Become more fluent in Python—learn strategies and techniques for smart and high-performance Python programming About This Book Write smarter, bug-free, high performance code with minimal effort Uncover the best tools and options available to Python developers today Deploy decorators, design patters, and various optimization techniques to use Python 3.5 effectively Who This Book Is For If you are a Python developer and you think that you don’t know everything about the language yet, then this is the book for you. We will unlock the mysteries and re-introduce you to the hidden features of Python to write efficient programs, making optimal use of the language. What You Will Learn Manipulate object creation processes for instances, classes, and functions Use the best possible language constructs to write data structures with super speed and maintainability Make efficient use of design patterns to decrease development time and make your code more maintainable Write better test cases with an improved understanding of the testing framework of Python and unittests, and discover how to develop new functionalities in it Write fully-optimized code with the Python language by profiling, compiling C modules, and more Unlock asynchronous programming to build efficient and scalable applications In Detail Python is a versatile programming language that can be used for a wide range of technical tasks—computation, statistics, data analysis, game development, and more. Though Python is easy to learn, it’s range of features means there are many aspects of it that even experienced Python developers don’t know about. Even if you’re confident with the basics, its logic and syntax, by digging deeper you can work much more effectively with Python – and get more from the language. Python Unlocked walks you through the most effective techniques and best practices for high performance Python programming - showing you how to make the most of the Python language. You’ll get to know objects and functions inside and out, and will learn how to use them to your advantage in your programming projects. You will also find out how to work with a range of design patterns including abstract factory, singleton, strategy pattern, all of which will help make programming with Python much more efficient. Finally, as the process of writing a program is never complete without testing it, you will learn to test threaded applications and run parallel tests. If you want the edge when it comes to Python, use this book to unlock the secrets of smarter Python programming. Style and approach This is book had been created to help you to “unlock” the best ways to tackle the challenges and performance bottlenecks that many Python developers face today. The keys are supported with program examples to help you understand the concepts better and see them in action.

Unleash the power of shell *s to solve real-world problems by breaking through the practice of writing tedious code About This Book Learn how to efficiently and effectively build shell *s and develop advanced applications with this handy book Develop high quality and efficient solutions by writing professional and real-world *s, and debug *s by checking and shell tracing A step-by-step tutorial to automate routine tasks by developing *s from a basic level to very advanced functionality Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for those who are proficient at working with Linux and who want to learn about shell *ing to improve their efficiency and practical skills. By the end of this book, you will be able to confidently use your own shell *s in the real world. What You Will Learn Familiarize yourself with the various text filtering tools available in Linux Combine the fundamental text and file processing commands to process data and automate repetitive tasks Understand expressions and variables and how to use them practically Automate decision-making and save a lot of time and effort of revisiting code Get to grips with advanced functionality such as using traps and signals and using dialogs to develop screens Start up a system and customize a Linux system Take an in-depth look at regular expressions and pattern matching to understand the capabilities of *ing In Detail Linux is the one of the most powerful and universally adopted OSes. Shell is a program that gives the user direct interaction with the operating system. Scripts are collections of commands that are stored in a file. The shell can read this file and act on the commands as if they were typed on the keyboard. Shell *ing is used to automate day-to-day administration, and for testing or product development tasks.This book covers Bash, GNU Bourne Again SHell, preparing you to work in the exciting world of Linux shell *ing. We start with an introduction to the Shell environment and explain basic commands used in Shell. Next we move on to check, kill, and control the execution of processes in Linux OS. Further, we teach you about the filter tools available in Linux and explain standard output and standard errors devices.Then we will ensure you understand Shell’s interpretation of commands and get a firmer grasp so you use them in practice. Next, you’ll experience some real-world essentials such as debugging and perform Shell arithmetic fluently. Then you’ll take a step ahead and learn new and advanced topics in Shell *ing, such as starting up a system and customizing a Linux system. Finally, you’ll get to understand the capabilities of *ing and learn about Grep, Stream Editor, and Awk.Style and approach This practical book will go from the very basics of shell *ing to complex, customized automation. The idea behind this book is to be as practical as possible and give you the look and feel of what real-world *ing is like.

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.

Leverage the computational power of Python with more than 60 recipes that arm you with the required skills to make informed business decisions About This Book Want to minimize risk and optimize profits of your businessLearn to create efficient analytical reports with ease using this highly practical, easy-to-follow guide Learn to apply Python for business intelligence tasks—preparing, exploring, analyzing, visualizing and reporting—in order to make more informed business decisions using data at hand Learn to explore and analyze business data, and build business intelligence dashboards with the help of various insightful recipes Who This Book Is For This book is intended for data analysts, managers, and executives with a basic knowledge of Python, who now want to use Python for their BI tasks. If you have a good knowledge and understanding of BI applications and have a “working” system in place, this book will enhance your toolbox. What You Will Learn Install Anaconda, MongoDB, and everything you need to get started with your data analysis Prepare data for analysis by querying cleaning and standardizing data Explore your data by creating a Pandas data frame from MongoDB Gain powerful insights, both statistical and predictive, to make informed business decisions Visualize your data by building dashboards and generating reports Create a complete data processing and business intelligence system In Detail The amount of data produced by businesses and devices is going nowhere but up. In this scenario, the major advantage of Python is that it's a general-purpose language and gives you a lot of flexibility in data structures. Python is an excellent tool for more specialized analysis tasks, and is powered with related libraries to process data streams, to visualize datasets, and to carry out scientific calculations. Using Python for business intelligence (BI) can help you solve tricky problems in one go. Rather than spending day after day scouring Internet forums for “how-to” information, here you’ll find more than 60 recipes that take you through the entire process of creating actionable intelligence from your raw data, no matter what shape or form it’s in. Within the first 30 minutes of opening this book, you’ll learn how to use the latest in Python and NoSQL databases to glean insights from data just waiting to be exploited.< We’ll begin with a quick-fire introduction to Python for BI and show you what problems Python solves. From there, we move on to working with a predefined data set to extract data as per business requirements, using the Pandas library and MongoDB as our storage engine. Next, we will analyze data and perform transformations for BI with Python. Through this, you will gather insightful data that will help you make informed decisions for your business. The final part of the book will show you the most important task of BI—visualizing data by building stunning dashboards using Matplotlib, PyTables, and iPython Notebook. Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide to help you prepare, explore, analyze and report data, written in a conversational tone to make it easy to grasp. Whether you’re new to BI or are looking for a better way to work, you’ll find the knowledge and skills here to get your job done efficiently.

Load, wrangle, and analyze your data using the world's most powerful statistical programming language About This Book Load, manipulate and analyze data from different sources Gain a deeper understanding of fundamentals of applied statistics A practical guide to performing data analysis in practice Who This Book Is For Whether you are learning data analysis for the first time, or you want to deepen the understanding you already have, this book will prove to an invaluable resource. If you are looking for a book to bring you all the way through the fundamentals to the application of advanced and effective analytics methodologies, and have some prior programming experience and a mathematical background, then this is for you. What You Will Learn Navigate the R environment Describe and visualize the behavior of data and relationships between data Gain a thorough understanding of statistical reasoning and sampling Employ hypothesis tests to draw inferences from your data Learn Bayesian methods for estimating parameters Perform regression to predict continuous variables Apply powerful classification methods to predict categorical data Handle missing data gracefully using multiple imputation Identify and manage problematic data points Employ parallelization and Rcpp to scale your analyses to larger data Put best practices into effect to make your job easier and facilitate reproducibility In Detail Frequently the tool of choice for academics, R has spread deep into the private sector and can be found in the production pipelines at some of the most advanced and successful enterprises. The power and domain-specificity of R allows the user to express complex analytics easily, quickly, and succinctly. With over 7,000 user contributed packages, it’s easy to find support for the latest and greatest algorithms and techniques. Starting with the basics of R and statistical reasoning, Data Analysis with R dives into advanced predictive analytics, showing how to apply those techniques to real-world data though with real-world examples. Packed with engaging problems and exercises, this book begins with a review of R and its syntax. From there, get to grips with the fundamentals of applied statistics and build on this knowledge to perform sophisticated and powerful analytics. Solve the difficulties relating to performing data analysis in practice and find solutions to working with “messy data”, large data, communicating results, and facilitating reproducibility. This book is engineered to be an invaluable resource through many stages of anyone’s career as a data analyst. Style and approach Learn data analysis using engaging examples and fun exercises, and with a gentle and friendly but comprehensive "learn-by-doing" approach.

Over 50 hands-on recipes to help you build exhilarating games using the robust GameMaker system About This Book Design and develop game elements that can be used alone or stacked to enhance your gaming experience Explore extensions that can unlock GameMaker: Studio’s true potential to create complex games A recipe-based, easy-to-follow guide to take your GameMaker skills to the next level Who This Book Is For This book is intended for GameMaker: Studio enthusiasts who are looking to add more substance and improve their content. If know your way around the program and have some basic GML skills but want to take them further, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn Set up player control schemes of various types, such as touch controls and a gamepad Create your own physics sandbox Get accustomed to advanced player movement Implement music and 3D sound in your games Utilize GameMaker’s GUI layers to create exciting games Generate adjustable game settings and save systems Add depth to your game with lighting and special effects In Detail GameMaker: Studio started off as a tool capable of creating simple games using a drag-and-drop interface. Since then, it has grown to become a powerful instrument to make release-ready games for PC, Mac, mobile devices, and even current-gen consoles. GameMaker is designed to allow its users to develop games without having to learn any of the complex programming languages such as C++ or Java. It also allows redistribution across multiple platforms. This book teaches you to harness GameMaker: Studio’s full potential and take your game development to new heights. It begins by covering the basics and lays a solid foundation for advanced GameMaker concepts. Moving on, it covers topics such as controls, physics, and advanced movement, employing a strategic approach to the learning curve. The book concludes by providing insights into complex concepts such as the GUI, menus, save system, lighting, particles, and VFX. By the end of the book, you will be able to design games using GameMaker: Studio and implement the same techniques in other games you intend to design. Style and approach A problem-solving guide that teaches you the construction of game elements and mechanics to be integrated in games for rapid prototyping. Each overall topic includes several individual recipes taught through step-by-step instructions, and in-depth follow-up with examples.

Enhance your Solr indexing experience with advanced techniques and the built-in functionalities available in Apache Solr About This Book Learn about distributed indexing and real-time optimization to change index data on fly Index data from various sources and web crawlers using built-in analyzers and tokenizers This step-by-step guide is packed with real-life examples on indexing data Who This Book Is For This book is for developers who want to increase their experience of indexing in Solr by learning about the various index handlers, analyzers, and methods available in Solr. Beginner level Solr development skills are expected. What You Will Learn Get to know the basic features of Solr indexing and the analyzers/tokenizers available Index XML/JSON data in Solr using the HTTP Post tool and CURL command Work with Data Import Handler to index data from a database Use Apache Tika with Solr to index word documents, PDFs, and much more Utilize Apache Nutch and Solr integration to index crawled data from web pages Update indexes in real-time data feeds Discover techniques to index multi-language and distributed data in Solr Combine the various indexing techniques into a real-life working example of an online shopping web application In Detail Apache Solr is a widely used, open source enterprise search server that delivers powerful indexing and searching features. These features help fetch relevant information from various sources and documentation. Solr also combines with other open source tools such as Apache Tika and Apache Nutch to provide more powerful features. This fast-paced guide starts by helping you set up Solr and get acquainted with its basic building blocks, to give you a better understanding of Solr indexing. You’ll quickly move on to indexing text and boosting the indexing time. Next, you’ll focus on basic indexing techniques, various index handlers designed to modify documents, and indexing a structured data source through Data Import Handler. Moving on, you will learn techniques to perform real-time indexing and atomic updates, as well as more advanced indexing techniques such as de-duplication. Later on, we’ll help you set up a cluster of Solr servers that combine fault tolerance and high availability. You will also gain insights into working scenarios of different aspects of Solr and how to use Solr with e-commerce data. By the end of the book, you will be competent and confident working with indexing and will have a good knowledge base to efficiently program elements. Style and approach This fast-paced guide is packed with examples that are written in an easy-to-follow style, and are accompanied by detailed explanation. Working examples are included to help you get better results for your applications.

Build and optimize efficient messaging applications with ease About This Book Learn to administer, configure, and manage RabbitMQ instances Discover ways to secure and troubleshoot RabbitMQ instances This book is fully up-to-date with all the latest changes to version 3.5 Who This Book Is For If you are a developer or system administrator with a basic knowledge of messaging who wants to learn RabbitMQ, or if you want to further enhance your knowledge in working with the message broker, then this book is ideal for you. To fully understand some examples in the book, a basic knowledge of the Java programming language is required. What You Will Learn Apply messaging patterns using the message broker Administer RabbitMQ using the command line, management Web console, or management REST services Create a cluster of scalable, and highly-available, RabbitMQ instances Use RabbitMQ with the Spring Framework, MuleESB, WSO2, and Oracle databases Deploy RabbitMQ using Puppet, Vagrant, or Docker Fine-tune the performance of RabbitMQ Monitor RabbitMQ using Nagios, Munin, or Monit Secure, troubleshoot, and extend RabbitMQ In Detail RabbitMQ is Open Source Message Queuing software based on the Advanced Message Queue Protocol Standard written in the Erlang Language. RabbitMQ is an ideal candidate for large-scale projects ranging from e-commerce and finance to Big Data and social networking because of its ease of use and high performance. Managing RabbitMQ in such a dynamic environment can be a challenging task that requires a good understanding not only of how to work properly with the message broker but also of its best practices and pitfalls. Learning RabbitMQ starts with a concise de*ion of messaging solutions and patterns, then moves on to concrete practical scenarios for publishing and subscribing to the broker along with basic administration. This knowledge is further expanded by exploring how to establish clustering and high availability at the level of the message broker and how to integrate RabbitMQ with a number of technologies such as Spring, and enterprise service bus solutions such as MuleESB and WSO2. We will look at advanced topics such as performance tuning, secure messaging, and the internals of RabbitMQ. Finally we will work through case-studies so that we can see RabbitMQ in action and, if something goes wrong, we'll learn to resolve it in the Troubleshooting section. Style and approach Each chapter of the book is an easy-to-follow guide that expands and builds on the knowledge already gained in previous chapters. Throughout the course of the book, a sample system called the CSN (Corporate Social Network) is used to illustrate the core principles described. At the end of each chapter, there is a Q&A session that covers practical questions that may arise in practice when working with RabbitMQ.

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#.

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.

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

Integrate, deploy, rapidly configure, and successfully manage your own big data-intensive clusters in the cloud using OpenStack Sahara About This Book A fast paced guide to help you utilize the benefits of Sahara in OpenStack to meet the Big Data world of Hadoop. A step by step approach to simplify the complexity of Hadoop configuration, deployment and maintenance. Who This Book Is For This book targets data scientists, cloud developers and Devops Engineers who would like to become proficient with OpenStack Sahara. Ideally, this book is well suitable for readers who are familiars with databases, Hadoop and Spark solutions. Additionally, a basic prior knowledge of OpenStack is expected. The readers should also be familiar with different Linux boxes, distributions and virtualization technology. What You Will Learn Integrate and Install Sahara with OpenStack environment Learn Sahara architecture under the hood Rapidly configure and scale Hadoop clusters on top of OpenStack Explore the Sahara REST API to create, deploy and manage a Hadoop cluster Learn the Elastic Processing Data (EDP) facility to execute jobs in clusters from Sahara Cover other Hadoop stable plugins existing supported by Sahara Discover different features provided by Sahara for Hadoop provisioning and deployment Learn how to troubleshoot OpenStack Sahara issues In Detail The Sahara project is a module that aims to simplify the building of data processing capabilities on OpenStack. The goal of this book is to provide a focused, fast paced guide to installing, configuring, and getting started with integrating Hadoop with OpenStack, using Sahara. The book should explain to users how to deploy their data-intensive Hadoop and Spark clusters on top of OpenStack. It will also cover how to use the Sahara REST API, how to develop applications for Elastic Data Processing on Openstack, and setting up hadoop or spark clusters on Openstack. Style and approach This book takes a step by step approach teaching how to integrate, deploy and manage data using OpenStack Sahara. It will teach how the OpenStack Sahara is beneficial by simplifying the complexity of Hadoop configuration, deployment and maintenance.

A handy guide that covers the most essential topics for Salesforce Platform App Builder Certification in an easy-to-understand format About This Book Get to grips with the fundamentals of Force.com to pass the certification exam with flying colors Create Force.com applications, automate business processes, and manage data operations to be a successful Salesforce.com Certified Force.com app builder A step-by-step guide that covers the most essential topics for the Platform App Builder Certification in an easy-to-understand format Who This Book Is For Salesforce beginners who need to prepare for the Salesforce Platform App Builder Certification exam will benefit from this book. This book is ideal for developers and admins who are new to Salesforce CRM and the Force.com platform. It is recommended that users have some basic programming knowledge and are familiar with salesforce. By the end of the book, you will be ready to appear for the exam and develop various applications on the cloud platform. What You Will Learn Learn the basics of the force.com cloud platform Learn to build objects that align with your business Understand the process of building an application on force.com platform Kick-start your certification journey in basic- easy-to-follow guide Focus on important topics that help you accomplish your certification goals Learn to secure your application with the Salesforce security model Manipulate and process large amount of data using the data tools Prepare for the exam with sample mock questions In Detail The Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder exam is for individuals who want to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in designing, building, and implementing custom applications using the declarative customization capabilities of Force.com. This book will build a strong foundation in Force.com to prepare you for the platform app builder certification exam. It will guide you through designing the interface while introducing the Lightning Process Builder. Next, we will implement business logic using various point and click features of Force.com. We will learn to manage data and create reports and dashboards. We will then learn to administer the force.com application by configuring the object-level, field-level, and record-level security. By the end of this book, you will be completely equipped to take the Platform App Builder certification exam. Style and approach Simple and to-the-point examples that can be tried out in your developer org. A practical book for professionals who want to take the Salesforce Platform App Builder Certification exam. Sample questions for every topic in an exam pattern to help you prepare better, and tips to get things started. Full of screen-shots, diagrams, and clear step-by-step instructions that cover the entire syllabus for the exam.

Design and develop high performing programs with Julia About This Book Learn to code high reliability and high performance programs Stand out from the crowd by developing code that runs faster than your peers’ codes This book is intended for developers who are interested in high performance technical programming. Who This Book Is For This book is for beginner and intermediate Julia programmers who are interested in high performance technical computing. You will have a basic familiarity with Julia syntax, and have written some small programs in the language. What You Will Learn Discover the secrets behind Julia’s speed Get a sense of the possibilities and limitations of Julia’s performance Analyze the performance of Julia programs Measure the time and memory taken by Julia programs Create fast machine code using Julia’s type information Define and call functions without compromising Julia’s performance Understand number types in Julia Use Julia arrays to write high performance code Get an overview of Julia’s distributed computing capabilities In Detail Julia is a high performance, high-level dynamic language designed to address the requirements of high-level numerical and scientific computing. Julia brings solutions to the complexities faced by developers while developing elegant and high performing code. Julia High Performance will take you on a journey to understand the performance characteristics of your Julia programs, and enables you to utilize the promise of near C levels of performance in Julia. You will learn to analyze and measure the performance of Julia code, understand how to avoid bottlenecks, and design your program for the highest possible performance. In this book, you will also see how Julia uses type information to achieve its performance goals, and how to use multuple dispatch to help the compiler to emit high performance machine code. Numbers and their arrays are obviously the key structures in scientific computing – you will see how Julia’s design makes them fast. The last chapter will give you a taste of Julia’s distributed computing capabilities. Style and approach This is a hands-on manual that will give you good explanations about the important concepts related to Julia programming.

Over 60 practical recipes on data exploration and analysis About This Book Clean dirty data, extract accurate information, and explore the relationships between variables Forecast the output of an electric plant and the water flow of American rivers using pandas, NumPy, Statsmodels, and scikit-learn Find and extract the most important features from your dataset using the most efficient Python libraries Who This Book Is For If you are a beginner or intermediate-level professional who is looking to solve your day-to-day, analytical problems with Python, this book is for you. Even with no prior programming and data analytics experience, you will be able to finish each recipe and learn while doing so. What You Will Learn Read, clean, transform, and store your data usng Pandas and OpenRefine Understand your data and explore the relationships between variables using Pandas and D3.js Explore a variety of techniques to classify and cluster outbound marketing campaign calls data of a bank using Pandas, mlpy, NumPy, and Statsmodels Reduce the dimensionality of your dataset and extract the most important features with pandas, NumPy, and mlpy Predict the output of a power plant with regression models and forecast water flow of American rivers with time series methods using pandas, NumPy, Statsmodels, and scikit-learn Explore social interactions and identify fraudulent activities with graph theory concepts using NetworkX and Gephi Scrape Internet web pages using urlib and BeautifulSoup and get to know natural language processing techniques to classify movies ratings using NLTK Study simulation techniques in an example of a gas station with agent-based modeling In Detail Data analysis is the process of systematically applying statistical and logical techniques to describe and illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data. Its importance has been most visible in the sector of information and communication technologies. It is an employee asset in almost all economy sectors. This book provides a rich set of independent recipes that dive into the world of data analytics and modeling using a variety of approaches, tools, and algorithms. You will learn the basics of data handling and modeling, and will build your skills gradually toward more advanced topics such as simulations, raw text processing, social interactions analysis, and more. First, you will learn some easy-to-follow practical techniques on how to read, write, clean, reformat, explore, and understand your data—arguably the most time-consuming (and the most important) tasks for any data scientist. In the second section, different independent recipes delve into intermediate topics such as classification, clustering, predicting, and more. With the help of these easy-to-follow recipes, you will also learn techniques that can easily be expanded to solve other real-life problems such as building recommendation engines or predictive models. In the third section, you will explore more advanced topics: from the field of graph theory through natural language processing, discrete choice modeling to simulations. You will also get to expand your knowledge on identifying fraud origin with the help of a graph, scrape Internet websites, and classify movies based on their reviews. By the end of this book, you will be able to efficiently use the vast array of tools that the Python environment has to offer. Style and approach This hands-on recipe guide is divided into three sections that tackle and overcome real-world data modeling problems faced by data analysts/scientist in their everyday work. Each independent recipe is written in an easy-to-follow and step-by-step fashion.