Become a QGIS power user and master QGIS data management, visualization, and spatial analysis techniques About This Book Explore and create time-based visualizations and build interactive maps Maximize your use of the QGIS features, plugins and toolbox automation Packed with lots of sample datasets to enable a better understanding of the code Who This Book Is For If you are an intermediate GIS user, with either previous experience in QGIS or any other GIS application, this is the book for you. The recipes can be used to learn more advanced techniques in QGIS or to replicate the functionalities equivalent to other GIS platforms. This book assumes that you already have a working QGIS system in place. What You Will Learn Import and export common tricky spatial data formats Perform classic vector and raster analysis with QGIS Utilize spatial databases and data management tools Use and create geographic web services and maps Explore and create time-based visualizations Perform network building and routing analysis Extend QGIS capabilities with popular plugins and toolbox automation Make beautiful and unique maps with customized cartography In Detail QGIS is a user-friendly, cross-platform desktop geographic information system used to make maps and analyze spatial data. QGIS allows users to understand, question, interpret, and visualize spatial data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps. This book is a collection of simple to advanced techniques that are needed in everyday geospatial work, and shows how to accomplish them with QGIS. You will begin by understanding the different types of data management techniques, as well as how data exploration works. You will then learn how to perform classic vector and raster analysis with QGIS, apart from creating time-based visualizations. Finally, you will learn how to create interactive and visually appealing maps with custom cartography. By the end of this book, you will have all the necessary knowledge to handle spatial data management, exploration, and visualization tasks in QGIS. Style and approach This book covers practical examples, with step-by-step instructions on how to use real world data covering common GIS operations and the different analysis techniques. It provides detailed explanations and applications of QGIS concepts that will allow the user to effectively analyze spatial data.

Unlock the power of multi-core mobile devices to build responsive and reactive Android applications About This Book Construct scalable and performant applications to take advantage of multi-thread asynchronous techniques Explore the high-level Android asynchronous constructs available on the Android SDK Choose the most appropriate asynchronous technique to implement your next outstanding feature Who This Book Is For This book is for Android developers who want to learn how to build multithreaded and reliable Android applications using high-level and advanced asynchronous techniques and concepts. No prior knowledge of concurrent and asynchronous programming is required. This book will also be great for Java experts who are new to Android. Whether you are a beginner at Android development or a seasoned Android programmer, this book will guide you through the most basic and advanced asynchronous constructs used in Android programming. What You Will Learn Get familiar with the android process model and low-level concurrent constructs delivered by the Android SDK Use AsyncTask and loader framework to load data in the background, delivering progress results in the meantime Create services that interact with your activity without compromising the UI rendering Learn the working of Android concurrency on the Native Layer Interact with nearby devices over Bluetooth and WiFi communications channels Create and compose tasks with RxJava to execute complex asynchronous work in a predictable way Get accustomed to the use of the Android Loader construct to deliver up-to-date results In Detail Asynchronous programming has acquired immense importance in Android programming, especially when we want to make use of the number of independent processing units (cores) available on the most recent Android devices. With this guide in your hands you’ll be able to bring the power of Asynchronous programming to your own projects, and make your Android apps more powerful than ever before! To start with, we will discuss the details of the Android Process model and the Java Low Level Concurrent Framework, delivered by Android SDK. We will also guide you through the high-level Android-specific constructs available on the SDK: Handler, AsyncTask, and Loader. Next, we will discuss the creation of IntentServices, Bound Services and External Services, which can run in the background even when the user is not interacting with it. You will also discover AlarmManager and JobScheduler APIs, which are used to schedule and defer work without sacrificing the battery life. In a more advanced phase, you will create background tasks that are able to execute CPU-intensive tasks in a native code-making use of the Android NDK. You will be then guided through the process of interacting with remote services asynchronously using the HTTP protocol or Google GCM Platform. Using the EventBus library, we will also show how to use the Publish-Subscribe software pattern to simplify communication between the different Android application components by decoupling the event producer from event consumer. Finally, we will introduce RxJava, a popular asynchronous Java framework used to compose work in a concise and reactive way. Asynchronous Android will help you to build well-behaved applications with smooth responsive user interfaces that delight the users with speedy results and data that’s always fresh. Style and approach This easy-to-follow guide is full of code examples of real-world use cases. Each asynchronous topic is explained sequentially, from the most basic and low-level to the more advanced, using concise and effective language. Some lifecycle flows and concepts feature illustrations to help you understand the complex interactions between Android entities.

Learn to build powerful machine learning models quickly and deploy large-scale predictive applications About This Book Design, engineer and deploy scalable machine learning solutions with the power of Python Take command of Hadoop and Spark with Python for effective machine learning on a map reduce framework Build state-of-the-art models and develop personalized recommendations to perform machine learning at scale Who This Book Is For This book is for anyone who intends to work with large and complex data sets. Familiarity with basic Python and machine learning concepts is recommended. Working knowledge in statistics and computational mathematics would also be helpful. What You Will Learn Apply the most scalable machine learning algorithms Work with modern state-of-the-art large-scale machine learning techniques Increase predictive accuracy with deep learning and scalable data-handling techniques Improve your work by combining the MapReduce framework with Spark Build powerful ensembles at scale Use data streams to train linear and non-linear predictive models from extremely large datasets using a single machine In Detail Large Python machine learning projects involve new problems associated with specialized machine learning architectures and designs that many data scientists have yet to tackle. But finding algorithms and designing and building platforms that deal with large sets of data is a growing need. Data scientists have to manage and maintain increasingly complex data projects, and with the rise of big data comes an increasing demand for computational and algorithmic efficiency. Large Scale Machine Learning with Python uncovers a new wave of machine learning algorithms that meet scalability demands together with a high predictive accuracy. Dive into scalable machine learning and the three forms of scalability. Speed up algorithms that can be used on a desktop computer with tips on parallelization and memory allocation. Get to grips with new algorithms that are specifically designed for large projects and can handle bigger files, and learn about machine learning in big data environments. We will also cover the most effective machine learning techniques on a map reduce framework in Hadoop and Spark in Python. Style and approach This efficient and practical title is stuffed full of the techniques, tips and tools you need to ensure your large scale Python machine learning runs swiftly and seamlessly. Large-scale machine learning tackles a different issue to what is currently on the market. Those working with Hadoop clusters and in data intensive environments can now learn effective ways of building powerful machine learning models from prototype to production. This book is written in a style that programmers from other languages (R, Julia, Java, Matlab) can follow.

Develop skills to build powerful plug-ins with Eclipse IDE through examples About This Book Create useful plug-ins to make Eclipse work for you Learn how to migrate Eclipse 3.x plug-ins to Eclipse 4.x From automation to testing, find out how to get your IDE performing at an impressive standard Who This Book Is For This book is for Java developers familiar with Eclipse who need more from the IDE. This book will sharpen your confidence and make you a more productive developer with a tool that supports rather than limits you. What You Will Learn Create plug-ins for Eclipse 4.x Test plug-ins automatically with JUnit Display tree and table information in views Upgrade Eclipse 3.x plug-ins to Eclipse 4.x Find out how to build user interfaces from SWT and JFace Run tasks in the background and update the user interface asynchronously Automate builds of plug-ins and features Automate user interface tests with SWTBot In Detail Eclipse is used by everyone from indie devs to NASA engineers. Its popularity is underpinned by its impressive plug-in ecosystem, which allows it to be extended to meet the needs of whoever is using it. This book shows you how to take full advantage of the Eclipse IDE by building your own useful plug-ins from start to finish. Taking you through the complete process of plug-in development, from packaging to automated testing and deployment, this book is a direct route to quicker, cleaner Java development. It may be for beginners, but we're confident that you'll develop new skills quickly. Pretty soon you'll feel like an expert, in complete control of your IDE. Don't let Eclipse define you - extend it with the plug-ins you need today for smarter, happier, and more effective development. Style and approach Packed with plenty of examples so you're never stuck, or never left simply reading instructions, this book encourages you to get started immediately. This book is for developers who want to develop, not just learn.

Over 50 new and improved recipes to put Visual Studio 2015 to work in your crucial development projects About This Book Get to grips with all the new Visual Studio 2015 features regardless of your preferred programming language Apply Visual Studio to all areas of development: writing, debugging, and application lifecycle maintenance Straightforward and hands-on advice for building both Windows and Android apps Who This Book Is For If you are a developer excited about the new features introduced in Visual Studio 2015, then no matter what your programming language of choice is, Visual Studio 2015 Cookbook is for you. You should have a good knowledge of working with previous versions of Visual Studio to benefit from the recipes in this book. What You Will Learn Customize the editor's new abilities to fit your development style Create apps for Windows Use Visual Studio to debug parallel and concurrent programs Integrate .NET Framework 4.6 effectively Put TypeScript to work in your web applications Develop modern C++11 with Visual Studio 2015 Protect and manage your source code with Team Foundation Server In Detail Visual Studio 2015 is the premier tool for developers targeting the Microsoft platform. Learning how to effectively use this technology can enhance your productivity while simplifying your most common tasks, allowing you more time to focus on your project. Visual Studio 2015 is packed with improvements that increase productivity, and this book walks you through each one in succession to help you smooth your workflow and get more accomplished. From customization and the interface to code snippets and debugging, the Visual Studio upgrade expands your options — and this book is your fast-track guide to getting on board quickly. Visual Studio 2015 Cookbook will introduce you to all the new areas of Visual Studio and how they can quickly be put to use to improve your everyday development tasks. With this book, you will learn not only what VS2015 offers, but what it takes to put it to work for your projects. Style and approach This book is a practical guide to using Visual Studio 2015 and will help you become familiar with the improvements made in previous versions. Each recipe provides a hands-on approach to the new features with step-by-step instructions on how to increase your productivity.

Build fast and efficient Android apps that run as reliably as clockwork in a multi-device world About This Book . Wide coverage of various topics that help in developing optimal applications . Explore the concepts of Advanced Native Coding in depth . A must-have for professional-standard Android developers for whom performance failures and the sloppy use of resources are simply unacceptable Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at developers with an advanced knowledge of Android and who want to test their skills and learn new techniques to increase the performance of their applications. We assume they are comfortable working with the entire Android SDK, and have been doing it for a few years. They need to be familiar with frameworks such as NDK to use native code, which is crucial for app performance What You Will Learn . Create Android applications that squeeze the most from the limited resource capacity of devices . Swap code that isn’t performing . Efficient memory management by identifying problems such as leaks . Reap the benefits of multithreaded and asynchronous programming . Maximize the security and encryption mechanisms natively provided by Android . Perform efficient network operations and techniques to retrieve data from servers . Master the NDK to write native code that can perform faster operations In Detail Performant applications are one of the key drivers of success in the mobile world. Users may abandon an app if it runs slowly. Learning how to build applications that balance speed and performance with functionality and UX can be a challenge; however, it's now more important than ever to get that balance right. Android High Performance will start you thinking about how to wring the most from any hardware your app is installed on, so you can increase your reach and engagement. The book begins by providing an introduction to state–of-the-art Android techniques and the importance of performance in an Android application. Then, we will explain the Android SDK tools regularly used to debug and profile Android applications. We will also learn about some advanced topics such as building layouts, multithreading, networking, and security. Battery life is one of the biggest bottlenecks in applications; and this book will show typical examples of code that exhausts battery life, how to prevent this, and how to measure battery consumption from an application in every kind of situation to ensure your apps don’t drain more than they should. This book explains techniques for building optimized and efficient systems that do not drain the battery, cause memory leaks, or slow down with time. Style and approach The book follows a tutorial-based approach to take the reader from the basic fundamentals of debugging to advanced performance-improvement concepts.

Utilize the power of modular programming to improve code readability, maintainability, and testability About This Book This book demonstrates code reusability and distributed development to get high speed, maintainable, and fast applications It illustrates the development of a complete modular application developed using PHP7 in detail This book provides a high-level overview of the Symfony framework, a set of tools and a development methodology that are needed to build a modular web shop application Who This Book Is For This step-by-step guide is divided into two sections. The first section explores all the fundamentals of modular design technique with respect to PHP 7. The latter section demonstrates the practical development of individual modules of a web shop application. What You Will Learn Discover the new features of PHP 7 that are relevant to modular application development Write manageable code based on the GoF design patterns and SOLID principles Define the application requirements of a working modular application Explore the ins and outs of the Symfony framework Build a set of modules based on the Symfony framework that comprise a simple web shop app Use core modules to set the structure and dependencies for other modules to use Set up entities that are relevant to the module functionality and see how to manage these entities In Detail Modular design techniques help you build readable, manageable, reusable, and more efficient codes. PHP 7, which is a popular open source *ing language, is used to build modular functions for your software. With this book, you will gain a deep insight into the modular programming paradigm and how to achieve modularity in your PHP code. We start with a brief introduction to the new features of PHP 7, some of which open a door to new concepts used in modular development. With design patterns being at the heart of all modular PHP code, you will learn about the GoF design patterns and how to apply them. You will see how to write code that is easy to maintain and extend over time with the help of the SOLID design principles. Throughout the rest of the book, you will build different working modules of a modern web shop application using the Symfony framework, which will give you a deep understanding of modular application development using PHP 7. Style and approach This book is for intermediate-level PHP developers with little to no knowledge of modular programming who want to understand design patterns and principles in order to better utilize the existing frameworks for modular application development.

Boost the performance of your Haskell applications using optimization, concurrency, and parallel programming About This Book Explore the benefits of lazy evaluation, compiler features, and tools and libraries designed for high performance Write fast programs at extremely high levels of abstraction Work through practical examples that will help you address the challenges of writing efficient code Who This Book Is For To get the most out of this book, you need to have a working knowledge of reading and writing basic Haskell. No knowledge of performance, optimization, or concurrency is required. What You Will Learn Program idiomatic Haskell that's also surprisingly efficient Improve performance of your code with data parallelism, inlining, and strictness annotations Profile your programs to identify space leaks and missed opportunities for optimization Find out how to choose the most efficient data and control structures Optimize the Glasgow Haskell Compiler and runtime system for specific programs See how to smoothly drop to lower abstractions wherever necessary Execute programming for the GPU with Accelerate Implement programming to easily scale to the cloud with Cloud Haskell In Detail Haskell, with its power to optimize the code and its high performance, is a natural candidate for high performance programming. It is especially well suited to stacking abstractions high with a relatively low performance cost. This book addresses the challenges of writing efficient code with lazy evaluation and techniques often used to optimize the performance of Haskell programs. We open with an in-depth look at the evaluation of Haskell expressions and discuss optimization and benchmarking. You will learn to use parallelism and we'll explore the concept of streaming. We’ll demonstrate the benefits of running multithreaded and concurrent applications. Next we’ll guide you through various profiling tools that will help you identify performance issues in your program. We’ll end our journey by looking at GPGPU, Cloud and Functional Reactive Programming in Haskell. At the very end there is a catalogue of robust library recommendations with code samples. By the end of the book, you will be able to boost the performance of any app and prepare it to stand up to real-world punishment. Style and approach This easy-to-follow guide teaches new practices and techniques to optimize your code, and then moves towards more advanced ways to effectively write efficient Haskell code. Small and simple practical examples will help you test the concepts yourself, and you will be able to easily adapt them for any application.

Explore the world of data science from scratch with Julia by your side About This Book An in-depth exploration of Julia's growing ecosystem of packages Work with the most powerful open-source libraries for deep learning, data wrangling, and data visualization Learn about deep learning using Mocha.jl and give speed and high performance to data analysis on large data sets Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at data analysts and aspiring data scientists who have a basic knowledge of Julia or are completely new to it. The book also appeals to those competent in R and Python and wish to adopt Julia to improve their skills set in Data Science. It would be beneficial if the readers have a good background in statistics and computational mathematics. What You Will Learn Apply statistical models in Julia for data-driven decisions Understanding the process of data munging and data preparation using Julia Explore techniques to visualize data using Julia and D3 based packages Using Julia to create self-learning systems using cutting edge machine learning algorithms Create supervised and unsupervised machine learning systems using Julia. Also, explore ensemble models Build a recommendation engine in Julia Dive into Julia’s deep learning framework and build a system using Mocha.jl In Detail Julia is a fast and high performing language that's perfectly suited to data science with a mature package ecosystem and is now feature complete. It is a good tool for a data science practitioner. There was a famous post at Harvard Business Review that Data Scientist is the sexiest job of the 21st century. (https://hbr.org/2012/10/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-the-21st-century). This book will help you get familiarised with Julia's rich ecosystem, which is continuously evolving, allowing you to stay on top of your game. This book contains the essentials of data science and gives a high-level overview of advanced statistics and techniques. You will dive in and will work on generating insights by performing inferential statistics, and will reveal hidden patterns and trends using data mining. This has the practical coverage of statistics and machine learning. You will develop knowledge to build statistical models and machine learning systems in Julia with attractive visualizations. You will then delve into the world of Deep learning in Julia and will understand the framework, Mocha.jl with which you can create artificial neural networks and implement deep learning. This book addresses the challenges of real-world data science problems, including data cleaning, data preparation, inferential statistics, statistical modeling, building high-performance machine learning systems and creating effective visualizations using Julia. Style and approach This practical and easy-to-follow yet comprehensive guide will get you learning about Julia with respect to data science. Each topic is explained thoroughly and placed in context. For the more inquisitive, we dive deeper into the language and its use case. This is the one true guide to working with Julia in data science.

Master powerful strategies to acquire and analyze evidence from real-life scenarios About This Book A straightforward guide to address the roadblocks face when doing mobile forensics Simplify mobile forensics using the right mix of methods, techniques, and tools Get valuable advice to put you in the mindset of a forensic professional, regardless of your career level or experience Who This Book Is For This book is for forensic analysts and law enforcement and IT security officers who have to deal with digital evidence as part of their daily job. Some basic familiarity with digital forensics is assumed, but no experience with mobile forensics is required. What You Will Learn Understand the challenges of mobile forensics Grasp how to properly deal with digital evidence Explore the types of evidence available on iOS, Android, Windows, and BlackBerry mobile devices Know what forensic outcome to expect under given circumstances Deduce when and how to apply physical, logical, over-the-air, or low-level (advanced) acquisition methods Get in-depth knowledge of the different acquisition methods for all major mobile platforms Discover important mobile acquisition tools and techniques for all of the major platforms In Detail Investigating digital media is impossible without forensic tools. Dealing with complex forensic problems requires the use of dedicated tools, and even more importantly, the right strategies. In this book, you’ll learn strategies and methods to deal with information stored on smartphones and tablets and see how to put the right tools to work. We begin by helping you understand the concept of mobile devices as a source of valuable evidence. Throughout this book, you will explore strategies and "plays" and decide when to use each technique. We cover important techniques such as seizing techniques to shield the device, and acquisition techniques including physical acquisition (via a USB connection), logical acquisition via data backups, over-the-air acquisition. We also explore cloud analysis, evidence discovery and data analysis, tools for mobile forensics, and tools to help you discover and analyze evidence. By the end of the book, you will have a better understanding of the tools and methods used to deal with the challenges of acquiring, preserving, and extracting evidence stored on smartphones, tablets, and the cloud. Style and approach This book takes a unique strategy-based approach, executing them on real-world scenarios. You will be introduced to thinking in terms of "game plans," which are essential to succeeding in analyzing evidence and conducting investigations.

Develop real-world applications in Windows. About This Book Create diverse applications featuring the versatility of Small Windows C++ library Learn about object-oriented programming in Windows and how to develop a large object-oriented class library in C++ Understand how to tackle application-specific problems along with acquiring a deep understanding of the workings of Windows architecture Who This Book Is For This book is for application developers who want a head-first approach into Windows programming. It will teach you how to develop an object-oriented class library in C++ and enhanced applications in Windows. Basic knowledge of C++ and the object-oriented framework is assumed to get the most out of this book. What You Will Learn Develop advanced real-world applications in Windows Design and implement a graphical object-oriented class library in C++ Get to grips with the workings of the integral aspects of the Win32 API, such as mouse input, drawing, cut-and-paste, file handling, and drop files Identify general problems when developing graphical applications as well as specific problems regarding drawing, spreadsheet, and word processing applications Implement classes, functions, and macros of the object-oriented class library developed in the book and how we implement its functionality by calling functions and macros in the Win32 API In Detail It is critical that modern developers have the right tools to build practical, user-friendly, and efficient applications in order to compete in today’s market. Through hands-on guidance, this book illustrates and demonstrates C++ best practices and the Small Windows object-oriented class library to ease your development of interactive Windows applications. Begin with a focus on high level application development using Small Windows. Learn how to build four real-world applications which focus on the general problems faced when developing graphical applications. Get essential troubleshooting guidance on drawing, spreadsheet, and word processing applications. Finally finish up with a deep dive into the workings of the Small Windows class library, which will give you all the insights you need to build your own object-oriented class library in C++. Style and approach This book takes a tutorial-style approach that will demonstrate the features of a C++ object-oriented library by developing interactive Windows applications.

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

Test your Python programming skills by solving real-world problems About This Book ? Access built-in documentation tools and improve your code. ? Discover how to make the best use of decorator and generator functions ? Enhance speed and improve concurrency by conjuring tricks from the PyPy project Who This Book Is For Whether you’ve been working with Python for a few years or you’re a seasoned programmer, you’ll have a lot of new tricks to walk away with. What You Will Learn ? Know the differences between .py and .pyc files ? Explore the different ways to install and upgrade Python packages ? Understand the working of the PyPI module that enhances built-in decorators ? See how coroutines are different from generators and how they can simulate multithreading ? Grasp how the decimal module improves floating point numbers and their operations ? Standardize sub interpreters to improve concurrency ? Discover Python’s built-in docstring analyzer In Detail This book covers the unexplored secrets of Python, delve into its depths, and uncover its mysteries. You’ll unearth secrets related to the implementation of the standard library, by looking at how modules actually work. You’ll understand the implementation of collections, decimals, and fraction modules. If you haven’t used decorators, coroutines, and generator functions much before, as you make your way through the recipes, you’ll learn what you’ve been missing out on. We’ll cover internal special methods in detail, so you understand what they are and how they can be used to improve the engineering decisions you make. Next, you’ll explore the CPython interpreter, which is a treasure trove of secret hacks that not many programmers are aware of. We’ll take you through the depths of the PyPy project, where you’ll come across several exciting ways that you can improve speed and concurrency. Finally, we’ll take time to explore the PEPs of the latest versions to discover some interesting hacks. Style and approach Recipe based approach where each problem is solved with the help of step by step instructions.

Leverage the power of the Reinforcement Learning techniques to develop self-learning systems using Tensorflow About This Book ? Learn reinforcement learning concepts and their implementation using TensorFlow ? Discover different problem-solving methods for Reinforcement Learning ? Apply reinforcement learning for autonomous driving cars, robobrokers, and more Who This Book Is For If you want to get started with reinforcement learning using TensorFlow in the most practical way, this book will be a useful resource. The book assumes prior knowledge of machine learning and neural network programming concepts, as well as some understanding of the TensorFlow framework. No previous experience with Reinforcement Learning is required. What You Will Learn ? Implement state-of-the-art Reinforcement Learning algorithms from the basics ? Discover various techniques of Reinforcement Learning such as MDP, Q Learning and more ? Learn the applications of Reinforcement Learning in advertisement, image processing, and NLP ? Teach a Reinforcement Learning model to play a game using TensorFlow and the OpenAI gym ? Understand how Reinforcement Learning Applications are used in robotics In Detail Reinforcement Learning (RL), allows you to develop smart, quick and self-learning systems in your business surroundings. It is an effective method to train your learning agents and solve a variety of problems in Artificial Intelligence—from games, self-driving cars and robots to enterprise applications that range from datacenter energy saving (cooling data centers) to smart warehousing solutions. The book covers the major advancements and successes achieved in deep reinforcement learning by synergizing deep neural network architectures with reinforcement learning. The book also introduces readers to the concept of Reinforcement Learning, its advantages and why it’s gaining so much popularity. The book also discusses on MDPs, Monte Carlo tree searches, dynamic programming such as policy and value iteration, temporal difference learning such as Q-learning and SARSA. You will use TensorFlow and OpenAI Gym to build simple neural network models that learn from their own actions. You will also see how reinforcement learning algorithms play a role in games, image processing and NLP. By the end of this book, you will have a firm understanding of what reinforcement learning is and how to put your knowledge to practical use by leveraging the power of TensorFlow and OpenAI Gym. Style and approach An Easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to help you get to grips with real-world applications of Reinforcement Learning with TensorFlow.

A complete guide to designing and building fun games with Qt and Qt Quick using associated toolsets About This Book ? A step by step guide to learn Qt by building simple yet entertaining games ? Get acquainted with a small yet powerful addition—Qt Gamepad Module, that enables Qt applications to support the use of gamepad hardware ? Understand technologies such as QML, OpenGL, and Qt Creator to design intuitive games Who This Book Is For If you want to create great graphical user interfaces and astonishing games with Qt, this book is ideal for you. No previous knowledge of Qt is required; however knowledge of C++ is mandatory. What You Will Learn ? Install the latest version of Qt on your system ? Understand the basic concepts of every Qt game and application ? Develop 2D object-oriented graphics using Qt Graphics View ? Build multiplayer games or add a chat function to your games with Qt Network module ? Script your game with Qt QML ? Explore the Qt Gamepad module in order to integrate gamepad support in C++ and QML applications ? Program resolution-independent and fluid UIs using QML and Qt Quick ? Control your game flow in line with mobile device sensors ? Test and debug your game easily with Qt Creator and Qt Test In Detail Qt is the leading cross-platform toolkit for all significant desktop, mobile, and embedded platforms and is becoming popular by the day, especially on mobile and embedded devices. It's a powerful tool that perfectly fits the needs of game developers. This book will help you learn the basics of Qt and will equip you with the necessary toolsets to build apps and games. The book begins by how to create an application and prepare a working environment for both desktop and mobile platforms. You will learn how to use built-in Qt widgets and Form Editor to create a GUI application and then learn the basics of creating graphical interfaces and Qt's core concepts. Further, you'll learn to enrich your games by implementing network connectivity and employing scripting. You will learn about Qt's capabilities for handling strings and files, data storage, and serialization. Moving on, you will learn about the new Qt Gamepad module and how to add it in your game and then delve into OpenGL and Vulcan, and how it can be used in Qt applications to implement hardware-accelerated 2D and 3D graphics. You will then explore various facets of Qt Quick: how it can be used in games to add game logic, add game physics, and build astonishing UIs for your games. By the end of this book, you will have developed the skillset to develop interesting games with Qt. Style and approach Learn Qt with the help of numerous sample games, introduced step-by-step in each chapter

A complete guide on using data structures and algorithms to write sophisticated C# code About This Book ? Master array, set and map with trees and graphs, among other fundamental data structures ? Delve into effective design and implementation techniques to meet your software requirements ? Explore illustrations to present data structures and algorithms, as well as their analysis in a clear, visual manner. Who This Book Is For This book is for developers who would like to learn the Data Structures and Algorithms in C#. Basic C# programming knowledge would be an added advantage. What You Will Learn ? How to use arrays and lists to get better results in complex scenarios ? Implement algorithms like the Tower of Hanoi on stacks of C# objects ? Build enhanced applications by using hashtables, dictionaries and sets ? Make a positive impact on efficiency of applications with tree traversal ? Effectively find the shortest path in the graph In Detail Data structures allow organizing data efficiently. They are critical to various problems and their suitable implementation can provide a complete solution that acts like reusable code. In this book, you will learn how to use various data structures while developing in the C# language as well as how to implement some of the most common algorithms used with such data structures. At the beginning, you will get to know arrays, lists, dictionaries, and sets together with real-world examples of your application. Then, you will learn how to create and use stacks and queues. In the following part of the book, the more complex data structures will be introduced, namely trees and graphs, together with some algorithms for searching the shortest path in a graph. We will also discuss how to organize the code in a manageable, consistent, and extendable way. By the end of the book,you will learn how to build components that are easy to understand, debug, and use in different applications. Style and approach Readers will be taken through all the indispensable data structures and algorithms so they can begin their coding journey in C#. At each step, the book will show how to implement these via examples while also discussing the attributes of each algorithm so readers are capable to make an informed choice.

Exploit the features of TypeScript to easily create your very own web applications About This Book ? Develop modular, scalable, maintainable, and adaptable web applications by taking advantage of TypeScript ? Walk through the fundamentals of TypeScript with the help of practical examples ? Enhance your web development skills using TypeScript 2.x Who This Book Is For If you are a developer aiming to learn TypeScript to build attractive web applications, this book is for you. No prior knowledge of TypeScript is required. However, a basic understanding of JavaScript would be an added advantage. What You Will Learn ? Understand TypeScript in depth, including its runtime and advanced type system features ? Master the core principles of the object-oriented programming and functional programming paradigms with TypeScript ? Save time using automation tools such as Gulp, Webpack, ts-node, and npm scripts ? Develop robust, modular, scalable, maintainable, and adaptable applications with testing frameworks such as Mocha, Chai, and Sinon.JS ? Put your TypeScript skills to practice by developing full-stack web applications with Node.js, React and Angular ? Use the APIs of the TypeScript compiler to build custom code analysis tool In Detail TypeScript is an open source and cross-platform statically typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript and runs in any browser or host. This book is a step-by-step guide that will take you through the use and benefits of TypeScript with the help of practical examples. You will start off by understanding the basics as well as the new features of TypeScript 2.x. Then, you will learn how to work with functions and asynchronous programming APIs. You will continue by learning how to resolve runtime issues and how to implement TypeScript applications using the Object-oriented programming (OOP) and functional programming (FP) paradigms. Later, you will automate your development workflow with the help of tools such as Webpack. Towards the end of this book, you will delve into some real-world scenarios by implementing some full-stack TypeScript applications with Node.js, React and Angular as well as how to optimize and test them. Finally, you will be introduced to the internal APIs of the TypeScript compiler, and you will learn how to create custom code analysis tools. Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide that covers the fundamentals of TypeScript with practical examples.

A comprehensive end-to-end guide that gives hands-on practice in big data and Artificial Intelligence About This Book ? Learn to build and run a big data application with sample code ? Explore examples to implement activities that a big data architect performs ? Use Machine Learning and AI for structured and unstructured data Who This Book Is For Big Data Architect’s Handbook is for you if you are an aspiring data professional, developer, or IT enthusiast who aims to be an all-round architect in big data. This book is your one-stop solution to enhance your knowledge and carry out easy to complex activities required to become a big data architect. What You Will Learn ? Learn Hadoop Ecosystem and Apache projects ? Understand, compare NoSQL database and essential software architecture ? Cloud infrastructure design considerations for big data ? Explore application scenario of big data tools for daily activities ? Learn to analyze and visualize results to uncover valuable insights ? Build and run a big data application with sample code from end to end ? Apply Machine Learning and AI to perform big data intelligence ? Practice the daily activities performed by big data architects In Detail The big data architects are the “masters” of data, and hold high value in today’s market. Handling big data, be it of good or bad quality, is not an easy task. The prime job for any big data architect is to build an end-to-end big data solution that integrates data from different sources and analyzes it to find useful, hidden insights. Big Data Architect’s Handbook takes you through developing a complete, end-to-end big data pipeline, which will lay the foundation for you and provide the necessary knowledge required to be an architect in big data. Right from understanding the design considerations to implementing a solid, efficient, and scalable data pipeline, this book walks you through all the essential aspects of big data. It also gives you an overview of how you can leverage the power of various big data tools such as Apache Hadoop and ElasticSearch in order to bring them together and build an efficient big data solution. By the end of this book, you will be able to build your own design system which integrates, maintains, visualizes, and monitors your data. In addition, you will have a smooth design flow in each process, putting insights in action. Style and approach Comprehensive guide with a perfect blend of theory, examples and implementation of real-world use-cases

Automate the deployment of your environment with the power of the Docker toolchain About This Book ? Written and reviewed by expert Docker developers ? The book precisely covers all the essential topics such as building images and managing container swarms required in day to day use for Docker ? The book includes activities on the docker CLI and exercises such as writing Dockerfiles for Python which will allow you to reinforce the concepts covered Who This Book Is For The book is crafted for developers, system architects, junior and mid-level site reliability engineers interested in adapting a docker workflow. They are also required to have a basic knowledge of UNIX concepts such as ssh, ports and logs What You Will Learn ? Understand how to effectively design and build containers for different applications ? Setup an environment for testing, avoiding environment mismatch that is breaking production ? Setup and manage a multi-tier environment ? Run, debug, and experiment with applications in a container In Detail DevOps with Docker outlines the power of containerization and the influence this innovation has on development teams and general operations. We also get to understand what DevOps really is, the principles involved and how the process contributes to product health, by implementing a Docker workflow. We will learn to interpret Dockerfile syntax, build images and setup containers and images. In addition, we will deploy a Docker image to the Docker Hub.Docker is an open source containerization tool, that makes it easier to streamline product delivery. It helps reduce the time taken to get from a whiteboard sketch of the business to a money-back implementation. This fast-paced book is a perfect amalgamation of theory and hands-on exercises. The book will take you through the basics of Docker and DevOps and why and how they integrate. You will then understand what containers are, and how to create and manage them. Next, we will work on the docker-compose file and CLI. Then we will move to set up a network with the docker-compose tool. Gradually you will learn how to scale a delivery pipeline and multiple deployments with Docker. Lastly, you will grasp the concept of orchestration and learn to implement the delivery of containerized applications. Style and approach This is a fast-paced, practical hands-on book aimed at experienced developers and system architects. As you progress you’ll find helpful tips and tricks, as well as useful self-assessment material, exercises and activities to help benchmark your progress and reinforce what you’ve learned. The activities are devised to simulate the real-world conditions in order to equip you with the necessary skills to accelerate software deployment while still retaining security, portability and saving on costs.

Install and configure a pfSense router/firewall, and become a pfSense expert in the process. About This Book ? You can always do more to secure your software – so extend and customize your pfSense firewall ? Build a high availability security system that’s fault-tolerant – and capable of blocking potential threats ? Put the principles of better security into practice by implementing examples provided in the text Who This Book Is For This book is for those with at least an intermediate understanding of networking. Prior knowledge of pfSense would be helpful but is not required. Those who have the resources to set up a pfSense firewall, either in a real or virtual environment, will especially benefit, as they will be able to follow along with the examples in the book. What You Will Learn ? Configure pfSense services such as DHCP, Dynamic DNS, captive portal, DNS, NTP and SNMP ? Set up a managed switch to work with VLANs ? Use pfSense to allow, block and deny traffic, and to implement Network Address Translation (NAT) ? Make use of the traffic shaper to lower and raise the priority of certain types of traffic ? Set up and connect to a VPN tunnel with pfSense ? Incorporate redundancy and high availability by utilizing load balancing and the Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP) ? Explore diagnostic tools in pfSense to solve network problems In Detail pfSense has the same reliability and stability as even the most popular commercial firewall offerings on the market – but, like the very best open-source software, it doesn’t limit you. You’re in control – you can exploit and customize pfSense around your security needs. Mastering pfSense - Second Edition, covers features that have long been part of pfSense such as captive portal, VLANs, traffic shaping, VPNs, load balancing, Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP), multi-WAN, and routing. It also covers features that have been added with the release of 2.4, such as support for ZFS partitions and OpenVPN 2.4. This book takes into account the fact that, in order to support increased cryptographic loads, pfSense version 2.5 will require a CPU that supports AES-NI. The second edition of this book places more of an emphasis on the practical side of utilizing pfSense than the previous edition, and, as a result, more examples are provided which show in step-by-step fashion how to implement many features. Style and approach Practical guide to learn the advanced functionalities of pfSense with minimum fuss.

Get the most out of .NET framework using standard libraries and create a .NET Standard 2.0 library from scratch About This Book ? Write code once and share within .NET ecosystem in Windows, Linux and macOS ? Give your .NET Libraries a common framework in cloud and on premise with the latest .NET Standard 2.0 ? Build a wide range of applications from Mobile with Xamarin to Web with ASP.NET Who This Book Is For This book is for .NET developers who are looking to build dynamic applications with the latest .NET Standard. C# knowledge is required. What You Will Learn ? Create a .NET Standard 2.0 library ? Use System.IO within the .NET Standard 2.0 ? Make use of your legacy .NET libraries with the new .NET Core standard ? Explore the thread support to create a multithreaded .NET Standard 2.0 library ? Create a .NET Standard 2.0 library and use it with an Android and iOS application ? Implement various Visual Studio 2017 diagnostics and debugging tools ? Create a NuGet Package and submit the package to the NuGet Package Manager ? Use Visual Studio 2017 azure tools to deploy the application to Azure ? Test and deliver a .NET Standard 2.0 library In Detail The .NET Standard is a standard that represents a set of APIs that all .NET platforms have to implement, making it easy for developers to access and use one common library for their development needs. This book begins with a quick refresher, helping you understand the mechanics of the new standard and offering insight into how it works. You’ll explore the core library concepts, such as working with collections, configurations, I/O, security, and multithreading. You’ll explore the iOS and Android libraries of Xamarin and we’ll guide you through creating a .NET Standard 2.0 library, which you’ll use with both Android and iOS applications. In the final chapters, you’ll learn the various debugging and diagnostics tools to deliver quality libraries and create a NuGet package of the .NET Standard 2.0 library. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to expand your current workflow to various .NET flavors and have the essential skills to create a .NET Standard 2.0 library from scratch to package and deliver it to the world. Style and approach A recipe-based approach to help you get the most out of the .NET Standard 2.0 Library that can be implemented to all the .NET Platforms