Harness the power of procedural content generation to design unique games with UnityAbout This BookLearn the basics of PCG developmentDevelop a 2D game from start to finishExplore all the different ways PCG can be applied in gamesWho This Book Is ForThis book is for Unity game developers, especially those who work on indie games. You should be familiar with Unity and C# *ing but you'll be able to jump in and start learning PCG straightaway.What You Will LearnUnderstand the theory of Procedural Content GenerationLearn the uses of Pseudo Random NumbersCreate reusable algorithm designs for PCGEvaluate the data structures for PCGDevelop smaller games with larger amounts of contentGenerate content instead of spending time designing every minute detailLearn when and how to add PCG to your gameLearn the fundamental techniques of PCGIn DetailProcedural Content Generation is a process by which game content is developed using computer algorithms, rather than through the manual efforts of game developers. This book teaches readers how to develop algorithms for procedural generation that they can use in their own games. These concepts are put into practice using C# and Unity is used as the game development engine.This book provides the fundamentals of learning and continued learning using PCG. You'll discover the theory of PCG and the mighty Pseudo Random Number Generator. Random numbers such as die rolls and card drafting provide the chance factor that makes games fun and supplies spontaneity. This book also takes you through the full development of a 2D game.Starting with level generation, you'll learn how PCG can make the game environment for you. You'll move into item generation and learn the different techniques to procedurally create game items. Thereafter, you'll be guided through the more abstract PCG areas such as scaling difficulty to the player and even generating music! The book helps you set up systems within your games where algorithms create computationally generated levels, art assets, quests, stories, characters, and weapons; these can substantially reduce the burden of manually creating every aspect of the game.Finally, you'll get to try out your new PCG skills on 3D terrain generation.Style and approachAn easy-to-follow, project-based guide that will let you build a complete game by the end of the book using PCG.

Build your first interactive map and build location-aware applications using cutting-edge examples in PythonAbout This BookLearn the full geo-processing workflow using Python with open source packagesCreate press-quality styled maps and data visualization with high-level and reusable codeProcess massive datasets efficiently using parallel processingWho This Book Is ForGeospatial Development By Example with Python is intended for beginners or advanced developers in Python who want to work with geographic data. The book is suitable for professional developers who are new to geospatial development, for hobbyists, or for data scientists who want to move into some simple development.What You Will LearnPrepare a development environment with all the tools needed for geo-processing with PythonImport point data and structure an application using Python’s resourcesCombine point data from multiple sources, creating intuitive and functional representations of geographic objectsFilter data by coordinates or attributes easily using pure PythonMake press-quality and replicable maps from any dataDownload, transform, and use remote sensing data in your mapsMake calculations to extract information from raster data and show the results on beautiful mapsHandle massive amounts of data with advanced processing techniquesProcess huge satellite images in an efficient wayOptimize geo-processing times with parallel processingIn DetailFrom Python programming good practices to the advanced use of analysis packages, this book teaches you how to write applications that will perform complex geoprocessing tasks that can be replicated and reused.Much more than simple *s, you will write functions to import data, create Python classes that represent your features, and learn how to combine and filter them.With pluggable mechanisms, you will learn how to visualize data and the results of analysis in beautiful maps that can be batch-generated and embedded into documents or web pages.Finally, you will learn how to consume and process an enormous amount of data very efficiently by using advanced tools and modern computers’ parallel processing capabilities.Style and approachThis easy-to-follow book is filled with hands-on examples that illustrate the construction of three sample applications of how to write reusable and interconnected Python code for geo-processing.

Take your PhoneGap experience to the next level and create engaging real-world applicationsAbout This BookCreate a useful PhoneGap workflow for larger projects in order to simplify and manage the development processUse third-party plugins, IndexedDB, and SQLite for PhoneGap to develop large-scale, data-driven, and highly accessible applicationsA pragmatic guide to construct top-notch large-scale applications using PhoneGapWho This Book Is ForIf you have created simple applications using PhoneGap in the past and now want to take your workflow and apps to the next level, this book will help you reach your goals. You should have a good working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and prior experience with PhoneGap.What You Will LearnConstruct build workflows that simplify complex application developmentIntegrate the next version of JavaScript to simplify your codeCreate accessible hybrid applicationsPersist and query data using third-party database pluginsCreate your own PhoneGap plugins for your unique use casesCreate icons and splash screens suitable for submission to app storesPublish your app to the Google Play and Apple iTunes storesIn DetailPhoneGap is a useful and flexible tool that enables you to create complex hybrid applications for mobile platforms. In addition to the core technology, there is a large and vibrant community that creates third-party plugins that can take your app to the next level.This book will guide you through the process of creating a complex data-driven hybrid mobile application using PhoneGap, web technologies, and third-party plugins.A good foundation is critical, so you will learn how to create a useful workflow to make development easier. From there, the next version of JavaScript (ES6) and the CSS pre-processor SASS are introduced as a way to simplify creating the look of the mobile application. Responsive design techniques are also covered, including the flexbox layout module. As many apps are data-driven, you'll build an application throughout the course of the book that relies upon IndexedDB and SQLite. You'll also download additional content and address how to handle in-app purchases. Furthermore, you’ll build your own customized plugins for your particular use case. When the app is complete, the book will guide you through the steps necessary to submit your app to the Google Play and Apple iTunes stores.Style and approachThis book is a step-by-step guide, in which the concepts covered are explained with the help of hands-on examples

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

Build your defense against web attacks with Kali Linux 2.0 About This Book Gain a deep understanding of the flaws in web applications and exploit them in a practical manner Get hands-on web application hacking experience with a range of tools in Kali Linux 2.0 Develop the practical skills required to master multiple tools in the Kali Linux 2.0 toolkit Who This Book Is For If you are already working as a network penetration tester and want to expand your knowledge of web application hacking, then this book tailored for you. Those who are interested in learning more about the Kali Sana tools that are used to test web applications will find this book a thoroughly useful and interesting guide. What You Will Learn Set up your lab with Kali Linux 2.0 Identify the difference between hacking a web application and network hacking Understand the different techniques used to identify the flavor of web applications Expose vulnerabilities present in web servers and their applications using server-side attacks Use SQL and cross-site *ing (XSS) attacks Check for XSS flaws using the burp suite proxy Find out about the mitigation techniques used to negate the effects of the Injection and Blind SQL attacks In Detail Kali Linux 2.0 is the new generation of the industry-leading BackTrack Linux penetration testing and security auditing Linux distribution. It contains several hundred tools aimed at various information security tasks such as penetration testing, forensics, and reverse engineering. At the beginning of the book, you will be introduced to the concepts of hacking and penetration testing and will get to know about the tools used in Kali Linux 2.0 that relate to web application hacking. Then, you will gain a deep understanding of SQL and command injection flaws and ways to exploit the flaws. Moving on, you will get to know more about *ing and input validation flaws, AJAX, and the security issues related to AJAX. At the end of the book, you will use an automated technique called fuzzing to be able to identify flaws in a web application. Finally, you will understand the web application vulnerabilities and the ways in which they can be exploited using the tools in Kali Linux 2.0. Style and approach This step-by-step guide covers each topic with detailed practical examples. Every concept is explained with the help of illustrations using the tools available in Kali Linux 2.0.

Harness the power of RStudio to create web applications, R packages, markdown reports and pretty data visualizationsAbout This BookDiscover the multi-functional use of RStudio to support your daily work with R codeLearn to create stunning, meaningful, and interactive graphs and learn to embed them into easy communicable reports using multiple R packagesDevelop your own R packages and Shiny web apps to share your knowledge and collaborate with others.Who This Book Is ForThis book is aimed at R developers and analysts who wish to do R statistical development while taking advantage of RStudio’s functionality to ease their development efforts. R programming experience is assumed as well as being comfortable with R’s basic structures and a number of functions.What You Will LearnDiscover the RStudio IDE and details about the user interfaceCommunicate your insights with R Markdown in static and interactive waysLearn how to use different graphic systems to visualize your dataBuild interactive web applications with the Shiny framework to present and share your resultsUnderstand the process of package development and assemble your own R packagesEasily collaborate with other people on your projects by using Git and GitHubManage the R environment for your organization with RStudio and Shiny serverApply your obtained knowledge about RStudio and R development to create a real-world dashboard solutionIn DetailRStudio helps you to manage small to large projects by giving you a multi-functional integrated development environment, combined with the power and flexibility of the R programming language, which is becoming the bridge language of data science for developers and analyst worldwide. Mastering the use of RStudio will help you to solve real-world data problems.This book begins by guiding you through the installation of RStudio and explaining the user interface step by step. From there, the next logical step is to use this knowledge to improve your data analysis workflow. We will do this by building up our toolbox to create interactive reports and graphs or even web applications with Shiny. To collaborate with others, we will explore how to use Git and GitHub with RStudio and how to build your own packages to ensure top quality results. Finally, we put it all together in an interactive dashboard written with R.Style and approachAn easy-to-follow guide full of hands-on examples to master RStudio.Beginning from explaining the basics, each topic is explained with a lot of details for every feature.

A detailed guide to the complex new animation tools in Unity, packed with clear instructions and illustrated with original content in the context of a next generation zombie apocalypse adventure game About This Book Create and export models and animation sequences to Unity from 3ds max and Maya Prepare character models and animation for games using Mecanim’s rigging tools Retarget, adjust, and mix and match motion capture and other animation data Write and edit *s compatible with Mecanim Animation Controllers Who This Book Is For If you are a Unity developer looking to get to grips with the character animation specific tools, a 3D software user who is new to Unity, or a beginner game developer who is interested in character animation and interaction, this book is ideal for you. Some experience with either the Unity interface or basic 3D coordinates is recommended, but not required. What You Will Learn Learn how to prepare a rigged character model to receive animation within Unity Acquire efficient techniques to refine and optimize motion capture data Retarget animation sequences between different character rigs Discover how to rig a humanoid character and export for use in Unity Script character interaction for a First Person character model Create dynamic animation sequences from scratch using keyframe techniques, in a variety of 3D software packages Learn Project Management in Unity Understand how to set up a complex facial rig for speech Set up Animation Controllers with masked states and blend trees to create seamless and additive animation transitions Construct a ragdoll game object and instantiate it in a game Devise Mecanim animation integration for the player and AI driven animation for enemy characters In Detail Game animation for independent developers has taken a giant leap forward with Unity's Mecanim toolset, which streamlines the import/export, retargeting, and many other aspects of the character animation workflow. Unity Character Animation with Mecanim is a great primer for getting to know the nuts and bolts of Mecanim and other character animation related tools in Unity. It offers you step-by-step instructions for preparing and exporting rigged models and animation sequences from commonly used 3D packages, such as Maya, 3ds Max and Blender. This book explores the new set of animation tools introduced with Mecanim in Unity. Approaching its subject matter through a typical genre–a zombie action game, character animation techniques are explored using real examples of player input and interaction, enemy behavior, and other aspects of game dynamics. As the book progresses, the reader will understand how these elements fit together in a small game development workflow. We will begin with a demonstration of the process of getting a rigged character into Unity and setting it up to use provided animation sequences. We will also consider a few industry standard 3D packages and how these can be used to rig a humanoid character for use in Unity. We will demonstrate the retargeting capabilities of Mecanim’s Humanoid Animation type by adjusting motion sequences to fit disparate character types in our game. After this, we will look at Ragdoll physics and the implementation of this commonly used technique in a Mecanim workflow. The book culminates with a thorough dissection of the enemy character AI * incorporating the Mecanim elements detailed in the previous chapters. Unity Character Animation with Mecanim will provide you with a detailed exploration of the interaction between game development and character animation, and will broaden your understanding of the rich animation toolset within Unity. Style and approach A comprehensive guide, featuring step- by- step practical tutorials using sample assets, showing you how to build fully controllable characters and non-player characters/enemies.

Learn shell *ing to solve complex shell-related problems and to efficiently automate your day-to-day tasks About This Book Familiarize yourself with the terminal by learning about powerful shell features Automate tasks by writing shell *s for repetitive work Packed with easy-to-follow, hands-on examples to help you write any type of shell * with confidence Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at administrators and those who have a basic knowledge of shell *ing and who want to learn how to get the most out of writing shell *s. What You Will Learn Write effective shell *s easily Perform search operations and manipulate large text data with a single shell command Modularize reusable shell *s by creating shell libraries Redirect input, output, and errors of a command or * execution to other streams Debug code with different shell debugging techniques to make your *s bug-free Manage processes, along with the environment variables needed to execute them properly Execute and embed other languages in your *s Manage creation, deletion, and search operations in files In Detail Shell *ing is a quick method to prototype complex applications or problems. Shell *s are a collection of commands to automate tasks, usually those for which the user has a repeated need, when working on Linux-based systems. Using simple commands or a combination of them in a shell can solve complex problems easily. This book starts with the basics, including essential commands that can be executed on Linux systems to perform tasks within a few nanoseconds. You’ll learn to use outputs from commands and transform them to show the data you require. Discover how to write shell *s easily, execute * files, debug, and handle errors. Next, you’ll explore environment variables in shell programming and learn how to customize them and add a new environment. Finally, the book walks you through processes and how these interact with your shell *s, along with how to use *s to automate tasks and how to embed other languages and execute them. Style and approach This book is a pragmatic guide to writing efficient shell programs, complete with hands-on examples and tips.

Successfully deploy XenDesktop sites for a high performance Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) About This Book Size the VDI environment so the administrator has breathing room to design and build their XenDesktop systems efficiently Use desktop virtualization tools to provide users fast, convenient access to their Windows Desktops Understand the key pinch points in the resource layers such as; the Client layer, Network Layer, Access Layer, Control Layer, Services Layer and Resources Layer Who This Book Is For Citrix XenDesktop High Performance is written for administrators who would like to deploy Citrix XenDesktop in their enterprises with the aim of providing high efficiency. Basic familiarity with Citrix XenDesktop is assumed. What You Will Learn Understand key concepts, terminology, and system requirements Discover how components work in regards to virtualization and performance Identify architectural resource layers and components Explore the hypervisor virtualization software that runs on top of the hardware and learn how to tune it for maximum performance Analyze client hardware and software, including thin clients and mobile devices In Detail Citrix XenDesktop is a suite of desktop virtualization tools designed to provide users with fast and convenient access to their Windows desktops and applications through any device. Virtual desktops mean that rather than setting up hundreds or thousands of individual computers in an enterprise, companies can instead opt to create servers with large amounts of memory, disk, and processing resources, and use virtualization to offer these resources to end users. The result of this is that users are provided with an experience that appears to be identical to having an individual desktop PC. Each user has some disk space, processor time, and memory allocated to them, as though it is present on their own physical machine, when in reality, the resources are physically present on a centralized server. This book starts by answering the basic questions you need to ask when considering XenDesktop, followed by methods of how you can properly size your server infrastructure for XenDesktop. You’ll discover how to optimize the virtual machines used in XenDesktop, how to optimize your network for XenDesktop, and how to optimize the hypervisor and the cloud. You’ll also learn how to monitor XenDesktop to maximize performance. By the end of the book, you will be able to plan, design, build, and deploy high performance XenDesktop Virtualization systems in enterprises. You will also know how to monitor and maintain your systems to ensure smooth operation. Style and approach This book is an all-inclusive guide that uncovers hidden and previously unpublished performance improvement areas for any XenDesktop site.

Gain expertise in Flask to create dynamic and powerful web applications About This Book Work with scalable Flask application structures to create complex web apps Discover the most powerful Flask extensions and learn how to create one Deploy your application to real-world platforms using this step-by-step guide Who This Book Is For If you are a Flask user who knows the basics of the library and how to create basic web pages with HTML and CSS, and you want to take your applications to the next level, this is the book for you. Harnessing the full power of Flask will allow you to create complex web applications with ease. What You Will Learn Set up a best practices Python environment Use SQLAlchemy to programmatically query a database Develop templates in Jinja Set up an MVC environment for Flask Discover NoSQL, when to use it, when not to, and how to use it Develop a custom Flask extension Use Celery to create asynchronous tasks In Detail Flask is a library that allows programmers to create web applications in Python. Flask is a micro-framework that boasts a low learning curve, a large community, and the power to create complex web apps. However, Flask is easy to learn but difficult to master. Starting from a simple Flask app, this book will walk through advanced topics while providing practical examples of the lessons learned. After building a simple Flask app, a proper app structure is demonstrated by transforming the app to use a Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. With a scalable structure in hand, the next chapters use Flask extensions to provide extra functionality to the app, including user login and registration, NoSQL querying, a REST API, an admin interface, and more. Next, you’ll discover how to use unit testing to take the guesswork away from making sure the code is performing as it should. The book closes with a discussion of the different platforms that are available to deploy a Flask app on, the pros and cons of each one, and how to deploy on each one. Style and approach With plenty of useful examples, this guide introduces new concepts and then shows you how those concepts can be used in a real-world environment. Most sections are based around a single example app that is developed throughout the book.

Grok and perform effective functional programming in Scala About This Book Understand functional programming patterns by comparing them with the traditional object-oriented design patterns Write robust, safer, and better code using the declarative programming paradigm An illustrative guide for programmers to create functional programming patterns with Scala Who This Book Is For If you have done Java programming before and have a basic knowledge of Scala and its syntax, then this book is an ideal choice to help you to understand the context, the traditional design pattern applicable, and the Scala way. Having previous knowledge of design patterns will help, though it is not strictly necessary. What You Will Learn Get to know about functional programming and the value Scala's FP idioms bring to the table Solve day-to-day programming problems using functional programming idioms Cut down the boiler-plate and express patterns simply and elegantly using Scala's concise syntax Tame system complexity by reducing the moving parts Write easier to reason about concurrent code using the actor paradigm and the Akka library Apply recursive thinking and understand how to create solutions without mutation Reuse existing code to compose new behavior Combine the object-oriented and functional programming approaches for effective programming using Scala In Detail Scala is used to construct elegant class hierarchies for maximum code reuse and extensibility and to implement their behavior using higher-order functions. Its functional programming (FP) features are a boon to help you design “easy to reason about” systems to control the growing software complexities. Knowing how and where to apply the many Scala techniques is challenging. Looking at Scala best practices in the context of what you already know helps you grasp these concepts quickly, and helps you see where and why to use them. This book begins with the rationale behind patterns to help you understand where and why each pattern is applied. You will discover what tail recursion brings to your table and will get an understanding of how to create solutions without mutations. We then explain the concept of memorization and infinite sequences for on-demand computation. Further, the book takes you through Scala’s stackable traits and dependency injection, a popular technique to produce loosely-coupled software systems. You will also explore how to currying favors to your code and how to simplify it by de-construction via pattern matching. We also show you how to do pipeline transformations using higher order functions such as the pipes and filters pattern. Then we guide you through the increasing importance of concurrent programming and the pitfalls of traditional code concurrency. Lastly, the book takes a paradigm shift to show you the different techniques that functional programming brings to your plate. This book is an invaluable source to help you understand and perform functional programming and solve common programming problems using Scala’s programming patterns. Style and approach This is a hands-on guide to Scala's game-changing features for programming. It is filled with many code examples and figures that illustrate various Scala idioms and best practices.

Master the fundamentals of malware analysis for the Windows platform and enhance your anti-malware skill set About This Book Set the baseline towards performing malware analysis on the Windows platform and how to use the tools required to deal with malware Understand how to decipher x86 assembly code from source code inside your favourite development environment A step-by-step based guide that reveals malware analysis from an industry insider and demystifies the process Who This Book Is For This book is best for someone who has prior experience with reverse engineering Windows executables and wants to specialize in malware analysis. The book presents the malware analysis thought process using a show-and-tell approach, and the examples included will give any analyst confidence in how to approach this task on their own the next time around. What You Will Learn Use the positional number system for clear conception of Boolean algebra, that applies to malware research purposes Get introduced to static and dynamic analysis methodologies and build your own malware lab Analyse destructive malware samples from the real world (ITW) from fingerprinting and static/dynamic analysis to the final debrief Understand different modes of linking and how to compile your own libraries from assembly code and integrate the codein your final program Get to know about the various emulators, debuggers and their features, and sandboxes and set them up effectively depending on the required scenario Deal with other malware vectors such as pdf and MS-Office based malware as well as *s and shellcode In Detail Windows OS is the most used operating system in the world and hence is targeted by malware writers. There are strong ramifications if things go awry. Things will go wrong if they can, and hence we see a salvo of attacks that have continued to disrupt the normal scheme of things in our day to day lives. This book will guide you on how to use essential tools such as debuggers, disassemblers, and sandboxes to dissect malware samples. It will expose your innards and then build a report of their indicators of compromise along with detection rule sets that will enable you to help contain the outbreak when faced with such a situation. We will start with the basics of computing fundamentals such as number systems and Boolean algebra. Further, you'll learn about x86 assembly programming and its integration with high level languages such as C++.You'll understand how to decipher disassembly code obtained from the compiled source code and map it back to its original design goals. By delving into end to end analysis with real-world malware samples to solidify your understanding, you'll sharpen your technique of handling destructive malware binaries and vector mechanisms. You will also be encouraged to consider analysis lab safety measures so that there is no infection in the process. Finally, we'll have a rounded tour of various emulations, sandboxing, and debugging options so that you know what is at your disposal when you need a specific kind of weapon in order to nullify the malware. Style and approach An easy to follow, hands-on guide with de*ions and screenshots that will help you execute effective malicious software investigations and conjure up solutions creatively and confidently.

Learn in easy stages how to rapidly build leading-edge web applications from scratch. About This Book ? Develop powerful web applications rapidly with WordPress ? Explore the significant features and improvements introduced in WordPress 4.7 by learning the numerous tips and techniques in this book. ? Unleash the power of REST API endpoints to make your interaction with websites new and innovative. Who This Book Is For This book is targeted at WordPress developers and designers who want to develop quality web applications within a limited time frame and maximize their profits. A prior knowledge of basic web development and design is assumed. What You Will Learn ? Develop extendable plugins with the use of WordPress features in core modules ? Develop pluggable modules to extend the core features of WordPress as independent modules ? Manage permissions for a wide range of content types in web applications based on different user types ? Follow WordPress coding standards to develop reusable and maintainable code ? Build and customize themes beyond conventional web layouts ? Explore the power of core database tables and understand the limitations when designing database tables for large applications ? Integrate open source modules into WordPress applications to keep up with the latest open source technologies ? Customize the WordPress admin section and themes to create the look and feel of a typical web application In Detail WordPress is one of the most rapidly expanding markets on the Web. Learning how to build complex and scalable web applications will give you the ability and knowledge to step into the future of WordPress. WordPress 4.7 introduces some exciting new improvements and several bug fixes, which further improve the entire development process.This book is a practical, scenario-based guide to expanding the power of the WordPress core modules to develop modular and maintainable real-world applications from scratch. This book consistently emphasizes adapting WordPress features into web applications. It will walk you through the advanced usages of existing features such as access controlling; database handling; custom post types; pluggable plugins; content restrictions; routing; translation; caching; and many more, while you build the backend of a forum management application. This book begins by explaining how to plan the development of a web application using WordPress' core features. Once the core features are explained, you will learn how to build an application by extending them through custom plugin development. Finally, you will explore advanced non-functional features and application integration. After reading this book, you will have the ability to develop powerful web applications rapidly within limited time frames. Style and approach An extensive, practical guide that explains how to adapt WordPress features, both conventional and trending, for web applications.

Master the art of exploiting advanced web penetration techniques with Kali Linux 2016.2 About This Book ? Make the most out of advanced web pen-testing techniques using Kali Linux 2016.2 ? Explore how Stored (a.k.a. Persistent) XSS attacks work and how to take advantage of them ? Learn to secure your application by performing advanced web based attacks. ? Bypass internet security to traverse from the web to a private network. Who This Book Is For This book targets IT pen testers, security consultants, and ethical hackers who want to expand their knowledge and gain expertise on advanced web penetration techniques. Prior knowledge of penetration testing would be beneficial. What You Will Learn ? Establish a fully-featured sandbox for test rehearsal and risk-free investigation of applications ? Enlist open-source information to get a head-start on enumerating account credentials, mapping potential dependencies, and discovering unintended backdoors and exposed information ? Map, scan, and spider web applications using nmap/zenmap, nikto, arachni, webscarab, w3af, and NetCat for more accurate characterization ? Proxy web transactions through tools such as Burp Suite, OWASP's ZAP tool, and Vega to uncover application weaknesses and manipulate responses ? Deploy SQL injection, cross-site *ing, Java vulnerabilities, and overflow attacks using Burp Suite, websploit, and SQLMap to test application robustness ? Evaluate and test identity, authentication, and authorization schemes and sniff out weak cryptography before the black hats do In Detail You will start by delving into some common web application architectures in use, both in private and public cloud instances. You will also learn about the most common frameworks for testing, such as OWASP OGT version 4, and how to use them to guide your efforts. In the next section, you will be introduced to web pentesting with core tools and you will also see how to make web applications more secure through rigorous penetration tests using advanced features in open source tools. The book will then show you how to better hone your web pentesting skills in safe environments that can ensure low-risk experimentation with the powerful tools and features in Kali Linux that go beyond a typical *-kiddie approach. After establishing how to test these powerful tools safely, you will understand how to better identify vulnerabilities, position and deploy exploits, compromise authentication and authorization, and test the resilience and exposure applications possess. By the end of this book, you will be well-versed with the web service architecture to identify and evade various protection mechanisms that are used on the Web today. You will leave this book with a greater mastery of essential test techniques needed to verify the secure design, development, and operation of your customers' web applications. Style and approach An advanced-level guide filled with real-world examples that will help you take your web application’s security to the next level by using Kali Linux 2016.2.

Get up and running with the Pentaho Data Integration tool using this hands-on, easy-to-read guide About This Book ? Manipulate your data by exploring, transforming, validating, and integrating it using Pentaho Data Integration 8 CE ? A comprehensive guide exploring the features of Pentaho Data Integration 8 CE ? Connect to any database engine, explore the databases, and perform all kind of operations on relational databases Who This Book Is For This book is a must-have for software developers, business intelligence analysts, IT students, or anyone involved or interested in developing ETL solutions. If you plan on using Pentaho Data Integration for doing any data manipulation task, this book will help you as well. This book is also a good starting point for data warehouse designers, architects, or anyone who is responsible for data warehouse projects and needs to load data into them. What You Will Learn ? Explore the features and capabilities of Pentaho Data Integration 8 Community Edition ? Install and get started with PDI ? Learn the ins and outs of Spoon, the graphical designer tool ? Learn to get data from all kind of data sources, such as plain files, Excel spreadsheets, databases, and XML files ? Use Pentaho Data Integration to perform CRUD (create, read, update, and delete) operations on relationaldatabases ? Populate a data mart with Pentaho Data Integration ? Use Pentaho Data Integration to organize files and folders, run daily processes, deal with errors, and more In Detail Pentaho Data Integration(PDI) is an intuitive and graphical environment packed with drag-and-drop design and powerful Extract-Tranform-Load (ETL) capabilities. This book shows and explains the new interactive features of Spoon, the revamped look and feel, and the newest features of the tool including transformations and jobs Executors and the invaluable Metadata Injection capability. We begin with the installation of PDI software and then move on to cover all the key PDI concepts. Each of the chapter introduces new features, enabling you to gradually get practicing with the tool. First, you will learn to do all kind of data manipulation and work with simple plain files. Then, the book teaches you how you can work with relational databases inside PDI. Moreover, you will be given a primer on data warehouse concepts and you will learn how to load data in a data warehouse. During the course of this book, you will be familiarized with its intuitive, graphical and drag-and-drop design environment. By the end of this book, you will learn everything you need to know in order to meet your data manipulation requirements. Besides, your will be given best practices and advises for designing and deploying your projects. Style and approach Step by step guide filled with practical, real world scenarios and examples.

Learn the importance of architectural and design patterns in producing and sustaining next-generation IT and business-critical applications with this guide. About This Book ? Use patterns to tackle communication, integration, application structure, and more ? Implement modern design patterns such as microservices to build resilient and highly available applications ? Choose between the MVP, MVC, and MVVM patterns depending on the application being built Who This Book Is For This book will empower and enrich IT architects (such as enterprise architects, software product architects, and solution and system architects), technical consultants, evangelists, and experts. What You Will Learn ? Understand how several architectural and design patterns work to systematically develop multitier web, mobile, embedded, and cloud applications ? Learn object-oriented and component-based software engineering principles and patterns ? Explore the frameworks corresponding to various architectural patterns ? Implement domain-driven, test-driven, and behavior-driven methodologies ? Deploy key platforms and tools effectively to enable EA design and solutioning ? Implement various patterns designed for the cloud paradigm In Detail Enterprise Architecture (EA) is typically an aggregate of the business, application, data, and infrastructure architectures of any forward-looking enterprise. Due to constant changes and rising complexities in the business and technology landscapes, producing sophisticated architectures is on the rise. Architectural patterns are gaining a lot of attention these days. The book is divided in three modules. You'll learn about the patterns associated with object-oriented, component-based, client-server, and cloud architectures. The second module covers Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) patterns and how they are architected using various tools and patterns. You will come across patterns for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Event-Driven Architecture (EDA), Resource-Oriented Architecture (ROA), big data analytics architecture, and Microservices Architecture (MSA). The final module talks about advanced topics such as Docker containers, high performance, and reliable application architectures. The key takeaways include understanding what architectures are, why they're used, and how and where architecture, design, and integration patterns are being leveraged to build better and bigger systems. Style and Approach This book adopts a hands-on approach with real-world examples and use cases.

Master realistic animations and graphics, particle systems, game AI and physics, sprites and VR development with Unity 2017 About This Book ? Create professional grade games with realistic animation and graphics, particle systems and game physics with Unity 2017 ? Unleash the power of C# *ing to create intelligent game AI and professional grade game workflows. ? Create immersive VR games using the latest Unity 2017 VR SDK. Who This Book Is For If you are a Unity developer who now wants to develop and deploy interesting games by leveraging the new features of Unity 2017, then this is the book for you. Basic knowledge of C# programming is assumed. What You Will Learn ? Explore hands-on tasks and real-world scenarios to make a Unity horror adventure game ? Create enemy characters that act intelligently and make reasoned decisions ? Use data files to save and restore game data in a way that is platform-agnostic ? Get started with VR development ? Use navigation meshes, occlusion culling, and Profiler tools ? Work confidently with GameObjects, rotations, and transformations ? Understand specific gameplay features such as AI enemies, inventory systems, and level design In Detail Do you want to make the leap from being an everyday Unity developer to being a pro game developer? Then look no further! This book is your one-stop solution to creating mesmerizing games with lifelike features and amazing gameplay. This book focuses in some detail on a practical project with Unity, building a first-person game with many features. You'll delve into the architecture of a Unity game, creating expansive worlds, interesting render effects, and other features to make your games special. You will create individual game components, use efficient animation techniques, and implement collision and physics effectively. Specifically, we'll explore optimal techniques for importing game assets, such as meshes and textures; tips and tricks for effective level design; how to animate and * NPCs; how to configure and deploy to mobile devices; how to prepare for VR development; how to work with version control; and more. By the end of this book, you'll have developed sufficient competency in Unity development to produce fun games with confidence. Style and approach This book takes an easy-to-follow, step-by-step tutorial approach. You will create an advanced level Unity game with an emphasis on leveraging advanced Unity 2017 features while developing the game in its entirety.

Your one stop solution to create highly scalable enterprise grade Java applications with WildFly. About This Book ? Master Java EE development with the latest WildFly 10 application server. ? Integrate with JSF and JMS and use efficient load balancing techniques to create real-time apps ? Integrate your backend JavaScript code seamlessly into Java applications Who This Book Is For If you are a Java developer with at least basic knowledge of Java EE, then this book is for you. No previous knowledge of WildFly is required. What You Will Learn ? Configure the development environment along with native and cloud installation of WildFly ? Write a DB schema and the relative entities and how to use the relationships between the entities ? Analyze with examples all the java annotations to manage the EJB and the configuration to get better performances ? Write different REST services through the EJB ? Implement Web sockets 1.0 and know why and when use the web sockets ? Work with Active MQ and write JMS clients to manage the authentication and authorization in the clients ? Configure the mail server through the wildfly console ? Learn how and when to use a new feature JAX-RS 2.0, which is the asynchronous call through REST ? Use the new JSF features of Wildfly 10 such as Mojarra 2.2, JSF 2.2, Richfaces 4.5 In Detail Packed with rich assets and APIs, Wildfly 10 allows you to create state-of-the-art Java applications. This book will help you take your understanding of Java EE to the next level by creating distributed Java applications using Wildfly. The book begins by showing how to get started with a native installation of WildFly and it ends with a cloud installation. After setting up the development environment, you will implement and work with different WildFly features, such as implementing JavaServer Pages. You will also learn how you can use clustering so that your apps can handle a high volume of data traffic. You will also work with enterprise JavaBeans, solve issues related to failover, and implement Java Message Service integration. Moving ahead, you will be working with Java Naming and Directory Interface, Java Transaction API, and use ActiveMQ for message relay and message querying. This book will also show you how you can use your existing backend JavaScript code in your application. By the end of the book, you’ll have gained the knowledge to implement the latest Wildfly features in your Java applications. Style and approach Each part of this book shows you how to use different features of WildFly 10 to create enterprise grade Java applications as easily as possible.

Learn how to use the Akka framework to build effective applications in Scala About This Book ? Covers a discussion on Lagom—the newest launched Akka framework that is built to create complex microservices easily ? The recipe approach of the book allows the reader to know important and independent concepts of Scala and Akka in a seamless manner ? Provides a comprehensive understanding of the Akka actor model and implementing it to create reactive web applications Who This Book Is For If you are a Scala developer who wants to build scalable and concurrent applications, then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of Akka will help you take advantage of this book. What You Will Learn ? Control an actor using the ContolAware mailbox ? Test a fault-tolerant application using the Akka test kit ? Create a parallel application using futures and agents ? Package and deploy Akka application inside Docker ? Deploy remote actors programmatically on different nodes ? Integrate Streams with Akka actors ? Install Lagom and create a Lagom project In Detail Akka is an open source toolkit that simplifies the construction of distributed and concurrent applications on the JVM. This book will teach you how to develop reactive applications in Scala using the Akka framework. This book will show you how to build concurrent, scalable, and reactive applications in Akka. You will see how to create high performance applications, extend applications, build microservices with Lagom, and more. We will explore Akka's actor model and show you how to incorporate concurrency into your applications. The book puts a special emphasis on performance improvement and how to make an application available for users. We also make a special mention of message routing and construction. By the end of this book, you will be able to create a high-performing Scala application using the Akka framework. Style and approach This highly practical recipe-based approach will allow you to build scalable, robust, and reactive applications using the Akka framework.

A practical guide that enhances your skills in implementing Azure solutions for your organization About This Book ? Confidently configure, deploy, and manage cloud services and virtual machines ? Implement a highly-secured environment and respond to threats with increased visibility ? This comprehensive guide is packed with exciting practical scenarios that enable you to implement Azure solutions with ease Who This Book Is For This book is for IT architects, system and network admins, and DevOps engineers who are aware of Azure solutions and want to implement them for their organization. What You Will Learn ? Implement virtual networks, network gateways, Site-to-Site VPN, ExpressRoute, routing, and network devices ? Understand the working of different storage accounts in Azure ? Plan, deploy, and secure virtual machines ? Deploy and manage Azure Containers ? Get familiar with some common Azure usage scenarios In Detail Microsoft Azure has numerous effective solutions that shape the future of any business. However, the major challenge that architects and administrators face are implementing these solutions appropriately. Our book focuses on various implementation scenarios that will help overcome the challenge of implementing Azure’s solutions in a very efficient manner and will also help you to prepare for Microsoft Architect exam. You will not only learn how to secure a newly deployed Azure Active Directory but also get to know how Azure Active Directory Synchronization could be implemented. To maintain an isolated and secure environment so that you can run your virtual machines and applications, you will implement Azure networking services. Also to manage, access, and secure your confidential data, you will implement storage solutions. Toward the end, you will explore tips and tricks to secure your environment. By the end, you will be able to implement Azure solutions such as networking, storage, and cloud effectively. Style and approach This step-by-step guide focuses on implementing various Azure solutions for your organization. The motive is to provide a comprehensive exposure and ensure they can implement these solutions with ease.

Get to grips with pandas—a versatile and high-performance Python library for data manipulation, analysis, and discovery About This Book ? Get comfortable using pandas and Python as an effective data exploration and analysis tool ? Explore pandas through a framework of data analysis, with an explanation of how pandas is well suited for the various stages in a data analysis process ? A comprehensive guide to pandas with many of clear and practical examples to help you get up and using pandas Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for data scientists, data analysts, Python programmers who want to plunge into data analysis using pandas, and anyone with a curiosity about analyzing data. Some knowledge of statistics and programming will be helpful to get the most out of this book but not strictly required. Prior exposure to pandas is also not required. What You Will Learn ? Understand how data analysts and scientists think about of the processes of gathering and understanding data ? Learn how pandas can be used to support the end-to-end process of data analysis ? Use pandas Series and DataFrame objects to represent single and multivariate data ? Slicing and dicing data with pandas, as well as combining, grouping, and aggregating data from multiple sources ? How to access data from external sources such as files, databases, and web services ? Represent and manipulate time-series data and the many of the intricacies involved with this type of data ? How to visualize statistical information ? How to use pandas to solve several common data representation and analysis problems within finance In Detail You will learn how to use pandas to perform data analysis in Python. You will start with an overview of data analysis and iteratively progress from modeling data, to accessing data from remote sources, performing numeric and statistical analysis, through indexing and performing aggregate analysis, and finally to visualizing statistical data and applying pandas to finance. With the knowledge you gain from this book, you will quickly learn pandas and how it can empower you in the exciting world of data manipulation, analysis and science. Style and approach ? Step-by-step instruction on using pandas within an end-to-end framework of performing data analysis ? Practical demonstration of using Python and pandas using interactive and incremental examples