Learn advanced state-of-the-art deep learning techniques and their applications using popular Python libraries Key Features *Build a strong foundation in neural networks and deep learning with Python libraries *Explore advanced deep learning techniques and their applications across computer vision and NLP *Learn how a computer can navigate in complex environments with reinforcement learning Book Description With the surge in artificial intelligence in applications catering to both business and consumer needs, deep learning is more important than ever for meeting current and future market demands. With this book, you’ll explore deep learning, and learn how to put machine learning to use in your projects. This second edition of Python Deep Learning will get you up to speed with deep learning, deep neural networks, and how to train them with high-performance algorithms and popular Python frameworks. You’ll uncover different neural network architectures, such as convolutional networks, recurrent neural networks, long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, and capsule networks. You’ll also learn how to solve problems in the fields of computer vision, natural language processing (NLP), and speech recognition. You'll study generative model approaches such as variational autoencoders and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to generate images. As you delve into newly evolved areas of reinforcement learning, you’ll gain an understanding of state-of-the-art algorithms that are the main components behind popular games Go, Atari, and Dota. By the end of the book, you will be well-versed with the theory of deep learning along with its real-world applications. What you will learn *Grasp the mathematical theory behind neural networks and deep learning processes *Investigate and resolve computer vision challenges using convolutional networks and capsule networks *Solve generative tasks using variational autoencoders and Generative Adversarial Networks *Implement complex NLP tasks using recurrent networks (LSTM and GRU) and attention models *Explore reinforcement learning and understand how agents behave in a complex environment *Get up to date with applications of deep learning in autonomous vehicles Who this book is for This book is for data science practitioners, machine learning engineers, and those interested in deep learning who have a basic foundation in machine learning and some Python programming experience. A background in mathematics and conceptual understanding of calculus and statistics will help you gain maximum benefit from this book.

Cut through the noise and get real results with a step-by-step approach to learning Java programming Key Features * Ideal for the Java beginner who is getting started for the first time * A step-by-step Java tutorial with exercises and activities that help build key skills * Structured to let you progress at your own pace, on your own terms * Use your physical copy to redeem free access to the online interactive edition Book Description You already know you want to learn Java, and a smarter way to learn Java 12 is to learn by doing. The Java Workshop focuses on building up your practical skills so that you can develop high-performance Java applications that work flawlessly within the JVM across web, mobile and desktop. You'll learn from real examples that lead to real results. Throughout The Java Workshop, you'll take an engaging step-by-step approach to understanding Java. You won't have to sit through any unnecessary theory. If you're short on time you can jump into a single exercise each day or spend an entire weekend learning about Reactive programming and Unit testing. It's your choice. Learning on your terms, you'll build up and reinforce key skills in a way that feels rewarding. Every physical copy of The Java Workshop unlocks access to the interactive edition. With videos detailing all exercises and activities, you'll always have a guided solution. You can also benchmark yourself against assessments, track progress, and receive free content updates. You'll even earn a secure credential that you can share and verify online upon completion. It's a premium learning experience that's included with your printed copy. To redeem, follow the instructions located at the start of your Java book. Fast-paced and direct, The Java Workshop is the ideal companion for Java beginners. You'll build and iterate on your code like a software developer, learning along the way. This process means that you'll find that your new skills stick, embedded as best practice. A solid foundation for the years ahead. What you will learn * Get to grips with fundamental concepts and conventions of Java 12 * Write clean and well-commented code that's easy to maintain * Debug and compile logical errors and handle exceptions in your programs * Understand how to work with Java APIs and Java streams * Learn how to use third-party libraries and software development kits (SDKs) * Discover how you can work with information stored in databases * Understand how you can keep data secure with cryptography and encryption * Learn how to keep your development process bug-free with unit testing in Java Who this book is for Our goal at Packt is to help you be successful, in whatever it is you choose to do. The Java Workshop is an ideal Java tutorial for the Java beginner who is just getting started. Pick up a Workshop today, and let Packt help you develop skills that stick with you for life.

Practical solutions to overcome challenges in creating console and web applications and working with systems-level and embedded code, network programming, deep neural networks, and much more. Key Features * Work through recipes featuring advanced concepts such as concurrency, unsafe code, and macros to migrate your codebase to the Rust programming language * Learn how to run machine learning models with Rust * Explore error handling, macros, and modularization to write maintainable code Book Description Rust 2018, Rust's first major milestone since version 1.0, brings more advancement in the Rust language. The Rust Programming Cookbook is a practical guide to help you overcome challenges when writing Rust code. This Rust book covers recipes for configuring Rust for different environments and architectural designs, and provides solutions to practical problems. It will also take you through Rust's core concepts, enabling you to create efficient, high-performance applications that use features such as zero-cost abstractions and improved memory management. As you progress, you'll delve into more advanced topics, including channels and actors, for building scalable, production-grade applications, and even get to grips with error handling, macros, and modularization to write maintainable code. You will then learn how to overcome common roadblocks when using Rust for systems programming, IoT, web development, and network programming. Finally, you'll discover what Rust 2018 has to offer for embedded programmers. By the end of the book, you'll have learned how to build fast and safe applications and services using Rust. What you will learn * Understand how Rust provides unique solutions to solve system programming language problems * Grasp the core concepts of Rust to develop fast and safe applications * Explore the possibility of integrating Rust units into existing applications for improved efficiency * Discover how to achieve better parallelism and security with Rust * Write Python extensions in Rust * Compile external assembly files and use the Foreign Function Interface (FFI) * Build web applications and services using Rust for high performance Who this book is for The Rust cookbook is for software developers looking to enhance their knowledge of Rust and leverage its features using modern programming practices. Familiarity with Rust language is expected to get the most out of this book.

Implement reinforcement learning techniques and algorithms with the help of real-world examples and recipes Key Features * Use PyTorch 1.x to design and build self-learning artificial intelligence (AI) models * Implement RL algorithms to solve control and optimization challenges faced by data scientists today * Apply modern RL libraries to simulate a controlled environment for your projects Book Description Reinforcement learning (RL) is a branch of machine learning that has gained popularity in recent times. It allows you to train AI models that learn from their own actions and optimize their behavior. PyTorch has also emerged as the preferred tool for training RL models because of its efficiency and ease of use. With this book, you'll explore the important RL concepts and the implementation of algorithms in PyTorch 1.x. The recipes in the book, along with real-world examples, will help you master various RL techniques, such as dynamic programming, Monte Carlo simulations, temporal difference, and Q-learning. You'll also gain insights into industry-specific applications of these techniques. Later chapters will guide you through solving problems such as the multi-armed bandit problem and the cartpole problem using the multi-armed bandit algorithm and function approximation. You'll also learn how to use Deep Q-Networks to complete Atari games, along with how to effectively implement policy gradients. Finally, you'll discover how RL techniques are applied to Blackjack, Gridworld environments, internet advertising, and the Flappy Bird game. By the end of this book, you'll have developed the skills you need to implement popular RL algorithms and use RL techniques to solve real-world problems. What you will learn * Use Q-learning and the state–action–reward–state–action (SARSA) algorithm to solve various Gridworld problems * Develop a multi-armed bandit algorithm to optimize display advertising * Scale up learning and control processes using Deep Q-Networks * Simulate Markov Decision Processes, OpenAI Gym environments, and other common control problems * Select and build RL models, evaluate their performance, and optimize and deploy them * Use policy gradient methods to solve continuous RL problems Who this book is for Machine learning engineers, data scientists and AI researchers looking for quick solutions to different reinforcement learning problems will find this book useful. Although prior knowledge of machine learning concepts is required, experience with PyTorch will be useful but not necessary.

Leverage the power of machine learning on mobiles and build intelligent mobile applications with ease Key Features *Build smart mobile applications for Android and iOS devices *Use popular machine learning toolkits such as Core ML and TensorFlow Lite *Explore cloud services for machine learning that can be used in mobile apps Book Description Machine learning presents an entirely unique opportunity in software development. It allows smartphones to produce an enormous amount of useful data that can be mined, analyzed, and used to make predictions. This book will help you master machine learning for mobile devices with easy-to-follow, practical examples. You will begin with an introduction to machine learning on mobiles and grasp the fundamentals so you become well-acquainted with the subject. You will master supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms, and then learn how to build a machine learning model using mobile-based libraries such as Core ML, TensorFlow Lite, ML Kit, and Fritz on Android and iOS platforms. In doing so, you will also tackle some common and not-so-common machine learning problems with regard to Computer Vision and other real-world domains. By the end of this book, you will have explored machine learning in depth and implemented on-device machine learning with ease, thereby gaining a thorough understanding of how to run, create, and build real-time machine-learning applications on your mobile devices. What you will learn *Build intelligent machine learning models that run on Android and iOS *Use machine learning toolkits such as Core ML, TensorFlow Lite, and more *Learn how to use Google Mobile Vision in your mobile apps *Build a spam message detection system using Linear SVM *Using Core ML to implement a regression model for iOS devices *Build image classification systems using TensorFlow Lite and Core ML Who this book is for If you are a mobile app developer or a machine learning enthusiast keen to use machine learning to build smart mobile applications, this book is for you. Some experience with mobile application development is all you need to get started with this book. Prior experience with machine learning will be an added bonus

Build, combine, and launch infrastructure in a fast, secure, and effective manner About This Book An up-to-date and comprehensive resource on Terraform that lets you quickly and efficiently launch your infrastructure Learn how to implement your infrastructure as code and make secure, effective changes to your infrastructure Learn to build multi-cloud fault-tolerant systems and simplify the management and orchestration of even the largest scale and most complex cloud infrastructures Who This Book Is For This book is for developers and operators who already have some exposure to working with infrastructure but want to improve their workflow and introduce infrastructure as a code practice. Knowledge of essential Amazon Web Services components (EC2, VPC, IAM) would help contextualize the examples provided. Basic understanding of Jenkins and Shell *s will be helpful for the chapters on the production usage of Terraform. What You Will Learn Understand what Infrastructure as Code (IaC) means and why it matters Install, configure, and deploy Terraform Take full control of your infrastructure in the form of code Manage complete complete infrastructure, starting with a single server and scaling beyond any limits Discover a great set of production-ready practices to manage infrastructure Set up CI/CD pipelines to test and deliver Terraform stacks Construct templates to simplify more complex provisioning tasks In Detail Terraform is a tool used to efficiently build, configure, and improve production infrastructure. It can manage existing infrastructure as well as create custom in-house solutions. This book shows you when and how to implement infrastructure as a code practices with Terraform. It covers everything necessary to set up complete management of infrastructure with Terraform, starting with the basics of using providers and resources. This book is a comprehensive guide that begins with very small infrastructure templates and takes you all the way to managing complex systems, all using concrete examples that evolve over the course of the book. It finishes with the complete workflow of managing a production infrastructure as code – this is achieved with the help of version control and continuous integration. At the end of this book, you will be familiar with advanced techniques such as multi-provider support and multiple remote modules. Style and approach This book focuses on providing the practical skills required to make full use of Terraform. It will take the readers slowly from very small infrastructure templates to the managing complex systems, all by using concrete examples, evolving over the course of the book.

Explore the world of .NET design patterns and bring the benefits that the right patterns can offer to your toolkit today About This Book This book is based on the latest version of .NET, .NET Core 1.0.·The code is explained piece by piece and the application of the pattern is also showcased. This fast-paced guide shows you how to implement the patterns into your existing applications Who This Book Is For This book is for those with familiarity with .NET development who would like to take their skills to the next level and be in the driver's seat when it comes to modern development techniques. Basic object-oriented C# programming experience and an elementary familiarity with the .NET framework library is required. What You Will Learn Put patterns and pattern catalogs into the right perspective Apply patterns for software development under C#/.NET Use GoF and other patterns in real-life development scenarios Be able to enrich your design vocabulary and well articulate your design thoughts Leverage object/functional programming by mixing OOP and FP Understand the reactive programming model using Rx and RxJs Writing compositional code using C# LINQ constructs Be able to implement concurrent/parallel programming techniques using idioms under .NET Avoiding pitfalls when creating compositional, readable, and maintainable code using imperative, functional, and reactive code. In Detail Knowing about design patterns enables developers to improve their code base, promoting code reuse and making their design more robust. This book focuses on the practical aspects of programming in .NET. You will learn about some of the relevant design patterns (and their application) that are most widely used. We start with classic object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques, evaluate parallel programming and concurrency models, enhance implementations by mixing OOP and functional programming, and finally to the reactive programming model where functional programming and OOP are used in synergy to write better code. Throughout this book, we'll show you how to deal with architecture/design techniques, GoF patterns, relevant patterns from other catalogs, functional programming, and reactive programming techniques. After reading this book, you will be able to convincingly leverage these design patterns (factory pattern, builder pattern, prototype pattern, adapter pattern, facade pattern, decorator pattern, observer pattern and so on) for your programs. You will also be able to write fluid functional code in .NET that would leverage concurrency and parallelism! Style and approach This tutorial-based book takes a step-by-step approach. It covers the major patterns and explains them in a detailed manned along with code examples.

Orchestrate and automate your OpenStack cloud operator tasks with Ansible 2.0 About This Book Automate real-world OpenStack cloud operator administrative tasks Construct a collection of the latest automation code to save time on managing your OpenStack cloud Manage containers on your cloud and check the health of your cloud using Nagios Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at OpenStack-based cloud operators and infrastructure and sys administrators who have some knowledge of OpenStack and are seeking to automate taxing and manual tasks. This book is also for people new to automating cloud operations in general and the DevOps practice in particular. What You Will Learn Efficiently execute OpenStack administrative tasks Familiarize yourself with how Ansible 2 works and assess the defined best practices Create Ansible 2 playbooks and roles Automate tasks to customize your OpenStack cloud Review OpenStack automation considerations when automating administrative tasks Examine and automate advanced OpenStack tasks and designated use cases Get a high-level overview of OpenStack and current production-ready projects Explore OpenStack CLI tools and learn how to use them In Detail Most organizations are seeking methods to improve business agility because they have realized just having a cloud is not enough. Being able to improve application deployments, reduce infrastructure downtime, and eliminate daily manual tasks can only be accomplished through some sort of automation. We start with a brief overview of OpenStack and Ansible 2 and highlight some best practices. Each chapter will provide an introduction to handling various Cloud Operator administration tasks such as managing containers within your cloud; setting up/utilizing open source packages for monitoring; creating multiple users/tenants; taking instance snapshots; and customizing your cloud to run multiple active regions. Each chapter will also supply a step-by-step tutorial on how to automate these tasks with Ansible 2. Packed with real-world OpenStack administrative tasks, this book will walk you through working examples and explain how these tasks can be automated using one of the most popular open source automation tools on the market today. Style and approach This book is a concise, fast-paced guide filled with real-world scenarios that will execute OpenStack administrative tasks efficiently. It serves as a quick reference guide for not just OpenStack functions, but also for creating future Ansible code.

Learn the art of building a low-cost, portable hacking arsenal using Raspberry Pi 3 and Kali Linux 2 About This Book Quickly turn your Raspberry Pi 3 into a low-cost hacking tool using Kali Linux 2 Protect your confidential data by deftly preventing various network security attacks Use Raspberry Pi 3 as honeypots to warn you that hackers are on your wire Who This Book Is For If you are a computer enthusiast who wants to learn advanced hacking techniques using the Raspberry Pi 3 as your pentesting toolbox, then this book is for you. Prior knowledge of networking and Linux would be an advantage. What You Will Learn Install and tune Kali Linux 2 on a Raspberry Pi 3 for hacking Learn how to store and offload pentest data from the Raspberry Pi 3 Plan and perform man-in-the-middle attacks and bypass advanced encryption techniques Compromise systems using various exploits and tools using Kali Linux 2 Bypass security defenses and remove data off a target network Develop a command and control system to manage remotely placed Raspberry Pis Turn a Raspberry Pi 3 into a honeypot to capture sensitive information In Detail This book will show you how to utilize the latest credit card sized Raspberry Pi 3 and create a portable, low-cost hacking tool using Kali Linux 2. You’ll begin by installing and tuning Kali Linux 2 on Raspberry Pi 3 and then get started with penetration testing. You will be exposed to various network security scenarios such as wireless security, scanning network packets in order to detect any issues in the network, and capturing sensitive data. You will also learn how to plan and perform various attacks such as man-in-the-middle, password cracking, bypassing SSL encryption, compromising systems using various toolkits, and many more. Finally, you’ll see how to bypass security defenses and avoid detection, turn your Pi 3 into a honeypot, and develop a command and control system to manage a remotely-placed Raspberry Pi 3. By the end of this book you will be able to turn Raspberry Pi 3 into a hacking arsenal to leverage the most popular open source toolkit, Kali Linux 2.0. Style and approach This concise and fast-paced guide will ensure you get hands-on with penetration testing right from the start. You will quickly install the powerful Kali Linux 2 on your Raspberry Pi 3 and then learn how to use and conduct fundamental penetration techniques and attacks.

Implement object-oriented programming paradigms with Swift 3.0 and mix them with modern functional programming techniques to build powerful real-world applications About This Book Leverage the most efficient object-oriented design patterns in your Swift applications Write robust, safer, and better code using the blueprints that generate objects Build a platform with object-oriented code using real-world elements and represent them in your apps Who This Book Is For This book is for iOS and macOS developers who want to get a detailed practical understanding of object-oriented programming with the latest version of Swift: 3.0. What You Will Learn Write high-quality and easy-to-maintain reusable object-oriented code to build applications for iOS, macOS, and Linux Work with encapsulation, abstraction, and polymorphism using Swift 3.0 Work with classes, instances, properties, and methods in Swift 3.0 Take advantage of inheritance, specialization, and the possibility to overload or override members Implement encapsulation, abstraction, and polymorphism Explore functional programming techniques mixed with object-oriented code in Swift 3.0 Understand the differences between Swift 3.0, previous Swift versions, and Objective-C code In Detail Swift has quickly become one of the most-liked languages and developers’ de-facto choice when building applications that target iOS and macOS. In the new version, the Swift team wants to take its adoption to the next level by making it available for new platforms and audiences. This book introduces the object-oriented paradigm and its implementation in the Swift 3 programming language to help you understand how real-world objects can become part of fundamental reusable elements in the code. This book is developed with XCode 8.x and covers all the enhancements included in Swift 3.0. In addition, we teach you to run most of the examples with the Swift REPL available on macOS and Linux, and with a Web-based Swift sandbox developed by IBM capable of running on any web browser, including Windows and mobile devices. You will organize data in blueprints that generate instances. You’ll work with examples so you understand how to encapsulate and hide data by working with properties and access control. Then, you’ll get to grips with complex scenarios where you use instances that belong to more than one blueprint. You’ll discover the power of contract programming and parametric polymorphism. You’ll combine generic code with inheritance and multiple inheritance. Later, you’ll see how to combine functional programming with object-oriented programming and find out how to refactor your existing code for easy maintenance. Style and approach This simple guide is packed with practical examples of solutions to common problems. Each chapter includes exercises and the possibility for you to test your progress by answering a quiz

Orchestrate the designing, development, testing, and deployment of web applications with Symfony About This Book Create a robust and reliable Symfony development pipeline using Amazon's cloud platform Cut development and maintenance costs by defining crystal clear features and possible scenarios for each feature before implementation Follow detailed examples provided in each chapter to create a task management application Who This Book Is For If you are a PHP developer with some experience in Symfony and are looking to master the framework and use it to its full potential, then this book is for you. Though experience with PHP, object-oriented techniques, and Symfony basics is assumed, this book will give you a crash course on the basics and then proceed to more advanced topics. What You Will Learn Install and configure Symfony and required third-party bundles to develop a task management application Set up a continuous integration server to orchestrate automatic builds every time you add a new feature to your project Reduce maintenance costs dramatically using Behaviour Driven Development (BDD) Create a slick user interface using the Bootstrap framework Design robust business logic using Doctrine Build a comprehensive dashboard and secure your project using the Sonata project Improve performance using Redis, Memcache, and Varnish Create customized Symfony commands and add them to your console In Detail In this book, you will learn some lesser known aspects of development with Symfony, and you will see how to use Symfony as a framework to create reliable and effective applications. You might have developed some impressive PHP libraries in other projects, but what is the point when your library is tied to one particular projectWith Symfony, you can turn your code into a service and reuse it in other projects. This book starts with Symfony concepts such as bundles, routing, twig, doctrine, and more, taking you through the request/response life cycle. You will then proceed to set up development, test, and deployment environments in AWS. Then you will create reliable projects using Behat and Mink, and design business logic, cover authentication, and authorization steps in a security checking process. You will be walked through concepts such as DependencyInjection, service containers, and services, and go through steps to create customized commands for Symfony's console. Finally, the book covers performance optimization and the use of Varnish and Memcached in our project, and you are treated with the creation of database agnostic bundles and best practices. Style and approach A step-by-step guide to mastering Symfony while developing a task management application. Each chapter comes with detailed examples.

A foundational yet practical approach to UX that delivers more creative, collaborative, holistic, and mature design solutions, regardless of your background or experience About This Book Improve your UX design awareness and skills Gain greater confidence to know when you have delivered a “good” UX design Learn by example using a book designed by a UX mind for a UX mind Who This Book Is For This book is written for the beginner as well as the experienced UX practitioner, regardless of team size, company size, or job title. It is also intended for anyone with an interest in UX, engages with UX, is involved in any way in interactive problem solving and design, or simply wants to learn more about what we do, how we do it, and why those in the UX field are so passionate about wanting to do it better. What You Will Learn Awaken your UX mind and dispel the myths of non-UX thinkers Create the six optimal conditions for your best ideas to appear Identify and incorporate the ten design principles found in all good UX design Develop a broader understanding of Information Architecture (IA) to better engage, guide, and inform Develop a fundamental understanding of patterns and the properties that create them Raise your level of UX maturity with a strategy that transforms your approach to problem solving and helps others understand the true value of your work Utilize important tools of the UX trade that never go out of style Increase your knowledge of UX, incorporate valuable ideas and insights into your work, and look at design from a very unique perspective In Detail Written in an easy-to-read style, this book provides real-world examples, a historical perspective, and a holistic approach to design that will ground you in the fundamental essentials of interactive design, allow you to make more informed design decisions, and increase your understanding of UX in order to reach the highest levels of UX maturity. As you will see, UX is more than just delighting customers and users. It is also about thinking like a UX practitioner, making time for creativity, recognizing good design when you see it, understanding Information Architecture as more than just organizing and labeling websites, using design patterns to influence user behavior and decision making, approaching UX from a business perspective, transforming your client’s and company’s fundamental understanding of UX and its true value, and so much more. This book is an invaluable resource of knowledge, perspective, and inspiration for those seeking to become better UX designers, increase their confidence, become more mature design leaders, and deliver solutions that provide measurable value to stakeholders, customers, and users regardless of project type, size, and delivery method. Style and approach An in-depth, easy to read, and entertaining journey into and through the world of UX using real-world examples, thoughtful illustrations, and engaging quotes to inspire and explain fully the how and why of UX in a practical and impactful way and used immediately in your own work.

This is a comprehensive tutorial with step-by-step instructions on how to develop applications with Code::Blocks.This book is for C++ developers who wish to use Code::Blocks to create applications with a consistent look and feel across multiple platforms. This book assumes that you are familiar with the basics of the C++ programming language.

If you are a jMonkey developer or a Java developer who is interested to delve further into the game making process to expand your skillset and create more technical games, then this book is perfect for you.

This book is intended for .NET developers with any level of experience and who are interested in building native applications without the hassle of becoming Objective-C or Java experts. Although it will be beneficial to have some development experience, particularly in .NET, Learning Xamarin help even a novice developer get past the headaches of setting up and customizing their new development environment so they can move on to producing high-quality native applications quickly.

If you have experience with the Python language and are interested in getting started with electronics, then BeagleBone Black is the perfect platform for you and this book will provide you with the information you need.

This is a Packt Beginners Guide, which means it focuses on practical examples and has a fast-paced but friendly approach, with the opportunity to learn by experiment and play. Each chapter builds a practical plug-in from the ground up using step-by-step instructions. Individual sections show you how to code some functionality into your plug-in and follow up with a discussion of concepts. This book is for programmers working with WordPress, who want to develop custom plug-ins and to hack the code base. You need to be familiar with the basics of WordPress and PHP programming and believe that code is poetry; this book will handle the rest.

This book will guide you through the steps necessary to add image, video, and audio elements into your Drupal sites. For each topic, you start with simple techniques and move on to more advanced techniques. By the time you've completed this book, you should have a firm ground from which to tackle most multimedia needs, and enough of an understanding to creatively solve more complex problems. This book will provide information for administrators and professional site developers who are required to embed multimedia into a Drupal site. The reader needs basic knowledge of Drupal operation, but no experience of how Drupal handles multimedia items is expected.

The initial part guides the reader through the features of DWR and how it works to make the developer ready for practical implementation. The later part contains plenty of code (with explanations) and graphical interface-driven step-by-step examples, which the reader can try out while surfing through the book to learn by doing. This book is written for competent Java developers and assumes that you are a professional rather than hobbyist. You should be familiar with the concepts of programming, Web 2.0, and AJAX.

With this book in hand, you will be able to set up and manage a Community Server solution. You will learn how to create blogs, forums, photo galleries, and file galleries, and use tools such as the built-in RSS reader and RSS roller in a step-by-step manner. This book will provide your with a clear and concise overview of Community Server and will impart the knowledge necessary to enable you to run and manage a Community Server solution. This book is aimed at the Community Server administrator with a base level of technical competence and confidence, but no prior sysadmin or developer experience or knowledge. No knowledge of ASP.NET programming is required for using this book. What is essential is your own passion for your target community and your desire to provide the best platform possible to that audience.

You can use this book to help you set up and administer a DotNetNuke portal, even if you have a limited knowledge of ASP.NET. You will learn how to setup and administer an example site, stepping through all the tasks to ease your learning. If you are a developer, this book will help you extend the DotNetNuke portal by first helping you understand how the core framework works and then show you how to create custom modules and skins. A rudimentary knowledge of VB.NET programming is assumed, but the emphasis is not on becoming a better VB.NET programmer but on taming DotNetNuke. This book has been written for both the beginner wanting to set up a website and also ASP.NET developers with a grasp of VB.NET who want a deeper understanding of how to work with DotNetNuke. To work with the DotNetNuke code, you will need access to Visual Web Developer Express or Visual Studio .NET 2005. No prior knowledge of DotNetNuke is assumed.