Explore the world of neural networks by building powerful deep learning models using the R ecosystem Key Features * Get to grips with the fundamentals of deep learning and neural networks * Use R 3.5 and its libraries and APIs to build deep learning models for computer vision and text processing * Implement effective deep learning systems in R with the help of end-to-end projects Book Description Deep learning finds practical applications in several domains, while R is the preferred language for designing and deploying deep learning models. This Learning Path introduces you to the basics of deep learning and even teaches you to build a neural network model from scratch. As you make your way through the chapters, you’ll explore deep learning libraries and understand how to create deep learning models for a variety of challenges, right from anomaly detection to recommendation systems. The book will then help you cover advanced topics, such as generative adversarial networks (GANs), transfer learning, and large-scale deep learning in the cloud, in addition to model optimization, overfitting, and data augmentation. Through real-world projects, you’ll also get up to speed with training convolutional neural networks (CNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), and long short-term memory networks (LSTMs) in R. By the end of this Learning Path, you’ll be well versed with deep learning and have the skills you need to implement a number of deep learning concepts in your research work or projects. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * R Deep Learning Essentials - Second Edition by F. Wiley and Mark Hodnett * R Deep Learning Projects by Yuxi (Hayden) Liu and Pablo Maldonado What you will learn * Implement credit card fraud detection with autoencoders * Train neural networks to perform handwritten digit recognition using MXNet * Reconstruct images using variational autoencoders * Explore the applications of autoencoder neural networks in clustering and dimensionality reduction * Create natural language processing (NLP) models using Keras and TensorFlow in R * Prevent models from overfitting the data to improve generalizability * Build shallow neural network prediction models Who this book is for This Learning Path is for aspiring data scientists, data analysts, machine learning developers, and deep learning enthusiasts who are well versed in machine learning concepts and are looking to explore the deep learning paradigm using R. A fundamental understanding of R programming and familiarity with the basic concepts of deep learning are necessary to get the most out of this Learning Path.

Master machine learning techniques with real-world projects that interface TensorFlow with R, H2O, MXNet, and other languages Key Features * Gain expertise in machine learning, deep learning and other techniques * Build intelligent end-to-end projects for finance, social media, and a variety of domains * Implement multi-class classification, regression, and clustering Book Description R is one of the most popular languages when it comes to exploring the mathematical side of machine learning and easily performing computational statistics. This Learning Path shows you how to leverage the R ecosystem to build efficient machine learning applications that carry out intelligent tasks within your organization. You'll tackle realistic projects such as building powerful machine learning models with ensembles to predict employee attrition. You'll explore different clustering techniques to segment customers using wholesale data and use TensorFlow and Keras-R for performing advanced computations. You’ll also be introduced to reinforcement learning along with its various use cases and models. Additionally, it shows you how some of these black-box models can be diagnosed and understood. By the end of this Learning Path, you’ll be equipped with the skills you need to deploy machine learning techniques in your own projects. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * R Machine Learning Projects by Dr. Sunil Kumar Chinnamgari * Mastering Machine Learning with R - Third Edition by Cory Lesmeister What you will learn * Develop a joke recommendation engine to recommend jokes that match users’ tastes * Build autoencoders for credit card fraud detection * Work with image recognition and convolutional neural networks * Make predictions for casino slot machine using reinforcement learning * Implement NLP techniques for sentiment analysis and customer segmentation * Produce simple and effective data visualizations for improved insights * Use NLP to extract insights for text * Implement tree-based classifiers including random forest and boosted tree Who this book is for If you are a data analyst, data scientist, or machine learning developer this is an ideal Learning Path for you. Each project will help you test your skills in implementing machine learning algorithms and techniques. A basic understanding of machine learning and working knowledge of R programming is necessary to get the most out of this Learning Path.

Over 80 hands-on recipes to unleash full potential for Xamarin in development and monetization of feature-packed, real-world Android apps About This Book Create a number of Android applications using the Xamarin Android platform Extensively integrate your Android devices with other Android devices to enhance your app creation experience A comprehensive guide packed with real-world scenarios and pro-level practices and techniques to help you build successful Android apps Who This Book Is For If you are a Xamarin developer who wants to create complete Android applications with Xamarin, then this book is ideal for you. No prior knowledge of Android development is needed, however a basic knowledge of C# and .NET would be useful. What You Will Learn Install and use Xamarin.Android with Xamarin Studio and Visual Studio Design an app’s user interface for multiple device configurations Store and protect data in databases, files, and on the cloud Utilize lists and collections to present data to the user Communicate across the network using NFC or Bluetooth Perform tasks in the background and update the user with notifications Capture and play multimedia, such as video and audio, with the camera Implement In-App Billing and Expansion Files and deploy to the store In Detail Xamarin is used by developers to write native iOS, Android, and Windows apps with native user interfaces and share code across multiple platforms not just on mobile devices, but on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Developing apps with Xamarin.Android allows you to use and re-use your code and your skills on different platforms, making you more productive in any development. Although it’s not a write-once-run-anywhere framework, Xamarin provides native platform integration and optimizations. There is no middleware; Xamarin.Android talks directly to the system, taking your C# and F# code directly to the low levels. This book will provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills to be part of the mobile development era using C#. Covering a wide range of recipes such as creating a simple application and using device features effectively, it will be your companion to the complete application development cycle. Starting with installing the necessary tools, you will be guided on everything you need to develop an application ready to be deployed. You will learn the best practices for interacting with the device hardware, such as GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth. Furthermore, you will be able to manage multimedia resources such as photos and videos captured with the device camera, and so much more! By the end of this book, you will be able to create Android apps as a result of learning and implementing pro-level practices, techniques, and solutions. This book will ascertain a seamless and successful app building experience. Style and approach This book employs a step-by-step approach to Android app creation, explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. A wide range of examples are listed to ensure a complete understanding of how to deploy competent apps on the Android market.

Create robust and scalable applications along with responsive UI using concurrency and the multi-threading infrastructure in .NET and C#About This BookLearn to combine your asynchronous operations with Task Parallel LibraryMaster C#’s asynchronous infrastructure and use asynchronous APIs effectively to achieve optimal responsiveness of the applicationAn easy-to-follow, example-based guide that helps you to build scalable applications using concurrency in C# Who This Book Is For If you are a C# developer who wants to develop modern applications in C# and wants to overcome problems by using asynchronous APIs and standard patterns, then this book is ideal for you. Reasonable development knowledge, an understanding of core elements and applications related to the .Net platform, and also the fundamentals of concurrency is assumed.What You Will LearnApply general multithreading concepts to your application’s designLeverage lock-free concurrency and learn about its pros and cons to achieve efficient synchronization between user threadsCombine your asynchronous operations with Task Parallel LibraryMake your code easier with C#’s asynchrony supportUse common concurrent collections and programming patternsWrite scalable and robust server-side asynchronous codeCreate fast and responsible client applicationsAvoid common problems and troubleshoot your multi-threaded and asynchronous applications In Detail Starting with the traditional approach to concurrency, you will learn how to write multithreaded concurrent programs and compose ways that won't require locking. You will explore the concepts of parallelism granularity, and fine-grained and coarse-grained parallel tasks by choosing a concurrent program structure and parallelizing the workload optimally. You will also learn how to use task parallel library, cancellations, timeouts, and how to handle errors. You will know how to choose the appropriate data structure for a specific parallel algorithm to achieve scalability and performance. Further, you'll learn about server scalability, asynchronous I/O, and thread pools, and write responsive traditional Windows and Windows Store applications. By the end of the book, you will be able to diagnose and resolve typical problems that could happen in multithreaded applications.Style and approach An easy-to-follow, example-based guide that will walk you through the core principles of concurrency and multithreading using C#.

Leverage the power of LibGDX to create a fully functional, customizable RPG game for your own commercial title About This Book Learn game architecture and design patterns with concrete examples using proper software engineering principles Save time and money with this handy reference guide for future game development with LibGDX Design and develop a fully functional RPG video game from scratch with a hands on, step-by-step approach using LibGDX Who This Book Is For If you are an intermediate-level game developer who wants to create an RPG video game but found the creation process overwhelming, either by lack of tutorials or by getting lost in a sea of game-related technologies, engines, or frameworks, then this book is for you. This book assumes familiarity with Java and some basic knowledge of LibGDX. What You Will Learn Develop characters with stat attributes, player movement, animation, physics, and collision detection Create interactive NPC characters with speech windows and build immersion via dialog trees Build inventory management system UIs with drag and drop items to sell, buy, and equip Design a quest system to expand out the content of your game Form interesting enemies with battle mechanics and spawn points Devise *ed cutscenes to add an element of story and drama Develop save and load game profiles Create special effects to give the game extra “juiciness” and polish, and help build the atmosphere In Detail LibGDX is a Java-based framework developed with a heavy emphasis on performance, and includes cross-platform support out of the box (Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, and HTML5) as well as providing all the low-level functionality so that you can focus on developing your game and not battling with the platform. LibGDX also has an engaged and responsive community, active maintenance, and is available for free without a prohibitive license. Starting from the beginning, this book will take you through the entire development process of creating an RPG video game using LibGDX. First, this book will introduce you to the features specific to RPG games, as well as an overview of game architecture. Then, you will create map locations, develop character movement, add animation, integrate collision detection, and develop a portal system. Next, you will learn and develop a HUD and other UI components, as well as an inventory management system. You will then develop NPC interactions including dialog trees, shopkeepers, and quest givers. After this, you will design and create battle features for fighting enemies, as well as event triggers for world events. Finally, you will add the final polish with sound, music, and lighting effects. By the end of this book, you will have learned and applied core components from the LibGDX framework, as well as have a finished game to use as a springboard for customization and story development for your own commercial video game. Style and approach This book walks you through the concepts and implementation of developing a complete RPG game, unfolding chapter by chapter and building upon previous concepts. Each chapter can be used as an individual reference with diagrams to explain core concepts with concrete example code explained in detail.

Create, analyze, maintain, and share 2D and 3D maps with the powerful tools of ArcGIS Pro About This Book Visualize GIS data in 2D and 3D maps Create GIS projects for quick and easy access to data, maps, and analysis tools A practical guide that helps to import maps, globes, and scenes from ArcMap, ArcScene, or ArcGlobe Who This Book Is For This book is for anyone wishing to learn how ArcGIS Pro can be used to create maps and perform geospatial analysis. It will be especially helpful for those that have used ArcMap and ArcCatalog in the past and are looking to migrate to Esri’s newest desktop GIS solution. Though previous GIS experience is not required, you must have a solid foundation using Microsoft Windows. It is also helpful if you understand how to manage folders and files within the Microsoft Windows environment. What You Will Learn Install ArcGIS Pro and assign Licenses to users in your organization Navigate and use the ArcGIS Pro ribbon interface to create maps and perform analysis Create and manage ArcGIS Pro GIS Projects Create 2D and 3D maps to visualize and analyze data Author map layouts using cartographic tools and best practices to show off the results of your analysis and maps Import existing map documents, scenes, and globes into your new ArcGIS Pro projects quickly Create standardized workflows using Tasks Automate analysis and processes using ModelBuilder and Python In Detail ArcGIS Pro is Esri’s newest desktop GIS application with powerful tools for visualizing, maintaining, and analyzing data. ArcGIS Pro makes use of the modern ribbon interface and 64-bit processing to increase the speed and efficiency of using GIS. It allows users to create amazing maps in both 2D and 3D quickly and easily.This book will take you from software installation to performing geospatial analysis. It is packed with how-to’s for a host of commonly-performed tasks. You will start by learning how to download and install the software including hardware limitations and recommendations. Then you are exposed to the new Ribbon interface and how its smart design can make finding tools easier.After you are exposed to the new interface, you are walked through the steps to create a new GIS Project to provide quick access to project resources. With a project created, you will learn how to construct 2D and 3D maps including how to add layers, adjust symbology, and control labeling. Next you will learn how to access and use analysis tools to help you answer real-world questions.Lastly, you will learn how processes can be automated and standardized in ArcGIS Pro using Tasks, Models, and Python Scripts.This book will provide an invaluable resource for all those seeking to use ArcGIS Pro as their primary GIS application or for those looking to migrate from ArcMap and ArcCatalog. Style and approach This book includes detailed explanations of the GIS functionality and workflows in ArcGIS Pro. These are supported by easy-to-follow exercises that will help you gain an understanding of how to use ArcGIS Pro to perform a range of tasks.

Harness the hidden power of Java to build network-enabled applications with lower network traffic and faster processes About This BookLearn to deliver superior server-to-server communication through the networking channelsGain expertise of the networking features of your own applications to support various network architectures such as client/server and peer-to-peerExplore the issues that impact scalability, affect security, and allow applications to work in a heterogeneous environmentWho This Book Is ForLearning Network Programming with Java is oriented to developers who wish to use network technologies to enhance the utility of their applications. You should have a working knowledge of Java and an interest in learning the latest in network programming techniques using Java. No prior experience with network development or special software beyond the Java SDK is needed. Upon completion of the book, beginner and experienced developers will be able to use Java to access resources across a network and the Internet.What You Will LearnConnect to other applications using socketsUse channels and buffers to enhance communication between applicationsAccess network services and develop client/server applicationsExplore the critical elements of peer-to-peer applications and current technologies availableUse UDP to perform multicastingAddress scalability through the use of core and advanced threading techniques Incorporate techniques into an application to make it more secure Configure and address interoperability issues to enable your applications to work in a heterogeneous environment In Detail Network-aware applications are becoming more prevalent and play an ever-increasing role in the world today. Connecting and using an Internet-based service is a frequent requirement for many applications. Java provides numerous classes that have evolved over the years to meet evolving network needs. These range from low-level socket and IP-based approaches to those encapsulated in software services. This book explores how Java supports networks, starting with the basics and then advancing to more complex topics. An overview of each relevant network technology is presented followed by detailed examples of how to use Java to support these technologies. We start with the basics of networking and then explore how Java supports the development of client/server and peer-to-peer applications. The NIO packages are examined as well as multitasking and how network applications can address practical issues such as security. A discussion on networking concepts will put many network issues into perspective and let you focus on the appropriate technology for the problem at hand. The examples used will provide a good starting point to develop similar capabilities for many of your network needs. Style and approach Each network technology’s terms and concepts are introduced first. This is followed up with code examples to explain these technologies. Many of the examples are supplemented with alternate Java 8 solutions when appropriate. Knowledge of Java 8 is not necessary but these examples will help you better understand the power of Java 8.

Get the most out of your Qlik Sense investment with the latest insight and guidance direct from the Qlik Sense team About This Book Updated with new coverage on Qlik Cloud, Qlik Sense Modeling, and Extending the Qlik Analytic Platform. Get insider insight on Qlik Sense and its new approach to business intelligence Explore practical demonstrations for utilizing Qlik Sense to discover data for sales, human resources, and more Who This Book Is For Learning Qlik Sense?: The Official Guide Second Edition is for anyone seeking to understand and utilize the revolutionary new approach to business intelligence offered by Qlik Sense. Familiarity with the basics of business intelligence will be helpful when picking up this book, but not essential. What You Will Learn Understand the vision behind the creation of Qlik Sense, and the promise that data discovery offers to you and your organization Get to grips with the life cycle of a Qlik Sense application Load and manage your data for app creation Visualize your data with Qlik Sense's engaging and informative graphing Administer your Qlik Sense system and monitor its security Build efficient and responsive Associative Models Extend the Qlik Analytic Platform with the Dev Hub Optimize Qlik Sense for sales, human resources, and demographic data discovery In Detail The intuitive and powerful Qlik Sense visual analytics software allows anyone to engage in data discovery, to explore your data, and find meaningful insights to empower your business. Qlik Sense lets you easily create personalized reports and visualizations and reveal essential connections to show new opportunities from every angle. Written by members of the Qlik Sense team, this book is the official guide from Qlik to understanding and using their powerful new product with fully updated coverage to the latest features of the most modern edition of Qlik Sense. Benefit from the vision behind the development of Qlik Sense and get to grips with how Qlik Sense can empower you as a data discovery consumer. Learn how to create your own applications for Qlik Sense to customize it to meet your personal needs for business intelligence, and how to oversee and administer the Qlik Sense data architecture. Finally, explore utilizing Qlik Sense to uncover essential data, with practical examples on finding and visualizing intelligence for sales figures, human resources information, travel expense tracking, and demographic data discovery. Style and approach This book is a practical guide to understand what Qlik Sense is and how to implement it. This is an example-rich, step-by-step book to implement and optimize Qlik Sense for sales, human resources, and demographic data discovery.

Learn to code like a professional with Python – an open source, versatile, and powerful programming language About This Book Learn the fundamentals of programming with Python – one of the best languages ever created Develop a strong set of programming skills that you will be able to express in any situation, on every platform, thanks to Python’s portability Create outstanding applications of all kind, from websites to *ing, and from GUIs to data science Who This Book Is For Python is the most popular introductory teaching language in U.S. top computer science universities, so if you are new to software development, or maybe you have little experience, and would like to start off on the right foot, then this language and this book are what you need. Its amazing design and portability will help you become productive regardless of the environment you choose to work with. What You Will Learn Get Python up and running on Windows, Mac, and Linux in no time Grasp the fundamental concepts of coding, along with the basics of data structures and control flow. Write elegant, reusable, and efficient code in any situation Understand when to use the functional or the object oriented programming approach Create bulletproof, reliable software by writing tests to support your code Explore examples of GUIs, *ing, data science and web applications Learn to be independent, capable of fetching any resource you need, as well as dig deeper In Detail Learning Python has a dynamic and varied nature. It reads easily and lays a good foundation for those who are interested in digging deeper. It has a practical and example-oriented approach through which both the introductory and the advanced topics are explained. Starting with the fundamentals of programming and Python, it ends by exploring very different topics, like GUIs, web apps and data science. The book takes you all the way to creating a fully fledged application. The book begins by exploring the essentials of programming, data structures and teaches you how to manipulate them. It then moves on to controlling the flow of a program and writing reusable and error proof code. You will then explore different programming paradigms that will allow you to find the best approach to any situation, and also learn how to perform performance optimization as well as effective debugging. Throughout, the book steers you through the various types of applications, and it concludes with a complete mini website built upon all the concepts that you learned. Style and approach This book is an easy-to-follow guide that will take you from a novice to the proficient level at a comfortable pace, using a lot of simple but effective examples. Each topic is explained thoroughly, and pointers are left for the more inquisitive readers to dig deeper and expand their knowledge.

Discover all the secrets of Unreal Engine and create seven fully functional games with the help of step-by-step instructions About This Book Understand what a Blueprint is and how to create a complex visual *ing code Discover the infinite possibilities that Unreal Engine offers, and understand which tool to use, where and when Learn to think like a real game developer in order to create enjoyable and bug-free games using this comprehensive and practical handbook Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for intermediate level developers who know how to use Unreal Engine and want to go through a series of projects that will further their expertise. Working knowledge of C++ is a must. What You Will Learn Write clean and reusable Blueprint *s Develop any kind of game you have in mind, following the rules used by experts Move through Unreal Engine 4, always knowing what you are doing and where to find the right tool for your needs Integrate C++ code into your projects using Visual Studio and the tools that Unreal provides Extricate between classes, nodes, interfaces, macros, and functions Work with different types of assets, from 3D objects to audio sources, from UI buttons to animations Explore all the aspects of the game logic—collisions, navigation meshes, matinees, volumes, events, and states In Detail With the arrival of Unreal Engine 4, a new wonderful tool was born: Blueprint. This visual *ing tool allows even non-programmers to develop the logic for their games, allowing almost anyone to create entire games without the need to write a single line of code. The range of features you can access with Blueprint * is pretty extensive, making it one of the foremost choices for many game developers. Unreal Engine Game Development Blueprints helps you unleash the real power of Unreal by helping you to create engaging and spectacular games. It will explain all the aspects of developing a game, focusing on visual *ing, and giving you all the information you need to create your own games. We start with an introductory chapter to help you move fluidly inside the Blueprint user interface, recognize its different components, and understand any already written Blueprint *. Following this, you will learn how to modify generated Blueprint classes to produce a single player tic-tac-toe game and personalize it. Next, you will learn how to create simple user interfaces, and how to extend Blueprints through code. This will help you make an informed decision between choosing Blueprint or code. You will then see the real power of Unreal unleashed as you create a beautiful scene with moving, AI controlled objects, particles, and lights. Then, you will learn how to create AI using a behavior tree and a global level Blueprint, how to modify the camera, and how to shoot custom bullets. Finally, you will create a complex game using Blueprintable components complete with a menu, power-up, dangerous objects, and different weapons. Style and approach This is an easy-to-follow guide full of practical game examples. Each chapter contains step-by-step instructions to build a complete game and each game uses a different tool in order to cover all the topics in a detailed and progressive manner.

Wield the power of OpenStack Neutron networking to bring network infrastructure and capabilities to your cloud About This Book This completely up-to-date edition will show you how to deploy a cloud on OpenStack using community-driven processes. It includes rich examples that will help you understand complex networking topics with ease Understand every aspect of designing, creating, customizing, and maintaining the core network foundation of an OpenStack cloud using OpenStack Neutron all in one book Written by best-selling author James Denton, who has more than 15 years of experience in system administration and networking. James has experience of deploying, operating, and maintaining OpenStack clouds and has worked with top enterprises and organizations Who This Book Is For If you are an OpenStack-based cloud operator and administrator who is new to Neutron networking and wants to build your very own OpenStack cloud, then this book is for you. Prior networking experience and a physical server and network infrastructure is recommended to follow along with concepts demonstrated in the book. What You Will Learn Architect and install the latest release of OpenStack on Ubuntu Linux 14.04 LTS Review the components of OpenStack networking, including plugins, agents, and services, and learn how they work together to coordinate network operations Build a virtual switching infrastructure using reference architectures based on ML2 + Open vSwitch or ML2 + LinuxBridge Create networks, subnets, and routers that connect virtual machine instances to the network Deploy highly available routers using DVR or VRRP-based methods Scale your application with haproxy and Load Balancing as-a-Service Implement port and router-level security using Security Groups and Firewall as-a-Service Provide connectivity to tenant networks with Virtual Private Networking as-a-Service (VPNaaS) Find out how to manage OpenStack networking resources using CLI and GUI-driven methods In Detail OpenStack Neutron is an OpenStack component that provides networking as a service for other OpenStack services to architect networks and create virtual machines through its API. This API lets you define network connectivity in order to leverage network capabilities to cloud deployments. Through this practical book, you will build a strong foundational knowledge of Neutron, and will architect and build an OpenStack cloud using advanced networking features. We start with an introduction to OpenStack Neutron and its various components, including virtual switching, routing, FWaaS, VPNaaS, and LBaaS. You’ll also get hands-on by installing OpenStack and Neutron and its components, and use agents and plugins to orchestrate network connectivity and build a virtual switching infrastructure. Moving on, you’ll get to grips with the HA routing capabilities utilizing VRRP and distributed virtual routers in Neutron. You’ll also discover load balancing fundamentals, including the difference between nodes, pools, pool members, and virtual IPs. You’ll discover the purpose of security groups and learn how to apply the security concept to your cloud/tenant/instance. Finally, you'll configure virtual private networks that will allow you to avoid the use of SNAT and floating IPs when connecting to remote networks. Style and approach This easy-to-follow guide on networking in OpenStack follows a step-by-step process to installing OpenStack and configuring the base networking components. Each major networking component has a dedicated chapter that will build on your experience gained from prior chapters.

Over 60 recipes to help you create professional and exquisite UIs to make your games more immersive About This Book Design and develop interactive and professional user interfaces (UIs) for games in Unity Discover how to implement and deal with various in-game UI elements that will impress your players This practical recipe guide will help you to efficiently create powerful and remarkable UIs using C# code Who This Book Is For If you are a game developer with some experience in Unity and C# and want to create the best interactive experience fast and intuitively, then this book is for you. If you are an intermediate game developer or an expert, these recipes will help you bring out the power of the new UI Unity system. What You Will Learn Implement different kinds of counters and healthbars Deal with timers and find out how to format them Animate and vivify UI elements Handle runtime customizations Add complex Head-up displays (HUDs) Design and implement 3D UIs Integrate minimaps in the UI In Detail With the increasing interest in game development, it's essential to design and implement a UI that reflects the game settings and shows the right information to the player. The Unity system is used to create complex and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces in order to give a professional look and feel to a game. Although the new Unity UI system is powerful and quite easy to use, by integrating it with C# *s, it's possible to realize the potential of this system and bring an impressive UI to games.This guide is an invaluable collection of recipes if you are planning to use Unity to develop a game. Starting with the basic concepts of the UI components, we’ll take you all the way through to creating complex interfaces by including animations and dynamics elements. Based on real-world problems, these recipes will start by showing you how to make common UI elements such as counters and healthbars. You will then get a walkthrough of how to manage time using timers, and will learn how to format them. You will move on to decorating and animating the UI elements to vivify them and give them a professional touch. Furthermore, you will be guided into the 3D UI world and into HUD *ing. Finally, you will discover how to implement complex minimaps in the interface.Style and approach Interactive, easy-to-follow recipes will help you create and implement UIs that make gaming an exhilarating experience.

An effective guide to geographic information systems and remote sensing analysis using Python 3 About This Book Construct applications for GIS development by exploiting Python This focuses on built-in Python modules and libraries compatible with the Python Packaging Index distribution system—no compiling of C libraries necessary This practical, hands-on tutorial teaches you all about Geospatial analysis in Python Who This Book Is For If you are a Python developer, researcher, or analyst who wants to perform Geospatial, modeling, and GIS analysis with Python, then this book is for you. Familarity with digital mapping and analysis using Python or another *ing language for automation or crunching data manually is appreciated. What You Will Learn Automate Geospatial analysis workflows using Python Code the simplest possible GIS in 60 lines of Python Mold thematic maps with Python tools Get hold of the various forms that geospatial data comes in Produce elevation contours using Python tools Create flood inundation models Apply Geospatial analysis to find out about real-time data tracking and for storm chasing In Detail Geospatial Analysis is used in almost every field you can think of from medicine, to defense, to farming. This book will guide you gently into this exciting and complex field. It walks you through the building blocks of geospatial analysis and how to apply them to influence decision making using the latest Python software. Learning Geospatial Analysis with Python, 2nd Edition uses the expressive and powerful Python 3 programming language to guide you through geographic information systems, remote sensing, topography, and more, while providing a framework for you to approach geospatial analysis effectively, but on your own terms. We start by giving you a little background on the field, and a survey of the techniques and technology used. We then split the field into its component specialty areas: GIS, remote sensing, elevation data, advanced modeling, and real-time data. This book will teach you everything you need to know about, Geospatial Analysis from using a particular software package or API to using generic algorithms that can be applied. This book focuses on pure Python whenever possible to minimize compiling platform-dependent binaries, so that you don’t become bogged down in just getting ready to do analysis. This book will round out your technical library through handy recipes that will give you a good understanding of a field that supplements many a modern day human endeavors. Style and approach This is a practical, hands-on tutorial that teaches you all about Geospatial analysis interactively using Python.

Gain practical insights into predictive modelling by implementing Predictive Analytics algorithms on public datasets with PythonAbout This BookA step-by-step guide to predictive modeling including lots of tips, tricks, and best practicesGet to grips with the basics of Predictive Analytics with PythonLearn how to use the popular predictive modeling algorithms such as Linear Regression, Decision Trees, Logistic Regression, and ClusteringWho This Book Is ForIf you wish to learn how to implement Predictive Analytics algorithms using Python libraries, then this is the book for you. If you are familiar with coding in Python (or some other programming/statistical/*ing language) but have never used or read about Predictive Analytics algorithms, this book will also help you. The book will be beneficial to and can be read by any Data Science enthusiasts. Some familiarity with Python will be useful to get the most out of this book, but it is certainly not a prerequisite.What You Will LearnUnderstand the statistical and mathematical concepts behind Predictive Analytics algorithms and implement Predictive Analytics algorithms using Python librariesAnalyze the result parameters arising from the implementation of Predictive Analytics algorithmsWrite Python modules/functions from scratch to execute segments or the whole of these algorithmsRecognize and mitigate various contingencies and issues related to the implementation of Predictive Analytics algorithmsGet to know various methods of importing, cleaning, sub-setting, merging, joining, concatenating, exploring, grouping, and plotting data with pandas and numpyCreate dummy datasets and simple mathematical simulations using the Python numpy and pandas librariesUnderstand the best practices while handling datasets in Python and creating predictive models out of themIn DetailSocial Media and the Internet of Things have resulted in an avalanche of data. Data is powerful but not in its raw form - It needs to be processed and modeled, and Python is one of the most robust tools out there to do so. It has an array of packages for predictive modeling and a suite of IDEs to choose from. Learning to predict who would win, lose, buy, lie, or die with Python is an indispensable skill set to have in this data age.This book is your guide to getting started with Predictive Analytics using Python. You will see how to process data and make predictive models from it. We balance both statistical and mathematical concepts, and implement them in Python using libraries such as pandas, scikit-learn, and numpy.You’ll start by getting an understanding of the basics of predictive modeling, then you will see how to cleanse your data of impurities and get it ready it for predictive modeling. You will also learn more about the best predictive modeling algorithms such as Linear Regression, Decision Trees, and Logistic Regression. Finally, you will see the best practices in predictive modeling, as well as the different applications of predictive modeling in the modern world.Style and approachAll the concepts in this book been explained and illustrated using a dataset, and in a step-by-step manner. The Python code snippet to implement a method or concept is followed by the output, such as charts, dataset heads, pictures, and so on. The statistical concepts are explained in detail wherever required.

Master Puppet for configuration management of your systems in an enterprise deploymentAbout This BookThis book is an advanced guide to using and deploying Puppet 4 in your organization with a special focus on issues faced in larger enterprise deploymentsFrom an experienced author, learn to deal with scaling, performance, and multiple developers with the help of real-world examplesThis is the most up-to-date guide on Puppet, and covers the advanced concepts of Puppet 4Who This Book Is ForThis book is for those who have intermediate knowledge of Puppet and are looking to deploy it in their environment. Some idea how to write simple modules for configuration management with Puppet is a prerequisite for this book.What You Will LearnScale out your Puppet infrastructure using proxying techniquesAutomate your code promotion workflow using Git and r10kSolve real-world problems using public modules from the Puppet ForgeUse Hiera to separate the data of your configuration from the code of your configurationWrite your own custom facts in RubyExtend Puppet with your own custom facts, modules, and typesUse exported resources to orchestrate change between machinesDebug a puppetserver using Java techniquesIn DetailPuppet is a configuration management system and a language. It was written for and by system administrators to manage large numbers of systems efficiently and prevent configuration drifts.Mastering Puppet deals with the issues faced when scaling out Puppet to handle large numbers of nodes. It will show you how to fit Puppet into your enterprise and allow many developers to work on your Puppet code simultaneously. In addition, you will learn to write custom facts and roll your own modules to solve problems. Next, popular options for performing reporting and orchestration tasks will be introduced in this book. Moving over to troubleshooting techniques, which will be very useful. The concepts presented are useful to any size organization.By the end of the book, you will know how to deal with problems of scale and exceptions in your code, automate workflows, and support multiple developers working simultaneously.Style and approachThis book is a step-wise guide packed with examples to help you configure complex systems in Puppet.

Over 90 hands-on recipes that will employ Nagios Core as the anchor of monitoring on your networkAbout This BookMaster the advanced configuration techniques of Nagios Core to model your network better by improving hosts, services, and contactsFilter and improve the notifications that Nagios Core sends in response to failed checks, which can greatly assist you when diagnosing problemsPull Nagios Core's data into a database to write clever custom reports of your own deviseWho This Book Is ForIf you are a network or system administrator and are looking for instructions and examples on working with Nagios Core, then this book is for you. Some basic shell command-line experience is required, and some knowledge of *ing would be helpful when we discuss how plugins work.What You Will LearnManage the configuration of Nagios Core with advanced techniques to achieve fine detail in your checksFind, install, and even write your own check pluginsFilter notifications to send them to the right people or programs at the right timeWork around difficult network accessibility issues and delegate checks to other machinesTweak a Nagios Core server to achieve both high performance and redundancy in case of disasterProcess the results of checks performed by other machines to monitor backups and similar processesExtend Nagios Core to allow advanced *ing, reporting, and network visualization behaviorIn DetailNagios Core is an open source monitoring framework suitable for any network that ensures both internal and customer-facing services are running correctly and manages notification and reporting behavior to diagnose and fix outages promptly. It allows very fine configuration of exactly when, where, what, and how to check network services to meet both the uptime goals of your network and systems team and the needs of your users.This book shows system and network administrators how to use Nagios Core to its fullest as a monitoring framework for checks on any kind of network services, from the smallest home network to much larger production multi-site services. You will discover that Nagios Core is capable of doing much more than pinging a host or to see whether websites respond.The recipes in this book will demonstrate how to leverage Nagios Core's advanced configuration, *ing hooks, reports, data retrieval, and extensibility to integrate it with your existing systems, and to make it the rock-solid center of your network monitoring world.Style and approachEach chapter contains a set of step-by-step recipes to perform an example of a commonly performed task related to network administration. The book begins by focusing closely on the properties and configuration of Nagios Core itself, and gradually moves on to other pieces of software that can support, manage, and extend the system.

An administrator’s guide to configuring, securing, customizing, and extending MoodleAbout This BookLearn how to plan, install, optimize, customize, and configure MoodleGuarantee a cutting-edge learning experience in a secure and customizable environment while optimizing your day-to-day workloadA one-stop guide with a problem-solution approach and a wide range of real-world examplesWho This Book Is ForIf you are a technician, systems administrator, or part of academic staff, this is the book for you. This book is ideal for anyone who has to administer a Moodle system. Whether you are dealing with a small-scale local Moodle system or a large-scale multi-site Virtual Learning Environment, this book will assist you with any administrative task. Some basic Moodle knowledge is helpful, but not essential.What You Will LearnInstall and update Moodle on multiple platforms manually and via CLI and GITManage courses and categories, users and cohorts, as well as rolesGet Moodle hooked up to repositories, portfolios, and open badgesConfigure Moodle for mobile usage, accessibility, localization, communication, and collaborationGuarantee backups, security and privacy, and achieve maximum performance via the Moodle Universal Cache and the new cron systemConfigure the Moodle events system to generate comprehensive reports, statistics, and learning analyticsNetwork Moodle with Mahara and extend it with third-party add-ons and via LTICustomize Moodle web services to enable mobile learning and integration with other IT systemsIn DetailMoodle is the de facto standard for open source learning platforms. However, setting up and managing a learning environment can be a complex task since it covers a wide range of technical, organizational, and pedagogical topics. This ranges from basic user and course management, to configuring plugins and design elements, all the way to system settings, performance optimization, events frameworks, and so on.This book concentrates on basic tasks such as how to set up and configure Moodle and how to perform day-to-day administration activities, and progresses on to more advanced topics that show you how to customize and extend Moodle, manage courses, cohorts, and users, and how to work with roles and capabilities. You’ll learn to configure Moodle plugins and ensure your VLE conforms to pedagogical and technical requirements in your organization. You’ll then learn how to integrate the VLE via web services and network it with other sites, including Mahara, and extend your system via plugins and LTI. By the end of this book, you will be able to set up an efficient, fully fledged, and secure Moodle system.Style and approachThe book takes a problem-solution approach to fall in line with your day-to-day operations. This is a one-stop reference for any task you will ever come across when administering a Moodle site of any shape and size.

Over 80 recipes on how to identify, exploit, and test web application security with Kali Linux 2About This BookFamiliarize yourself with the most common web vulnerabilities a web application faces, and understand how attackers take advantage of themSet up a penetration testing lab to conduct a preliminary assessment of attack surfaces and run exploitsLearn how to prevent vulnerabilities in web applications before an attacker can make the most of itWho This Book Is ForThis book is for IT professionals, web developers, security enthusiasts, and security professionals who want an accessible reference on how to find, exploit, and prevent security vulnerabilities in web applications. You should know the basics of operating a Linux environment and have some exposure to security technologies and tools.What You Will LearnSet up a penetration testing laboratory in a secure wayFind out what information is useful to gather when performing penetration tests and where to look for itUse crawlers and spiders to investigate an entire website in minutesDiscover security vulnerabilities in web applications in the web browser and using command-line toolsImprove your testing efficiency with the use of automated vulnerability scannersExploit vulnerabilities that require a complex setup, run custom-made exploits, and prepare for extraordinary scenariosSet up Man in the Middle attacks and use them to identify and exploit security flaws within the communication between users and the web serverCreate a malicious site that will find and exploit vulnerabilities in the user's web browserRepair the most common web vulnerabilities and understand how to prevent them becoming a threat to a site's securityIn DetailWeb applications are a huge point of attack for malicious hackers and a critical area for security professionals and penetration testers to lock down and secure. Kali Linux is a Linux-based penetration testing platform and operating system that provides a huge array of testing tools, many of which can be used specifically to execute web penetration testing.This book will teach you, in the form step-by-step recipes, how to detect a wide array of vulnerabilities, exploit them to analyze their consequences, and ultimately buffer attackable surfaces so applications are more secure, for you and your users.Starting from the setup of a testing laboratory, this book will give you the skills you need to cover every stage of a penetration test: from gathering information about the system and the application to identifying vulnerabilities through manual testing and the use of vulnerability scanners to both basic and advanced exploitation techniques that may lead to a full system compromise. Finally, we will put this into the context of OWASP and the top 10 web application vulnerabilities you are most likely to encounter, equipping you with the ability to combat them effectively. By the end of the book, you will have the required skills to identify, exploit, and prevent web application vulnerabilities.Style and approachTaking a recipe-based approach to web security, this book has been designed to cover each stage of a penetration test, with de*ions on how tools work and why certain programming or configuration practices can become security vulnerabilities that may put a whole system, or network, at risk. Each topic is presented as a sequence of tasks and contains a proper explanation of why each task is performed and what it accomplishes.

Explore real-world threat scenarios, attacks on mobile applications, and ways to counter them About This Book Gain insights into the current threat landscape of mobile applications in particular Explore the different options that are available on mobile platforms and prevent circumventions made by attackers This is a step-by-step guide to setting up your own mobile penetration testing environment Who This Book Is For If you are a mobile application evangelist, mobile application developer, information security practitioner, penetration tester on infrastructure web applications, an application security professional, or someone who wants to learn mobile application security as a career, then this book is for you. This book will provide you with all the skills you need to get started with Android and iOS pen-testing. What You Will Learn Gain an in-depth understanding of Android and iOS architecture and the latest changes Discover how to work with different tool suites to assess any application Develop different strategies and techniques to connect to a mobile device Create a foundation for mobile application security principles Grasp techniques to attack different components of an Android device and the different functionalities of an iOS device Get to know secure development strategies for both iOS and Android applications Gain an understanding of threat modeling mobile applications Get an in-depth understanding of both Android and iOS implementation vulnerabilities and how to provide counter-measures while developing a mobile app In Detail Mobile security has come a long way over the last few years. It has transitioned from "should it be done?" to "it must be done!"Alongside the growing number of devises and applications, there is also a growth in the volume of Personally identifiable information (PII), Financial Data, and much more. This data needs to be secured. This is why Pen-testing is so important to modern application developers. You need to know how to secure user data, and find vulnerabilities and loopholes in your application that might lead to security breaches. This book gives you the necessary skills to security test your mobile applications as a beginner, developer, or security practitioner. You'll start by discovering the internal components of an Android and an iOS application. Moving ahead, you'll understand the inter-process working of these applications. Then you'll set up a test environment for this application using various tools to identify the loopholes and vulnerabilities in the structure of the applications. Finally, after collecting all information about these security loop holes, we'll start securing our applications from these threats. Style and approach This is an easy-to-follow guide full of hands-on examples of real-world attack simulations. Each topic is explained in context with respect to testing, and for the more inquisitive, there are more details on the concepts and techniques used for different platforms.

Over 40 practical recipes to get your hands dirty with the powerful Cisco UCS and overcome various challenges About This Book Master the skills of minimizing cost, enabling your business to work faster by reducing cycle times for reporting and improving overall revenue Work through hands-on recipes for efficient deployment approaches, see computing techniques, and explore new operational models with UCS Render a better work-flow management, ensure effective monitoring, and learn new deployment paradigms for the operational infrastructure with the help of this book Who This Book Is For This book is for competent system/network or storage administrators who are working with Cisco UCS, but now want to learn new ways to compute UCS. What You Will Learn Familiarize yourself with information on the latest information on memory management practices, virtualization architectures, and the specific technical advantages of UCS Get a concrete understanding of integrating processes and techniques to ensure effective convergence of LAN/SAN Get to know the best practices of Cisco UCS, EMC Storage, and VMware vSphere Master migrating data from other band servers or Blade to Cisco UCS Comprehend how to replicate and back up UCS to remote sites UCS Assimilate innovative techniques to deploy UCS to leverage its full potential Gather information on installing and configuring automatic and manual Pinning Discover ways to integrate a system in Cisco UCS In Detail Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) is a data center server platform that is used for computing, deploying, and storing resources in data center environments. This cookbook aims to teach you about various tasks you can implement to improve your existing method of configuring and deploying UCS. You will start by learning how to upgrade your firmware on Brocade and Cisco Fibre Channel Switch and will move on to enhance your knowledge of LAN connectivity. We will then discuss how to configure Windows 2008 and 2012 local boot in Cisco UCS. Next, you will learn how to install the operating system on Cisco UCS and use Cisco UCS Power Calculator to calculate the UCS consumption. Finally, we’ll take a look at backup solutions. By the end of the book, you will know several ways to build and compute in data center environment using Cisco UCS. Style and approach This guide explains every task in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. You can open this book up to the task you want to learn and will be able to perform that task by the end of the recipe.

Enhance your understanding of Computer Vision and image processing by developing real-world projects in OpenCV 3About This BookGet to grips with the basics of Computer Vision and image processingThis is a step-by-step guide to developing several real-world Computer Vision projects using OpenCV 3This book takes a special focus on working with Tesseract OCR, a free, open-source library to recognize text in imagesWho This Book Is ForIf you are a software developer with a basic understanding of Computer Vision and image processing and want to develop interesting Computer Vision applications with Open CV, this is the book for you. Knowledge of C++ is required.What You Will LearnInstall OpenCV 3 on your operating systemCreate the required CMake *s to compile the C++ application and manage its dependenciesGet to grips with the Computer Vision workflows and understand the basic image matrix format and filtersUnderstand the segmentation and feature extraction techniquesRemove backgrounds from a static scene to identify moving objects for video surveillanceTrack different objects in a live video using various techniquesUse the new OpenCV functions for text detection and recognition with TesseractIn DetailOpen CV is a cross-platform, free-for-use library that is primarily used for real-time Computer Vision and image processing. It is considered to be one of the best open source libraries that helps developers focus on constructing complete projects on image processing, motion detection, and image segmentation.Whether you are completely new to the concept of Computer Vision or have a basic understanding of it, this book will be your guide to understanding the basic OpenCV concepts and algorithms through amazing real-world examples and projects.Starting from the installation of OpenCV on your system and understanding the basics of image processing, we swiftly move on to creating optical flow video analysis or text recognition in complex scenes, and will take you through the commonly used Computer Vision techniques to build your own Open CV projects from scratch.By the end of this book, you will be familiar with the basics of Open CV such as matrix operations, filters, and histograms, as well as more advanced concepts such as segmentation, machine learning, complex video analysis, and text recognition.Style and approachThis book is a practical guide with lots of tips, and is closely focused on developing Computer vision applications with OpenCV. Beginning with the fundamentals, the complexity increases with each chapter. Sample applications are developed throughout the book that you can execute and use in your own projects.