning this book will impart that mastery. Beginning with the basics of features and licenses, this book quickly moves on to the user and group lifecycle required to design roles and administrative units for role-based access control (RBAC). Learn to design Azure AD to be an identity provider and provide flexible and secure access to SaaS applications. Get to grips with how to configure and manage users, groups, roles, and administrative units to provide a user- and group-based application and self-service access including the audit functionality. Next find out how to take advantage of managing common identities with the Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 and build cloud identities with the Azure AD Connect utility. Construct blueprints with different authentication scenarios including multi-factor authentication. Discover how to configure and manage the identity synchronization and federation environment along with multi -factor authentication, conditional access, and information protection scenarios to apply the required security functionality. Finally, get recommendations for planning and implementing a future-oriented and sustainable identity and access management strategy. Style and approach A practical, project-based learning experience explained through hands-on examples.

Your one-stop resource for mastering extensions and customizations in JIRA 7+ About This Book Explore the new features of JIRA 7 and best practices for agile development and integration with development tools Customize the look and feel of your JIRA UI to match your specific user needs Create seamless reports that make sense of your data through easy-to-use techniques Who This Book Is For If you are a JIRA developer or administrator, or a project manager who wants to fully exploit the exciting capabilities of JIRA, then this is the perfect book for you. What You Will Learn Create and deploy your own JIRA plugins Manipulate workflows to transform JIRA into a user-friendly system Create custom reports that show statistics for particular people, projects, versions, or other fields within issues Simplify reporting by writing your own JIRA gadgets, which can be added into a user's dashboard Master database handling by extending and retrieving custom field details from the database Deal with custom fields on an issue and program custom field option In Detail JIRA provides issue and project tracking for software development teams to improve code quality and the speed of development. With the new version of JIRA, you can create your own JIRA plugins and customize the look and feel of your JIRA UI easier than ever. JIRA Development Cookbook , Third Edition, is a one-stop resource to master extensions and customizations in JIRA. This book starts with recipes about simplifying the plugin development process followed by recipes dedicated to the plugin framework. Then, you will move on to writing custom field plugins to create new field types or custom searchers. You will also learn how to program and customize workflows to transform JIRA into a user-friendly system. With so much data spanning different projects, issues, and so on, we will cover how to work on reports and gadgets to get customized data according to our needs. At the end of the book, you will learn how to customize JIRA by adding new tabs, menus, and web items; communicate with JIRA via the REST APIs; and work with the JIRA database. Style and approach The most unique aspect of this book is its approach. This book is recipe-based, with real-world examples, that will empower you to implement agile processes and explore the exciting capabilities of Jira.

Leverage the power of Xamarin to create stunning cross-platform and native apps About This Book Helps you get a clear practical understanding of creating professional-grade apps with Xamarin Covers Xamarin.Forms, Xamarin Android, and Xamarin iOS If you want to transform yourself from an amateur mobile developer into a professional app developer across multiple platforms, then this is the ideal book for you Who This Book Is For If you are a mobile developer looking to create interesting and fully featured apps for different platforms, then this book is the ideal solution for you. A basic knowledge of Xamarin and C# programming is assumed What You Will Learn Discover eight different ways to create your own Xamarin applications Improve app performance by using SQLite for data-intensive applications Set up a simple web service to feed JSON data into mobile applications Store files locally with Xamarin.Forms using dependency services Use Xamarin extension libraries to create effective applications with less coding In Detail Do you want to create powerful, efficient, and independent apps from scratch that will leverage the Xamarin framework and code with C#Well, look no further; you’ve come to the right place! This is a learn-as-you-build practical guide to building eight full-fledged applications using Xamarin.Forms, Xamarin Android, and Xamarin iOS. Each chapter includes a project, takes you through the process of building applications (such as a gallery Application, a text-to-speech service app, a GPS locator app, and a stock market app), and will show you how to deploy the application’s source code to a Google Cloud Source Repository. Other practical projects include a chat and a media-editing app, as well as other examples fit to adorn any developer’s utility belt. In the course of building applications, this book will teach you how to design and prototype professional-grade applications implementing performance and security considerations. Style and approach A project-based approach that will solve all your needs when it comes to creating native Android, iOS, and cross-platform apps efficiently and effectively.

A fast-paced and practical guide to demystifying big data and transforming it into operational intelligence About This Book Want to get started with Splunk to analyze and visualize machine dataOpen this book and step into the world of Splunk. Leverage the exceptional analysis and visualization capabilities to make informed decisions for your business This easy-to-follow, practical book can be used by anyone, even if you have never managed any data before Who This Book Is For This book will be perfect for you if you are a Software engineer or developer or System administrators or Business analyst who seek to correlate machine data with business metrics and provide intuitive real-time and statistical visualizations. Some knowledge or experience of previous versions of Splunk will be helpful but not essential. What You Will Learn Install and configure Splunk Gather data from different sources, isolate them by indexes, classify them into source types, and tag them with the essential fields Be comfortable with the Search Processing Language and get to know the best practices in writing search queries Create stunning and powerful dashboards Be proactive by implementing alerts and scheduled reports Use the Splunk SDK and integrate Splunk data into other applications Implement the best practices in using Splunk. In Detail Splunk is a search, analysis, and reporting platform for machine data, which has a high adoption on the market. More and more organizations want to adopt Splunk to use their data to make informed decisions. This book is for anyone who wants to manage data with Splunk. You’ll start with very basics of Splunk— installing Splunk—and then move on to searching machine data with Splunk. You will gather data from different sources, isolate them by indexes, classify them into source types, and tag them with the essential fields. After this, you will learn to create various reports, XML forms, and alerts. You will then continue using the Pivot Model to transform the data models into visualization. You will also explore visualization with D3 in Splunk. Finally you’ll be provided with some real-world best practices in using Splunk. Style and approach This fast-paced, example-rich guide will help you analyze and visualize machine data with Splunk through simple, practical instructions.

A practical guide to obtaining, transforming, exploring, and analyzing data using Python, MongoDB, and Apache Spark About This Book Learn to use various data analysis tools and algorithms to classify, cluster, visualize, simulate, and forecast your data Apply Machine Learning algorithms to different kinds of data such as social networks, time series, and images A hands-on guide to understanding the nature of data and how to turn it into insight Who This Book Is For This book is for developers who want to implement data analysis and data-driven algorithms in a practical way. It is also suitable for those without a background in data analysis or data processing. Basic knowledge of Python programming, statistics, and linear algebra is assumed. What You Will Learn Acquire, format, and visualize your data Build an image-similarity search engine Generate meaningful visualizations anyone can understand Get started with analyzing social network graphs Find out how to implement sentiment text analysis Install data analysis tools such as Pandas, MongoDB, and Apache Spark Get to grips with Apache Spark Implement machine learning algorithms such as classification or forecasting In Detail Beyond buzzwords like Big Data or Data Science, there are a great opportunities to innovate in many businesses using data analysis to get data-driven products. Data analysis involves asking many questions about data in order to discover insights and generate value for a product or a service. This book explains the basic data algorithms without the theoretical jargon, and you’ll get hands-on turning data into insights using machine learning techniques. We will perform data-driven innovation processing for several types of data such as text, Images, social network graphs, documents, and time series, showing you how to implement large data processing with MongoDB and Apache Spark. Style and approach This is a hands-on guide to data analysis and data processing. The concrete examples are explained with simple code and accessible data.

Build rich, high production value mobile games and distribute them across different platforms with Buildbox About This Book Create captivating 2D & 2.5D (isometric) video games for all platforms Leverage Buildbox to monetize and prepare your games for distribution This step-by-step tutorial will get you generating complex and media rich games with no coding experience Who This Book Is For This book caters to those who have an interest or desire to create their own mobile games either as a hobbyist or who are looking to enhance their skills as a professional games developer. No coding experience is required. What You Will Learn Create the illusion of a 3D background in your game using parallax Add advanced controls and obstacles to our first world Develop assets (graphic and audio) for the Buildbox engine Design games based on the capabilities and limitations of Buildbox and their target platforms Compile and distribute video games on various channels such as Steam, iOS store, Android stores, and the Mac App Store Optimize your games to get the absolute best quality within platform restrictions Conquer common issues experienced with Buildbox development In Detail Buildbox is an “any skill level” development platform to develop video games with no coding experience. It also exports these games to be compiled for any platform (from Windows to Mac to iOS to Android and Blackberry) all using the same graphic user interface. Using an example as a tutorial, we will relate the driving principles and you’ll see how you can implement these principles to develop any games on the platform. We begin by setting expectations and providing a brief overview of the software. But it’s not long before you “dive in” to creating your first video game. You will actually have a playable level (“world”) by the end of the second chapter. Later on, you’ll learn everything from basic graphics creation to advanced world design while you refine your first game, called “Ramblin’ Rover.” All along the way, you will see how certain functions could be used in tandem to create other types of games; hoping to spark imagination. We will follow the principles and process of monetization through ads and in-game rewards. Lastly, we will go through the process of exporting, compiling, and preparing your storefront to sell the games you will eventually create. Style and approach This book follows a tutorial-based approach that teaches through examples, while also providing the necessary principles to enable you to abstract these principles into any game you want to make.

Analyze your data and delve deep into the world of machine learning with the latest Spark version, 2.0 About This Book Perform data analysis and build predictive models on huge datasets that leverage Apache Spark Learn to integrate data science algorithms and techniques with the fast and scalable computing features of Spark to address big data challenges Work through practical examples on real-world problems with sample code snippets Who This Book Is For This book is for anyone who wants to leverage Apache Spark for data science and machine learning. If you are a technologist who wants to expand your knowledge to perform data science operations in Spark, or a data scientist who wants to understand how algorithms are implemented in Spark, or a newbie with minimal development experience who wants to learn about Big Data Analytics, this book is for you! What You Will Learn Consolidate, clean, and transform your data acquired from various data sources Perform statistical analysis of data to find hidden insights Explore graphical techniques to see what your data looks like Use machine learning techniques to build predictive models Build scalable data products and solutions Start programming using the RDD, DataFrame and Dataset APIs Become an expert by improving your data analytical skills In Detail This is the era of Big Data. The words ‘Big Data’ implies big innovation and enables a competitive advantage for businesses. Apache Spark was designed to perform Big Data analytics at scale, and so Spark is equipped with the necessary algorithms and supports multiple programming languages. Whether you are a technologist, a data scientist, or a beginner to Big Data analytics, this book will provide you with all the skills necessary to perform statistical data analysis, data visualization, predictive modeling, and build scalable data products or solutions using Python, Scala, and R. With ample case studies and real-world examples, Spark for Data Science will help you ensure the successful execution of your data science projects. Style and approach This book takes a step-by-step approach to statistical analysis and machine learning, and is explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each topic is explained sequentially with a focus on the fundamentals as well as the advanced concepts of algorithms and techniques. Real-world examples with sample code snippets are also included.

Use Hadoop to solve business problems by learning from a rich set of real-life case studies About This Book Solve real-world business problems using Hadoop and other Big Data technologies Build efficient data lakes in Hadoop, and develop systems for various business cases like improving marketing campaigns, fraud detection, and more Power packed with six case studies to get you going with Hadoop for Business Intelligence Who This Book Is For If you are interested in building efficient business solutions using Hadoop, this is the book for you This book assumes that you have basic knowledge of Hadoop, Java, and any *ing language. What You Will Learn Learn about the evolution of Hadoop as the big data platform Understand the basics of Hadoop architecture Build a 360 degree view of your customer using Sqoop and Hive Build and run classification models on Hadoop using BigML Use Spark and Hadoop to build a fraud detection system Develop a churn detection system using Java and MapReduce Build an IoT-based data collection and visualization system Get to grips with building a Hadoop-based Data Lake for large enterprises Learn about the coexistence of NoSQL and In-Memory databases in the Hadoop ecosystem In Detail If you have a basic understanding of Hadoop and want to put your knowledge to use to build fantastic Big Data solutions for business, then this book is for you. Build six real-life, end-to-end solutions using the tools in the Hadoop ecosystem, and take your knowledge of Hadoop to the next level. Start off by understanding various business problems which can be solved using Hadoop. You will also get acquainted with the common architectural patterns which are used to build Hadoop-based solutions. Build a 360-degree view of the customer by working with different types of data, and build an efficient fraud detection system for a financial institution. You will also develop a system in Hadoop to improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Build a churn detection system for a telecom company, develop an Internet of Things (IoT) system to monitor the environment in a factory, and build a data lake – all making use of the concepts and techniques mentioned in this book. The book covers other technologies and frameworks like Apache Spark, Hive, Sqoop, and more, and how they can be used in conjunction with Hadoop. You will be able to try out the solutions explained in the book and use the knowledge gained to extend them further in your own problem space. Style and approach This is an example-driven book where each chapter covers a single business problem and describes its solution by explaining the structure of a dataset and tools required to process it. Every project is demonstrated with a step-by-step approach, and explained in a very easy-to-understand manner.

Unleash the power of XMPP in order to build exciting, real-time, federated applications based on open standards in a secure and highly scalable fashion About This Book Learn about the fundamentals of XMPP and be able to work with the core functionality both server-side and in the browser Build a simple 1-to-1 chat (the “Hello World” of XMPP), explore multi-user chat, publish subscribe systems, and work with a decentralized social network Author Lloyd Watkins is a member of the XMPP standards committee Who This Book Is For If you want to learn about the fundamentals of XMPP, be able to work with the core functionality both server-side and in the browser then this book is for you.No knowledge of XMPP is required, or of TCP/IP networking. It's important that you already know how to build applications of some form, and are looking get a better understanding of how to implement XMPP for one or more of its many uses. You should be interested in the decentralized web, know HTML, and likely know JavaScript and NodeJS. You will probably know JSON, and hopefully XML (this is the native output of XMPP). What You Will Learn Install and configure an XMPP server and use it to connect from a traditional desktop client and send a message Build a simple server-side application that will respond to messages from our logged in desktop client Install and run XMPP-FTW, connect to the server from the browser, and handle incoming/outgoing messages Connect to a multi-user chat room, send/receive stanzas, add a room password, join a protected room, set the room’s subject, and change a user's affiliation Get to grips with the publish-subscribe extension of XMPP and use it to build a pusher system that can make any website real-time Build a simple XMPP component and create an extension for XMPP-FTW that allows you to use your own custom format Build an XMPP version of the classic game “Pong” In Detail XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) is a messaging protocol that enables communication between two or more devices via the Internet. With this book, developers will learn about the fundamentals of XMPP, be able to work with the core functionality both server-side and in the browser, as well as starting to explore several of the protocol extensions. You will not only have a solid grasp of XMPP and how it works, but will also be able to use the protocol to build real-world applications that utilize the power of XMPP. By the end of this book, you will know more about networking applications in general, and have a good understanding of how to extend XMPP, as well as using it in sample applications. Style and approach Through a number of hands-on projects, this book shows you how to build usable applications that highlights a feature of XMPP.

Go beyond the basics and unleash the full power of QGIS with practical, step-by-step examples About This Book This book is your one-stop solution to all of your GIS needs using the open source QGIS Master QGIS by learning about database integration, geoprocessing tools, Python *s, advanced cartography, and custom plugins This example-rich, practical guide will help you create sophisticated analyses and maps Who This Book Is For If you are a GIS professional, a consultant, a student, or perhaps a fast learner who wants to go beyond the basics of QGIS, then this book is for you. It will prepare you to realize the full potential of QGIS. What You Will Learn Create and manage a spatial database Get to know advanced techniques to style GIS data Prepare both vector and raster data for processing Add heat maps, live layer effects, and labels to your maps Master LAStools and GRASS integration with the Processing Toolbox Edit and repair topological data errors Automate workflows with batch processing and the QGIS Graphical Modeler Integrate Python *ing into your data processing workflows Develop your own QGIS plugin In Detail QGIS is an open source solution to GIS. It is widely used by GIS professionals all over the world. It is the leading alternative to the proprietary GIS software. Although QGIS is described as intuitive, it is also by default complex. Knowing which tools to use and how to apply them is essential to producing valuable deliverables on time. Starting with a refresher on the QGIS basics, this book will take you all the way through to creating your first custom QGIS plugin. From the refresher, we will recap how to create, populate, and manage a spatial database. You’ll also walk through styling GIS data, from creating custom symbols and color ramps to using blending modes. In the next section, you will discover how to prepare vector, heat maps, and create live layer effects, labeling, and raster data for processing. You’ll also discover advanced data creation and editing techniques. The last third of the book covers the more technical aspects of QGIS such as using LAStools and GRASS GIS’s integration with the Processing Toolbox, how to automate workflows with batch processing, and how to create graphical models. Finally, you will see how to create and run Python data processing *s and write your own QGIS plugin with pyqgis. By the end of the book, you will understand how to work with all the aspects of QGIS, and will be ready to use it for any type of GIS work. Style and approach This step-by-step comprehensive guide will let you dig your teeth into working with spatial databases, creating your own QGIS plugins, and creating your own custom graphical models.

Use new features of PHP 7 to solve practical, real-world problems faced by PHP developers like yourself every day. About This Book .This course covers the new features of version 7.x, best practices for server-side programming, and MVC frameworks .Leverage the potential of PHP for server-side programming, memory management, and Object-Oriented Programming to improve your programming productivity .This course also illustrates the development of a complete modular application using PHP 7 in detail Who This Book Is For If you are an aspiring web developer, mobile developer, or back-end programmer, who has basic experience in PHP programming and wants to develop performance-critical applications, then this course is for you. It will take your PHP programming skills to next level. What You Will Learn .Solve practical real-world programming problems using PHP 7 .Discover where and when PHP 5 code needs to be re-written to avoid backwards-compatibility breaks .Use advanced PHP 7 features such as the Abstract Syntax Tree, Uniform Variable Syntax, Scalar Type Hints, Generator Delegation, Anonymous Classes, and the Context Sensitive Lexer .Set up a high performance development and production environment for PHP 7 .Discover new OOP features in PHP 7 to achieve high performance .Discover the new features of PHP 7 that are relevant to modular application development .Explore the ins and outs of the Symfony framework .Build a set of modules based on the Symfony framework that comprise a simple web shop app In Detail PHP is a great language for developing web applications. It is essentially a server-side *ing language. PHP 7 is the latest version, providing major backward-compatibility breaks and focusing on improved performance and speed. This course follows a learning path which is divided into three modules. Each module is a mini course in its own right, taking your basic PHP programing skills to the next level by showing you intermediate to advanced PHP techniques with a focus on PHP 7. This way, get you equipped with the tools and skills required to develop professional and efficient applications for your websites and enterprises. The first module of the book is a programming cookbook that consists over 80 recipes! Each recipe is designed to solve practical, real-world problems faced by PHP developers like yourself every day. This course also covers new ways of writing PHP code made possible only in version 7. The second module of the course is designed to improve the performance and productivity of your application. We’ll introduce you to the concepts of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in PHP 7, then shed some light on how to improve the performance of your PHP 7 applications and database. Throughout this module you will be introduced to benchmarking tools. With all important concepts of PHP covered up you will move on to third module. In this module you will gain a deep insight into the modular programming paradigm and how to achieve modularity in your PHP code. Modular design techniques help you build readable, manageable, reusable, and more efficient codes. PHP 7, which is a popular open source *ing language, is used to build modular functions for your software. This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: .PHP 7 Programming Cookbook, Doug Bierer .Learning PHP 7 High Performance, Altaf Hussain .Modular Programming with PHP 7, Branko Ajzele Style and approach This book takes a practical, step-by-step approach with real-world examples that serve as building blocks for your application development and guide you through improving the quality of your code.

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

Discover how to make your business data more interactive and engaging with SAP Lumira About This Book Create a powerful data discovery experience with the advanced capabilities of SAP Lumira Find business insights in your data through data blending, wrangling, transformation, and visualization A fast-paced guide packed with hands-on practical examples, real-world solutions, and best practices to get you started with SAP Lumira Who This Book Is For If you are a SAP user, business analyst, BI developer, or a junior data engineer who wants to use SAP Lumira to build creative visualizations, this book is for you. You should have a reasonable level of knowledge of SAP Business Objects and its components. What You Will Learn Deploy SAP Lumira on your computer and learn more about the SAP Lumira interface Extract data from different sources using SAP Lumira’s data connecters Prepare, filter, clean, and format your data Discover visualization techniques and data discovery methods Administrate and customize SAP Lumira to get basic knowledge of its SDK Create various charts to deliver fantastic data visualizations Connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform and SAP HANA to extract, prepare, and visualize data In Detail SAP Lumira allows you to combine data from multiple sources into a single view and create engaging visualizations quickly and easily. It is a reporting platform that helps users access data and independently perform analysis. With the increasing interest in data discovery, self-service BI, and visualization around the world, tools like SAP Lumira help to eliminate the complexities of analyzing and discovering data. Learn data discovery techniques, build amazing visualizations, create fantastic stories, and share your visualizations through an electronic medium with one of the most powerful tools around—SAP Lumira. You will begin with an overview of the SAP Lumira family of products. You will then go through various data discovery techniques using real-world scenarios of an online e-commerce retailer through detailed recipes on the installation, administration, and customization of SAP Lumira. Next, you will work with data, starting from acquiring data from various data sources, then preparing and visualizing it using the rich functionality of SAP Lumira. Finally, you will present data via a data story or infographic and publish it across your organization or on the World Wide Web. Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide to learning SAP Lumira essentials packed with examples on real-world problems and solutions.

Measure, optimize, and improve the performance of your Python code with this easy-to-follow guide About This Book Master the do's and don'ts of Python performance programming Learn how to use exiting new tools that will help you improve your *s A step-by-step, conceptual guide to teach you how to optimize and fine-tune your critical pieces of code Who This Book Is For If you're a Python developer looking to improve the speed of your *s or simply wanting to take your skills to the next level, then this book is perfect for you. What You Will Learn Master code optimization step-by-step and learn how to use different tools Understand what a profiler is and how to read its output Interpret visual output from profiling tools and improve the performance of your * Use Cython to create fast applications using Python and C Take advantage of PyPy to improve performance of Python code Optimize number-crunching code with NumPy, Numba, Parakeet, and Pandas In Detail Simply knowing how to code is not enough; on mission-critical pieces of code, every bit of memory and every CPU cycle counts, and knowing how to squish every bit of processing power out of your code is a crucial and sought-after skill. Nowadays, Python is used for many scientific projects, and sometimes the calculations done in those projects require some serious fine-tuning. Profilers are tools designed to help you measure the performance of your code and help you during the optimization process, so knowing how to use them and read their output is very handy. This book starts from the basics and progressively moves on to more advanced topics. You’ll learn everything from profiling all the way up to writing a real-life application and applying a full set of tools designed to improve it in different ways. In the middle, you’ll stop to learn about the major profilers used in Python and about some graphic tools to help you make sense of their output. You’ll then move from generic optimization techniques onto Python-specific ones, going over the main constructs of the language that will help you improve your speed without much of a change. Finally, the book covers some number-crunching-specific libraries and how to use them properly to get the best speed out of them. After reading this book, you will know how to take any Python code, profile it, find out where the bottlenecks are, and apply different techniques to remove them. Style and approach This easy-to-follow, practical guide will help you enhance your optimization skills by improving real-world code.

Design and build fantastic projects and devices using the Arduino platform About This Book Explore the different sensors that can be used to improve the functionality of the Arduino projects Program networking modules in conjunction with Arduino to make smarter and more communicable devices A practical guide that shows you how to utilize Arduino to create practical, useful projects Who This Book Is For This book is an ideal choice for hobbyists or professionals who want to create quick and easy projects with Arduino. As a prerequisite, readers must have a working Arduino system and some programming background, ideally in C/C++. Basic knowledge of Arduino is helpful but not required to follow along with this book. What You Will Learn Understand and utilize the capabilities of the Arduino Integrate sensors to gather environmental data and display this information in meaningful ways Add modules such as Bluetooth and Wi-fithat allow the Arduino to communicate and send data between devices Create simple servers to allow communication to occur Build automated projects including robots while learning complex algorithms to mimic biological locomotion Implement error handling to make programs easier to debug and look more professional Integrate powerful programming tools and software such as Python and Processing to broaden the scope of what the Arduino can achieve Practice and learn basic programming etiquette In Detail Arduino an opensource physical computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development environment for writing software for the board. The opensource Arduino software (IDE) makes it easy to write code and upload it to the board. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The environment is written in Java and based on Processing and other opensource software. With the growing interest in home-made, weekend projects among students and hobbyists alike, Arduino offers an innovative and feasible platform to create projects that promote creativity and technological tinkering. Arduino by Example is a project-oriented guide to help you fully utilize the power of one of the world's most powerful open source platforms, Arduino. This book demonstrates three projects ranging from a home automation project involving your lighting system to a simple robotic project to a touch sensor project. You will first learn the basic concepts such as how to get started with the Arduino, and as you start building the project, you will develop the practical skills needed to successfully build Arduino powered projects that have real-life implications. The complexity of the book slowly increases as you complete a project and move on to the next. By the end of this book, you will be able to create basic projects and utilize the elements used in the examples to construct your own devices. Style and approach This book follows a project-oriented approach, with multiple images and plenty of code to help you build your projects easily. The book uses a tutorial-based methodology where the concepts are first explained and then implemented to help you develop the projects.

Transform maps and raw data into full-fledged web mapping applications using the power of the ArcGIS JavaScript API and JavaScript libraries About This Book Create and share modern map applications for desktops, tablets, and mobile browsers Present and edit geographic and related data through maps, charts, graphs, and more Learn the tools, tips, and tricks made available through the API and related libraries with examples of real-world applications Who This Book Is For This book is intended for intermediate developers who want to design web mapping applications. You should have some experience with geographic information systems, especially with ArcGIS products such as ArcGIS Server. It also helps to have some experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. What You Will Learn Create single-page mapping applications, lining up data from different sources Search for and display geographic and tabular information based on locations and attributes Customize maps and widgets to deliver the best user experience Present location data intuitively using charts and graphs Integrate mapping applications with your favorite JavaScript frameworks Test the working of your web map application and take advantage of cloud services such as ArcGIS Online Create modern-looking web maps through styling tips and tricks In Detail ESRI and its ArcGIS line of software have been an industry leader in digital map production and publication for over 30 years. ArcGIS Server lets you design, configure, and publish maps that can be viewed and edited through the Internet. After designing basic maps, you may want to find out new and innovative ways to represent information using these maps. In this book, you'll work through practical examples, experiencing the pitfalls and successes of creating desktop and mobile map applications for a web browser using the ArcGIS Server platform. The book begins by introducing you to ArcGIS Server and ESRI's JavaScript API. You'll work with your first web map and then move on to learn about ESRI's building blocks. A Dojo AMS style widget will help you create your own widgets for a map and then see how to collect geographic data. Furthermore, you will learn different techniques such as using Dojo Charts to create charts and graphs to represent your data. Then you will see how to use ESRI JavaScript API with other JavaScript libraries and different styling methods to make your map stand out. By the end of the book, you will discover how to make your application compatible with different devices and platforms and test it using testing libraries. Style and approach An in-depth guide that explores web application development using ArcGIS Server and the ArcGIS JavaScript API. Topics are explained in the context of developing two applications for fictional clients. Details of application development, including possible pitfalls and best practices, are included in this book.

Your all-in-one guide to exploring and implementing Microsoft Dynamics AX About This Book From project kick-off to go live and upgrade, learn what to expect in each phase of the project This book guides you through the entire journey of a Dynamics AX implementation project, helping you to avoid the common pitfalls and adapt industry knowledge and best practices for your own project This one-stop guide is packed with key tools and techniques to aid your Dynamics AX implementation Who This Book Is For This book is for IT project managers, solution architects, and consultants who are planning to implement or are in the process of implementing or upgrading Dynamics AX. To use this book, you must have a working Dynamics AX system in place and must be familiar with the basics of Dynamics AX. What You Will Learn Prepare for a great start with effective project management and planning from the beginning Gather details early using effective requirement-gathering tools and techniques Gain tools and techniques for effective infrastructure planning and hardware sizing Get to grips with integration and data migration through planning and strategy Familiarize yourself with the reporting and BI tools Master functional and technical design to customize existing features and designs in your own projects Manage your configuration and you’re your configuration from one environment to another Learn industry’s best practices and recommendations on customization development and performance tuning In Detail Microsoft Dynamics AX is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that supports multi-site operations across various countries, providing international processing within the company. It is an ERP solution with a lot of features and functionality, and it provides support across the fields of financial, distribution, supply chain, project, customer relationship, HR, and field service management. This book is all about simplifying the overall implementation process of Dynamics AX. The purpose of this book is to help IT managers and solution architects implement Dynamics AX to increase the success rate of Dynamics AX projects. This all-in-one guide will take you through an entire journey of a Dynamics AX implementation, ensuring you avoid commonly-made mistakes during implementation. You’ll begin with the installation of Dynamics AX and the basic requirements. Then, you’ll move onto data migration, reporting, functional and technical design, configuration, and performance tuning. By the end of the book, you will know how to plan and execute Dynamics AX right, on your first attempt, using insider industry knowledge and best practices. Style and approach This is a progressive, easy-to-follow book that summarizes numerous aspects you need to know to make your Dynamics AX implementations successful using code examples to get you hands-on.