The first three volumes of the internationally bestselling Last Apprentice series! Thomas Ward is the seventh son of a seventh son. He is destined to battle the creatures of the dark: witches, boggarts, ghosts, and more. And he will, as the apprentice to the local Spook. But can he survive when so many apprentices have failedThis ebook collection of the acclaimed series that inspired the major motion picture Seventh Son includes Book One: Revenge of the Witch; Book Two: Curse of the Bane; and Book Three: Night of the Soul Stealer.

This collection is perfect for anyone looking to try out three bestselling series that are fun, easy-to-read, loaded with humor and art, and just right for young independent readers. In includes:Roscoe Riley Rules #1: Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs: If the kids can't sit still for the class performance, Roscoe's teacher could be in big trouble. Fortunately Roscoe has a plan to save her—a super, mega, gonzo plan! What could go wrong?My Weird School #1: Miss Daisy Is Crazy!: In this first book in the outrageously funny series that has reached millions of readers around the world, second-grade teacher Miss Daisy is in over her head. She doesn't even know how to add or subtract! But the kids have other things on their minds. Principal Klutz has promised that if they read a million pages in books, they can turn the school into a video-game arcade for one whole night!Alien in My Pocket #1: Blast Off!: When a four-inch-tall alien crash-lands through Zack McGee's bedroom window, Zack is sure he's about to become the first victim in a new War of the Worlds. But when the alien turns out to have weapons that are more ticklish than terrifying, Zack realizes that rather than protect the world from the alien it's up to him to protect the alien in his pocket from the world.

From master storyteller William Dietrich come books 4-6 in his bestselling Ethan Gage adventure series: The Barbary Pirates, The Emerald Storm, and The Barbed Crown.

Get four novels in Kim Harrison's #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows series as one e-book! This bundle includes For a Few Demons More, The Outlaw Demon Wails, White Witch, Black Curse, and Black Magic Sanction. Discover this great series at a special price!For a Few Demons MoreDespite dating one vampire and living with another, Rachel Morgan has always managed to stay just ahead of trouble . . . until now.?A fiendish serial killer stalks the Hollows, and no one living in or around Cincinnati—human, inhuman, or undead—is safe.?An ancient artifact may be the key to stopping the murderer—a mysterious relic that is now in the hands of Rachel Morgan, fearless independent bounty hunter and reckless witch. But revealing it could ignite a battle to the death among the vast and varied local supernatural races.?Rachel's been lucky so far. But even she can't hide from catastrophe forever.The Outlaw Demon WailsWhen you dance with demons, you lay your soul on the line …?In the Hollows, where the natural and the supernatural co-exist—not always peacefully—desperate times often call for unorthodox measures. But bounty hunter-witch Rachel Morgan did the absolutely unthinkable to save the lives of her friends: she willingly trafficked in forbidden demon magic. And now her sins have come home to haunt her.?As Rachel hunts for the truth behind a terrifying murder, the discovery of a shocking family secret is about to throw her entire life into question. And the long-lost ancient knowledge she seeks resides in the demonic ever-after.?But there are some lines that should never be crossed—like the one Rachel Morgan's stepping over . . .?Again!White Witch, Black CurseKick-ass bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan has crossed forbidden lines, taken demonic hits, and still stands. But the death of her lover struck her harder than she ever thought possible. She won't rest until his murder is solved . . . and avenged.?But a new predator is moving to the apex of the?Inderlander?food chain—and now Rachel's past is coming back to haunt her.?Literally.Black Magic SanctionRachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter—and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now.?Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment—her worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom. But trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and a lowlife ex-boyfriend-turned-thief.

With the real-kid humor that has earned Dan Gutman millions of fans around the world, and featuring weird-but-true American tourist destinations, The Genius Files is a one-of-a-kind mix of geography and fun. This collection includes the first four novels in this bestselling series.The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable: The most exciting road trip in history begins! In this action-packed, New York Times bestselling adventure, twelve-year-old twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald embark on a family vacation you'll have to read to believe. As Coke and Pepsi dodge nefarious villains from the Pez museum in California all the way to the Infinity Room in Wisconsin, black-and-white photographs and maps put young readers right into the action.The Genius Files #2: Never Say Genius: Coke and Pepsi McDonald never asked to be geniuses. They never asked to get lowered into a basket of boiling French fries, either. And they certainly never asked to be frozen in soft-serve ice cream, stampeded in a wild stadium riot, or kidnapped on a high-speed roller coaster. But that's what happens when a red-haired villain named Archie Clone is chasing you across America. This just might be the most dangerous road trip in history—and the most awesome!The Genius Files #3: You Only Die Twice: As the twins continue their family road trip from Washington D.C. through the South, it will take every bit of their genius abilities to outwit their wacky enemies. It doesn't help that their parents remain totally oblivious! When they finally get to Graceland, Elvis's home in Memphis, Tennessee, Coke and Pepsi come to an explosive conclusion you'll have to read to believe!The Genius Files #4: From Texas with Love: After their explosive escape at Graceland, twins Coke and Pepsi are ready to resume their trip across America. They travel through Arkansas and Oklahoma, visiting weird-but-true tourist stops along the way, and finally end up in Texas, home of the Weird Capital of the Country, Austin. The twins' many enemies—the bowler dudes, Mrs. Higgins, and Dr. Warsaw—all swear that they're done chasing Coke and Pepsi for good. But when the twins start receiving more codes and ciphers from a mysterious robotic voice, they know someone's after them. They just have to figure out who before the mystery villain finds them first.

Here's a haunting two-book collection that's perfect for fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.Asylum: Madeleine Roux's New York Times bestselling Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-illustrated novel that Publishers Weekly called "a strong YA debut that reveals the enduring impact of buried trauma on a place." Featuring found photographs from real asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Asylum is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.Sanctum: An Asylum Novel: In this haunting, fast-paced sequel to the New York Times bestselling photo-illustrated novel Asylum, three teens must unlock some long-buried secrets from the past before the past comes back to get them first. Featuring found photographs, many from real vintage carnivals, Sanctum is a mind-bending reading experience that blurs the lines between past and present, genius and insanity

With this collection of the first four novels in Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures, readers will soar through unforgettable adventure, witness friendship at its best, and learn tons of fun facts about the place Stanley visits! And for parents and teachers, each Flat Stanley book is aligned to the Common Core State Standards, including multicultural adventure, plot and character development story elements, and compare and contrast.Includes:#1: The Mount Rushmore Calamity: The whole Lambchop family is off to see Mount Rushmore. But when Flat Stanley and his brother, Arthur, team up with a scrappy cowgirl named Calamity Jasper, their vacation turns into the Wild West experience of a lifetime.#2: The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery: Ever since Stanley was flattened by a bulletin board, there are places he can get to that no one else can. So when Stanley receives a letter from an archaeologist, he travels by airmail to Egypt to help find an ancient treasure deep in the heart of a great pyramid. But what if even the flattest boy on earth can't wriggle out of this dark tomb—and the terrible mess he finds himself in?#3: The Japanese Ninja Surprise: Stanley and his brother, Arthur, are such huge fans of the movie star ninja Oda Nobu that they decide to send him something even better than fan mail—Stanley himself! But when trouble surprises them, it will take a real hero to save the day.#4: The Intrepid Canadian Expedition: Stanley Lambchop and his family are in British Columbia, Canada, for some skiing and winter fun. But when Stanley and his new friend Nick go snowboarding—with Stanley as the snowboard, of course—they take a midair tumble just as the wind picks up . . . and find themselves floating in an amazing Canadian cross-country journey that might just be Stanley's wildest adventure yet!

With this collection of all twelve novels in Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures, readers will soar through unforgettable adventure, witness friendship at its best, and learn tons of fun facts about the place Stanley visits! And for parents and teachers, each Flat Stanley book is aligned to the Common Core State Standards, including multicultural adventure, plot and character development story elements, and compare and contrast.Includes:#1: The Mount Rushmore Calamity#2: The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery#3: The Japanese Ninja Surprise#4: The Intrepid Canadian Expedition#5: The Amazing Mexican Secret#6: The African Safari Discovery#7: The Flying Chinese Wonders#8: The Australian Boomerang Bonanza#9: The US Capital Commotion#10: Showdown at the Alamo#11: Framed in France#12: Escape to California

New York Times bestselling author and former NFL defensive end Tim Green's football stories are packed with sports action and emotional heart that will keep kids on the edge of their seats. This collection contains four bestselling novels in the series.The Big Time: Things couldn't be going better for Troy White. The Atlanta Falcons' football genius is at the top of his game, helping the team get to the playoffs. Agents and lawyers are knocking on his door with big-money offers for the upcoming season. And his own football team has just won the Georgia State Championship! Troy's celebrating with his friends at linebacker Seth Halloway's mansion when another lawyer comes knocking—and he says, "I think I'm your father." In that instant, Troy's life is changed.Deep Zone: From the moment two football champs cross paths, Troy White and Ty Lewis begin to size each other up. But when the two rivals find themselves somehow tangled in the same dangerous web of deceit, they discover that they have more in common than their skill at football. Uniting Troy, first seen in the New York Times bestselling Football Genius, and Ty, who was chased by the Mafia in Football Hero, this fourth book in the Football Genius series delivers high-stakes action on and off the field.Perfect Season: Troy's dreams of the big time have backfired. Sure, he's moved to New Jersey to start his new job as "genius" for the New York Jets, but his dad has taken his entire salary, leaving Troy and his mom broke. Now Troy has no hope of going to private school and playing for a football powerhouse with his cousin Ty. But when he gets Seth to coach his public school team, Troy feels ready for a perfect season. He doesn't guess that he'll be struggling against those who want him to lose. When Troy's talent for calling plays slips and his abilities as a quarterback are threatened, he's got to dig deep.Unstoppable: If anyone understands the phrase "tough luck," it's Harrison. As a foster kid in a cruel home, he knows his dream of one day playing in the NFL is a longshot. Then Harrison is brought into a new home with kind, loving parents—his new dad is even a football coach. But Harrison's good luck can't last forever. When a routine sports injury leads to a devastating diagnosis, it will take every ounce of Harrison's determination not to give up for good. Inspired by interviews with real-life cancer survivors and insider sports experience, this unforgettable New York Times bestseller shows a brave boy who learns what it truly means to be unstoppable. As National Ambassador for Young People's Literature emeritus Jon Scieszka said, Unstoppable is "absolutely heroic, and something every guy should read."

“Excellent.” ?—The Times (London)Growing up in Texas, Ben experienced basketball as a mostly solitary pursuit, one he gave up after riding the bench in high school. But as his college classmates prepare for the real world, Ben is seized by an idea. All he needs is a video camera, an empty court, and his mother’s German citizenship.Improbably, he lands a roster spot on a lower division pro team in Landshut, forty-five minutes outside Munich. It’s Ben’s first taste of competition in years, not to mention his first job. And like most jobs, it’s defined by repetition, boredom, and gossip. There’s Charlie, the trash-talking mercenary from Chicago; the coach, Herr Henkel, a recently retired player anxious to justify his paycheck; and Karl (based on the author’s real life encounters with Dirk Nowitzki), a gangly teenage prodigy flashing the raw talent that will make him an NBA star. As a group of men learn how to navigate one another, Ben falls in love with the young mother of a teammate’s child, and begins an affair that will change his life.“Markovits draws [himself] with exceptional delicacy. . . . This is the territory of the rites-of-passage novel, but it is territory that the author navigates with subtlety and poignancy.”—The Guardian (London)

Carcass Trade by Noreen Ayres has de*ive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

Why would anyone want to kill Jerry Dwyer, the goofy, pleasant college kid who sold coffee at a convenience storeWhen the trail leads to the rough ex-con who is dating Smokey’s best friend, the case takes an alarming turn and Smokey must save her friend from a seductive, dangerously amoral criminal.

The epic tale of two families wrestling with questions of loyalty, liberty, and love during the American RevolutionAt the dawn of the American Revolution, young Isabella Linwood is poised to marry a well-to-do English nobleman. Meanwhile her true love, Eliot Lee, has just joined George Washington's army. In Catharine Maria Sedgwick's classic tale of two families torn apart by war, the loyalist Linwoods and revolutionary Lees must reckon with their beliefs and desires in a young republic still defining itself. Over the course of her conversion from proud Tory to ardent rebel, Isabella fosters a growing sense of independence, systematically questioning the institutions taken for granted all around her—from colonialism to slavery, patriarchy to aristocracy. Will her rebellious behavior free her from society's shackles, or only confirm the power of the status quo?

From master storyteller William Dietrich come books 1-3 in his bestselling Ethan Gage adventure series: Napoleon's Pyramids, The Rosetta Key, and The Dakota Cipher.

Over 35 recipes to design and implement uniquely styled maps using the Mapbox platform About This Book Design and develop beautifully styled maps using TileMill, MapBox Studio, and CartoCSS Get to grips with the mapbox.js and Leaflet to create visually stunning web and mobile applications An easy-to-follow, quick reference guide to integrate powerful APIs and services like Foursquare, Fusion Tables, Geoserver, and CartoDB to populate your maps Who This Book Is For If you are a web developer seeking for GIS expertise on how to create, style, and publish interactive and unique styled maps, then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of programming and java*s is assumed. What You Will Learn Get accustomed to the MapBox Editor to visually style your maps Learn everything about CartoCSS, and how it will help you fine tune your styled maps Use MapBox Studio and Tilemill to generate your own tiles and vector maps Publish your maps using a variety of technologies like node.js, PHP, and Geoserver Integrate with third party APIs and services to populate your maps with public or private data Create many different map visualization styles like choropleth and heat maps, add interactivity, and even learn how to animate data over time Work with many different data formats and external services to create robust maps Learn to use MapBox GL to create a mobile application In Detail Maps are an essential element in today’s location aware applications. Right from displaying earth surface information to creating thematic maps displaying plethora of information, most of the developers lack the necessary knowledge to create customizable maps with combination of various tools and libraries. The MapBox platform is one such platform which offers all the tools and API required to create and publish a totally customizable map. Starting with building your first map with the online MapBox Editor, we will take you all the way to building advanced web and mobile applications with totally customizable map styles. Through the course of chapters we’ll learn CartoCSS styling language and understand the various components of MapBox platform and their corresponding JavaScript API. In the initial few chapters we will dive deeper into the TileMill and MapBox Studio components of MapBox and use them to generate custom styled map tiles and vector maps. Furthermore, we will publish these custom maps using PHP, node.js and third party tools like Geoserver. We’ll also learn to create different visualizations and map styles like a choropleth map, a heat map and add user interactivity using a UFTGrid. Moving on, we dive into advanced concepts and focus on integration with third party services like Foursquare, Google FusionTables, CartoDB, and Torque to help you populate and even animate your maps. In the final chapter we’ll learn to use the Mapbox SDK to create and publish interactive maps for the iOS platform. By the end of this book, you will learn about MapBox GL and how to create a fully functional, location-aware mobile app, using the maps styles created in the recipes. Style and approach An easy-to-use recipe driven book that will not just serve code samples, but also explains all the theory and concepts required to fully understand each recipe.

Get unstuck and start stacking! About This Book Easily fix the nagging problems that commonly plague OpenStack and become the go-to person in your organization Get better equipped to troubleshoot and solve common problems in performance, availability, and automation that confront production-ready OpenStack environments Save time and decrease frustration by solving significant issues that arise from OpenStack deployments pertaining to storage and networking Who This Book Is For You will need a basic understanding of OpenStack, Linux, and Cloud computing. If you have an understanding of Linux, this book will help you leverage that knowledge in the world of OpenStack, giving you confidence to tackle most issues that may arise. What You Will Learn Diagnose and remediate authentication and authorization problems in Keystone Fix common issues with images served through Glance Master the art of troubleshooting Neutron networking Navigate and overcome problems with Nova Troubleshoot and resolve Cinder block storage issues Identify and correct Swift object storage problems Isolate and fix issues caused by Heat orchestration Leverage Ceilometer and other metering and monitoring tools for effective troubleshooting In Detail OpenStack is a collection of software projects that work together to provide a cloud fabric. OpenStack is one of the fastest growing open source projects in history that unlocks cloud computing for everyone. With OpenStack, you are able to create public or private clouds on your own hardware. The flexibility and control afforded by OpenStack puts the cloud within reach of anyone willing to learn this technology. Starting with an introduction to OpenStack troubleshooting tools, we’ll walk through each OpenStack service and how you can quickly diagnose, troubleshoot, and correct problems in your OpenStack. Understanding the various projects and how they interact is essential for anyone attempting to troubleshoot an OpenStack cloud. We will start by explaining each of the major components and the dependencies between them, and move on to show you how to identify and utilize an effective set of OpenStack troubleshooting tools and fix common Keystone problems. Next, we will expose you to common errors and problems you may encounter when using the OpenStack Block Storage service (Cinder). We will then examine Heat, the OpenStack Orchestration Service, where you will learn how to trace errors, determine their root cause, and effectively correct the issue. Finally, you will get to know the best practices to architect your OpenStack cloud in order to achieve optimal performance, availability, and reliability. Style and approach This is straight-to-the point guide to fixing your OpenStack cluster. Common problems are identified and suggestions to resolve these problems are presented in a simple, easy-to-understand manner.

Over 50 practical recipes that will help you realize the full potential of Magento in order to build a professional online store About This Book Take advantage of the latest features in Magento 2 to set up an e-commerce store that fits your business needs Packed with several advanced recipes, not just to manage your online store, but to extend and design it as well Written in a cookbook style, you can pick and choose your recipe to carry out your day- to- day Magento store tasks Who This Book Is For The book is for existing Magento users who want to gain further expertise and insights into managing, designing, and extending their online store in Magento to fit their business needs. Working knowledge of Magento and basic familiarity with programming is expected. What You Will Learn Set up a Magento 2 project on Apache or Nginx. Transfer your Magento 1 database to Magento 2 using the Magento 2 system tools. Boost the performance of Magento 2 by enabling different types of caching. Build a Magento 2 multi-store by creating a root catalog, subdirectories, and products. Create and manage pages, blocks, and front-end apps. Manage your Magento store by setting up the correct TAX rules. Design custom themes within the Magento 2 framework. Create basic and advanced extensions using Magento 2. In Detail Magento 2 is an open source e-commerce platform that has all the functionality to function from small to large online stores. It is preferred by developers and merchants due to its new architecture, which makes it possible to extend the functionalities with plugins, a lot of which are now created by the community. This merchant and developer guide is packed with recipes that cover all aspects of Magento 2. The recipes start with simple how-to’s then delve into more advanced topics as the book progresses. We start with the basics of setting up a Magento 2 project on Apache or Nginx. Next, you will learn about basics including system tools and caching to get your Magento 2 system ready for the real work. We move on to simple tasks such as managing your store and catalog configuration. When you are familiar with this, we cover more complex features such as module and extension development. Then we will jump to the final part: advanced Magento 2 extensions. By the end of this book, you’ll be competent with all the development phases of Magento 2 and its most common elements. Style and approach Step by step guide for real world tasks for Magento users to gain a more advanced insight on managing, extending and designing their e-commerce store to fit their business needs.

Employ the most advanced pentesting techniques and tools to build highly-secured systems and environments About This Book Learn how to build your own pentesting lab environment to practice advanced techniques Customize your own *s, and learn methods to exploit 32-bit and 64-bit programs Explore a vast variety of stealth techniques to bypass a number of protections when penetration testing Who This Book Is For This book is for anyone who wants to improve their skills in penetration testing. As it follows a step-by-step approach, anyone from a novice to an experienced security tester can learn effective techniques to deal with highly secured environments. Whether you are brand new or a seasoned expert, this book will provide you with the skills you need to successfully create, customize, and plan an advanced penetration test. What You Will Learn A step-by-step methodology to identify and penetrate secured environments Get to know the process to test network services across enterprise architecture when defences are in place Grasp different web application testing methods and how to identify web application protections that are deployed Understand a variety of concepts to exploit software Gain proven post-exploitation techniques to exfiltrate data from the target Get to grips with various stealth techniques to remain undetected and defeat the latest defences Be the first to find out the latest methods to bypass firewalls Follow proven approaches to record and save the data from tests for analysis In Detail The defences continue to improve and become more and more common, but this book will provide you with a number or proven techniques to defeat the latest defences on the networks. The methods and techniques contained will provide you with a powerful arsenal of best practices to increase your penetration testing successes. The processes and methodology will provide you techniques that will enable you to be successful, and the step by step instructions of information gathering and intelligence will allow you to gather the required information on the targets you are testing. The exploitation and post-exploitation sections will supply you with the tools you would need to go as far as the scope of work will allow you. The challenges at the end of each chapter are designed to challenge you and provide real-world situations that will hone and perfect your penetration testing skills. You will start with a review of several well respected penetration testing methodologies, and following this you will learn a step-by-step methodology of professional security testing, including stealth, methods of evasion, and obfuscation to perform your tests and not be detected! The final challenge will allow you to create your own complex layered architecture with defences and protections in place, and provide the ultimate testing range for you to practice the methods shown throughout the book. The challenge is as close to an actual penetration test assignment as you can get! Style and approach The book follows the standard penetration testing stages from start to finish with step-by-step examples. The book thoroughly covers penetration test expectations, proper scoping and planning, as well as enumeration and foot printing

Develop your first interactive 2D platformer game by learning the fundamentals of C# About This Book Get to grips with the fundamentals of *ing in C# with Unity Create an awesome, 2D platformer game from scratch using the principles of object-oriented programming and coding in C# This is a step-by-step guide to learn the fundamentals of C# *ing to develop GameObjects and master the basics of the new UI system in Unity Who This Book Is For The book is targeted at beginner level Unity developers with no programming experience. If you are a Unity developer and you wish to learn how to write C# *s and code by creating games, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn Understand the fundamentals of variables, methods, and code syntax in C# Get to know about techniques to turn your game idea into working project Use loops and collections efficiently in Unity to reduce the amount of code Develop a game using the object-oriented programming principles Generate infinite levels for your game Create and code a good-looking functional UI system for your game Publish and share your game with users In Detail Unity is a cross-platform game engine that is used to develop 2D and 3D video games. Unity 5 is the latest version, released in March 2015, and adds a real-time global illumination to the games, and its powerful new features help to improve a game’s efficiency. This book will get you started with programming behaviors in C# so you can create 2D games in Unity. You will begin by installing Unity and learning about its features, followed by creating a C# *. We will then deal with topics such as unity *ing for you to understand how codes work so you can create and use C# variables and methods. Moving forward, you will find out how to create, store, and retrieve data from collection of objects. You will also develop an understanding of loops and their use, and you’ll perform object-oriented programming. This will help you to turn your idea into a ready-to-code project and set up a Unity project for production. Finally, you will discover how to create the GameManager class to manage the game play loop, generate game levels, and develop a simple UI for the game. By the end of this book, you will have mastered the art of applying C# in Unity. Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide to developing a game from scratch by applying the fundamentals of C# and Unity *ing.

Understand the fundamentals of machine learning with R and build your own dynamic algorithms to tackle complicated real-world problems successfully About This Book Get to grips with the concepts of machine learning through exciting real-world examples Visualize and solve complex problems by using power-packed R constructs and its robust packages for machine learning Learn to build your own machine learning system with this example-based practical guide Who This Book Is For If you are interested in mining useful information from data using state-of-the-art techniques to make data-driven decisions, this is a go-to guide for you. No prior experience with data science is required, although basic knowledge of R is highly desirable. Prior knowledge in machine learning would be helpful but is not necessary. What You Will Learn Utilize the power of R to handle data extraction, manipulation, and exploration techniques Use R to visualize data spread across multiple dimensions and extract useful features Explore the underlying mathematical and logical concepts that drive machine learning algorithms Dive deep into the world of analytics to predict situations correctly Implement R machine learning algorithms from scratch and be amazed to see the algorithms in action Write reusable code and build complete machine learning systems from the ground up Solve interesting real-world problems using machine learning and R as the journey unfolds Harness the power of robust and optimized R packages to work on projects that solve real-world problems in machine learning and data science In Detail Data science and machine learning are some of the top buzzwords in the technical world today. From retail stores to Fortune 500 companies, everyone is working hard to making machine learning give them data-driven insights to grow their business. With powerful data manipulation features, machine learning packages, and an active developer community, R empowers users to build sophisticated machine learning systems to solve real-world data problems. This book takes you on a data-driven journey that starts with the very basics of R and machine learning and gradually builds upon the concepts to work on projects that tackle real-world problems. You’ll begin by getting an understanding of the core concepts and definitions required to appreciate machine learning algorithms and concepts. Building upon the basics, you will then work on three different projects to apply the concepts of machine learning, following current trends and cover major algorithms as well as popular R packages in detail. These projects have been neatly divided into six different chapters covering the worlds of e-commerce, finance, and social-media, which are at the very core of this data-driven revolution. Each of the projects will help you to understand, explore, visualize, and derive insights depending upon the domain and algorithms. Through this book, you will learn to apply the concepts of machine learning to deal with data-related problems and solve them using the powerful yet simple language, R. Style and approach The book is an enticing journey that starts from the very basics to gradually pick up pace as the story unfolds. Each concept is first defined in the larger context of things succinctly, followed by a detailed explanation of their application. Each topic is explained with the help of a project that solves a real real-world problem involving hands-on work thus giving you a deep insight into the world of machine learning.

Discover the power of Drools 6 and Business Rules for developing complex scenarios in your applications About This Book Implement and model different rules using the DRL full syntax Model complex business decisions and domain models in order to automate and improve your operational decisions with the Drools framework A practical, fast-paced, hands-on guide to help you use the different components provided by the Drools Rule Engine Who This Book Is For This book is for Java developers and architects who need to have a deep understanding of how to create or integrate your applications with the Drools Rules Framework. The book assumes that you know the Java language well and also have experience with some widely used frameworks, such as Spring. You should also know the basics of Maven-based applications. What You Will Learn Automate your application’s decisions, such as promotion applying, discount policies, fraud detection, and more. Quickly get started with writing your first rules using the DRL full syntax. Discover the power of the new syntax components of the rule language. Define inferences in your business rules to simplify complex decisions. Write decision tables, templates,domain-specific languages, and scorecards, and learn how to map them to the Drools framework. Harness the full operational power of Drools through all of its configuration points. Use Drools configurations and architectures for different environments and scenarios. In Detail Mastering JBoss Drools 6 will provide you with the knowledge to develop applications involving complex scenarios. You will learn how to use KIE modules to create and execute Business Rules, and how the PHREAK algorithm internally works to drive the Rule Engine decisions. This book will also cover the relationship between Drools and jBPM, which allows you to enrich your applications by using Business Processes. You will be briefly introduced to the concept of complex event processing (Drools CEP) where you will learn how to aggregate and correlate your data based on temporal conditions. You will also learn how to define rules using domain-specific languages, such as spreadsheets, database entries, PMML, and more. Towards the end, this book will take you through the integration of Drools with the Spring and Camel frameworks for more complex applications. Style and approach Approached from a developer’s perspective, the book teaches you all the advanced concepts of Business Rules applicable examples with helpful screenshots, diagrams, tutorials, and examples.