Expand your knowledge of computer vision by building amazing projects with OpenCV 3About This BookBuild computer vision projects to capture high-quality image data, detect and track objects, process the actions of humans or animals, and much moreDiscover practical and interesting innovations in computer vision while building atop a mature open-source library, OpenCV 3Familiarize yourself with multiple approaches and theories wherever critical decisions need to be madeWho This Book Is ForThis book is ideal for you if you aspire to build computer vision systems that are smarter, faster, more complex, and more practical than the competition. This is an advanced book intended for those who already have some experience in setting up an OpenCV development environment and building applications with OpenCV. You should be comfortable with computer vision concepts, object-oriented programming, graphics programming, IDEs, and the command line.What You Will LearnSelect and configure camera systems to see invisible light, fast motion, and distant objectsBuild a “camera trap”, as used by nature photographers, and process photos to create beautiful effectsDevelop a facial expression recognition system with various feature extraction techniques and machine learning methodsBuild a panorama Android application using the OpenCV stitching module in C++ with NDK supportOptimize your object detection model, make it rotation invariant, and apply scene-specific constraints to make it faster and more robustCreate a person identification and registration system based on biometric properties of that person, such as their fingerprint, iris, and faceFuse data from videos and gyroscopes to stabilize videos shot from your mobile phone and create hyperlapse style videosIn DetailComputer vision is becoming accessible to a large audience of software developers who can leverage mature libraries such as OpenCV. However, as they move beyond their first experiments in computer vision, developers may struggle to ensure that their solutions are sufficiently well optimized, well trained, robust, and adaptive in real-world conditions. With sufficient knowledge of OpenCV, these developers will have enough confidence to go about creating projects in the field of computer vision.This book will help you tackle increasingly challenging computer vision problems that you may face in your careers. It makes use of OpenCV 3 to work around some interesting projects. Inside these pages, you will find practical and innovative approaches that are battle-tested in the authors’ industry experience and research. Each chapter covers the theory and practice of multiple complementary approaches so that you will be able to choose wisely in your future projects. You will also gain insights into the architecture and algorithms that underpin OpenCV’s functionality.We begin by taking a critical look at inputs in order to decide which kinds of light, cameras, lenses, and image formats are best suited to a given purpose. We proceed to consider the finer aspects of computational photography as we build an automated camera to assist nature photographers. You will gain a deep understanding of some of the most widely applicable and reliable techniques in object detection, feature selection, tracking, and even biometric recognition. We will also build Android projects in which we explore the complexities of camera motion: first in panoramic image stitching and then in video stabilization.By the end of the book, you will have a much richer understanding of imaging, motion, machine learning, and the architecture of computer vision libraries and applications!Style and approachThis book covers a combination of theory and practice. We examine blueprints for specific projects and discuss the principles behind these blueprints, in detail.

Implement state-of-the-art techniques to visualize solutions to challenging problems in scientific computing, with the use of the SciPy stackAbout This BookMaster the theory and algorithms behind numerical recipes and how they can be applied to real-world problemsLearn to combine the most appropriate built-in functions from the SciPy stack by understanding the connection between the sources of your problem, volume of data, or computer architectureA comprehensive coverage of all the mathematical techniques needed to solve the presented topics, with a discussion of the relevant algorithms built in the SciPy stackWho This Book Is ForIf you are a mathematician, engineer, or computer scientist with a proficiency in Python and familiarity with IPython, this is the book for you. Some basic knowledge of numerical methods in scientific computing would be helpful.What You Will LearnMaster relevant algorithms used in symbolic or numerical mathematics to address approximation, interpolation, differentiation, integration, root-finding, and optimization of scalar or multi-variate functionsDevelop different algorithms and strategies to efficiently store and manipulate large matrices of data, in particular to solve systems of linear equations, or compute their eigenvalues/eigenvectorsUnderstand how to model physical problems with systems of differential equations and distinguish the factors that dictate the strategies to solve themPerform statistical analysis, hypothesis test design and resolution, or data mining at a higher level, and apply them to real-life problems in the field of data analysisGain insights on the power of distances, Delaunay triangulations and Voronoi diagrams for Computational Geometry, and apply them to various engineering problemsFamiliarize yourself with different techniques in signal/image processing, including filtering audio, images, or video to extract information, features, or remove componentsIn DetailThe SciPy stack is a collection of open source libraries of the powerful *ing language Python, together with its interactive shells. This environment offers a cutting-edge platform for numerical computation, programming, visualization and publishing, and is used by some of the world’s leading mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. It works on any operating system that supports Python and is very easy to install, and completely free of charge! It can effectively transform into a data-processing and system-prototyping environment, directly rivalling MATLAB and Octave.This book goes beyond a mere de*ion of the different built-in functions coded in the libraries from the SciPy stack. It presents you with a solid mathematical and computational background to help you identify the right tools for each problem in scientific computing and visualization. You will gain an insight into the best practices with numerical methods depending on the amount or type of data, properties of the mathematical tools employed, or computer architecture, among other factors.The book kicks off with a concise exploration of the basics of numerical linear algebra and graph theory for the treatment of problems that handle large data sets or matrices. In the subsequent chapters, you will delve into the depths of algorithms in symbolic algebra and numerical analysis to address modeling/simulation of various real-world problems with functions (through interpolation, approximation, or creation of systems of differential equations), and extract their representing features (zeros, extrema, integration or differentiation).Lastly, you will move on to advanced concepts of data analysis, image/signal processing, and computational geometry.Style and approachPacked with real-world examples, this book explores the mathematical techniques needed to solve the presented topics, and focuses on the algorithms built in the SciPy stack.

Install, configure, and support your XenApp systems with the power of Citrix XenAppAbout This BookFamiliarize yourself with Citrix applications and desktop virtualizationMaintain and troubleshoot your XenApp environment to minimize system downtimeA hands-on, step-by-step guide with a practical approach and real-world examples to get you up and running with XenApp systemsWho This Book Is ForThis book is intended for IT administrators and consultants who want to build application and desktop virtualization solutions for their employers and customers. No prior knowledge of Citrix technologies is required.What You Will LearnMake the use case for Citrix XenApp and design your first systemPrepare your existing IT infrastructure for XenApp and learn what licenses you needInstall and configure the XenApp infrastructureEnable access with StoreFront and NetScaler GatewayEnable load balancing with NetScalerMaintain servers and publish applications and desktopsManage printing in a Citrix environmentTroubleshoot your environment using advanced tools and methodologies employed by Citrix Escalation TeamsIn DetailIf you want to effectively deploy the various components of Citrix XenApp to create an enterprise environment for application and desktop delivery, this hands-on guide is perfect for you. You start off by understanding the need and benefits of Citrix XenApp with respect to Virtualization technology. After this, you will get to grips with the requirement analysis and designing aspect of building XenApp systems and all the necessary installation and configuration procedures for Citrix XenApp, StoreFront and NetScalar Gateway are explained one by one in detail.Step-by-step, you will learn to deploy your first XenApp with the Machine Creation Services method and Provisioning Services method. After this, you will explore the administering part of applications and systems, followed by printing in the XenApp environment. Next, you will learn all the trips and tricks required to troubleshoot and support the XenApp environment. By the end of this book, you will be ready to go live with your new XenApp environment.Style and approachThis is a step-by-step guide to technical implementations in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each component is deployed sequentially until a full solution is built. Basic as well as advanced features of the product are explored to appeal to the widest possible audience interested in the topic.

Design efficient machine learning systems that give you more accurate results About This Book Gain an understanding of the machine learning design process Optimize machine learning systems for improved accuracy Understand common programming tools and techniques for machine learning Develop techniques and strategies for dealing with large amounts of data from a variety of sources Build models to solve unique tasks Who This Book Is For This book is for data scientists, scientists, or just the curious. To get the most out of this book, you will need to know some linear algebra and some Python, and have a basic knowledge of machine learning concepts. What You Will Learn Gain an understanding of the machine learning design process Optimize the error function of your machine learning system Understand the common programming patterns used in machine learning Discover optimizing techniques that will help you get the most from your data Find out how to design models uniquely suited to your task In Detail Machine learning is one of the fastest growing trends in modern computing. It has applications in a wide range of fields, including economics, the natural sciences, web development, and business modeling. In order to harness the power of these systems, it is essential that the practitioner develops a solid understanding of the underlying design principles. There are many reasons why machine learning models may not give accurate results. By looking at these systems from a design perspective, we gain a deeper understanding of the underlying algorithms and the optimisational methods that are available. This book will give you a solid foundation in the machine learning design process, and enable you to build customised machine learning models to solve unique problems. You may already know about, or have worked with, some of the off-the-shelf machine learning models for solving common problems such as spam detection or movie classification, but to begin solving more complex problems, it is important to adapt these models to your own specific needs. This book will give you this understanding and more. Style and approach This easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide covers the most important machine learning models and techniques from a design perspective.

Explore the capabilities of Dynamics NAV 2016 and discover all you need to implement it About This Book Learn the key roles of your Dynamics NAV partner and the roles within your customer’s organization Create configuration packages and perform data migration on your own Find out how to troubleshoot your problems effectively with your Dynamics NAV partner Who This Book Is For This book is for Dynamics NAV partners and end users who want to know everything about Dynamics NAV implementations. It is aimed at those who want to be project managers or get involved with Dynamics NAV, but do not have the expertise to write code themselves. What You Will Learn Study the roles within a Dynamics NAV partner and within a customer’s company Create reusable data migration packages Work with the debugger to pinpoint error messages Get to grips with the key tables used in data reporting and analysis Successfully upgrade your installation to the latest version Manage and expand your existing installation with additional functionalities Explore the free third-party add-ons that can leverage your existing installation In Detail Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application used in all kinds of organizations around the world. It provides a great variety of functionality out-of-the-box in different topics such as accounting, sales, purchase processing, logistics, or manufacturing. It also allows companies to grow the application by customizing the solution to meet specific requirements. This book is a hands-on tutorial on working with a real Dynamics NAV implementation. You will learn about the team from your Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner as well as the team within the customer’s company. This book provides an insight into the different tools available to migrate data from the client’s legacy system into Microsoft Dynamics NAV. If you are already live with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, this books talks about upgrades and what to expect from them. We’ll also show you how to implement additional or expanding functionalities within your existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV installation, perform data analysis, debug error messages, and implement free third-party add-ons to your existing installation. This book will empower you with all the skills and knowledge you need for a successful implementation. Style and approach This book is step-by-step guide to implementing Dynamics NAV from start to finish.

Build and manage networks in OpenStack using Neutron About This Book Deploy an all-in-one cloud based on OpenStack Liberty (2015.2) using RDO Learn the fundamentals of the Neutron API including networks, subnets, and ports, and how to manage these resources in the cloud Build simple virtual network infrastructures in the cloud Who This Book Is For The book is for those who are new to OpenStack and Neutron who want to learn the cloud networking fundamentals and get started with OpenStack networking. Prior networking experience along with a virtual or physical server is recommended to follow along with the concepts demonstrated in the book. What You Will Learn Install the latest Liberty (2015.2) release of OpenStack using RDO in VirtualBox Discover the basics of the Neutron API, including networks, subnets, and ports Interact with Neutron using the CLI and Horizon dashboard Create networks and subnets that provide connectivity to instances Implement software routers that connect networks and provide network address translation Secure instances using Neutron's security group functionality In Detail The OpenStack Networking API offers users the ability to create and manage both basic and complex network architectures that blend the virtual and physical network infrastructure. This book kicks off by describing various components of Openstack Neutron and installing Ubuntu OpenStack based on Canonical's process. Further on, you will use various methods to interface with Neutron to create and manage network resources. You will also get to grips with the relationship between ports, networks, and subnets through diagrams and explanations, and see how the logical components are implemented via plugins and agents. Moving forward, you will learn how virtual switches are implemented and how to build Neutron routers. You will also configure networks, subnets, and routers to provide connectivity to instances using simple examples. At the end, you will configure and manage security groups, and will observe how these rules translate to iptables rules on the host machines. By the end of the book, you will be able to build basic network architectures using Neutron networks and routers in no time. Style and approach An easy-to-follow guide that covers the networking features of OpenStack and the core Neutron API components providing a solid foundation to deploy networks and instances.

Understand everything you need to know about Oracle’s Integration Cloud Service and how to utilize it optimally for your business About This Book The only guide to Integration Cloud Service in the market Focused on practical action to deliver business value A professional’s guide to an expensive product, providing comprehensive training, and showing how to extract real business value from the product Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for any IT professional working with ICS, any Oracle application or cloud solution developer or analyst who wants to work with ICS to deliver business value. What You Will Learn Use ICS to integrate different systems together without needing to be a developer Gain understanding of what a number of technologies and standards provide – without needing to understand the fine details of those standards and technologies Understand the use of connectors that Oracle provide from technology based connections such as file and database connections to SaaS solutions ranging from Salesforce to Twitter Enrich data and extend SaaS integration to route to different instances Utilize a number of tools to help develop and check that your integrations work before connecting to live systems Introduce and explain integration concepts so that the integrations created are maintainable and sustainable for the longer term Provide details on how to keep up to date with the features that Oracle and partners provide in the future Get special connections developed to work with ICS In Detail Businesses are built on data, and applications that access that data. In modern businesses the same cloud-based data stores and applications might be accessed by hundreds of different applications from thousands of different devices via APIs. To make this happen, APIs must be wired together i.e. integrated. Oracle Integration Cloud Service provides a complete method for integrating enterprise applications in the cloud. Integration Cloud Service (ICS) provides a cloud hosted means to integrate systems together using a graphical means to define and represent integrations. This book will be a comprehensive, hands-on guide to building successful, high-availability integrations on ICS. This book sets out to demonstrate how ICS can be used to effectively implement integrations that work both in the cloud and on premise. It starts with a fast, practical introduction to what ICS can do for your business and then shows how ICS allows you to develop integrations not only quickly but in a way that means they are maintainable and extensible. Gradually it moves into more advanced integrations, showing how to achieve sophisticated results with ICS and work with external applications. Finally the book shows you how to monitor cloud apps and go beyond ICS to build even more powerful integrated applications. By the end of the book, you will the knowledge on how to use ICS to solve your own integration needs and harness the technologies in a maintainable and sustainable manner. Style and approach This book will take a pragmatic approach and will be a business-focused guide to delivering business value with ICS.

Discover over 70 recipes that provide the solutions you need to know to face every challenge in Angular 2 head on About This Book · A first-rate reference guide with a clear structure and intuitive index that gives you as a developer exactly the information you want in exactly the way you want it · Covers no legacy material from the outdated Angular release candidates; it is up-to-date with the latest release of Angular 2.4 · All the code in the book is explicitly written out, and every piece of code shown is a step towards building a simple working example Who This Book Is For This book is for developers who are competent with JavaScript and are looking to dive headfirst into the TypeScript edition of Angular 2. This book is also geared towards developers with experience in Angular 1 who are looking to make the transition. What You Will Learn · Understand how to best move an Angular 1 application to Angular 2 · Build a solid foundational understanding of the core elements of Angular 2 such as components, forms, and services · Gain an ability to wield complex topics such as Observables and Promises · Properly implement applications utilizing advanced topics such as dependency injection · Know how to maximize the performance of Angular 2 applications · Understand the best ways to take an Angular 2 application from TypeScript in a code editor to a fully function application served on your site · Get to know the best practices when organizing and testing a large Angular 2 application In Detail Angular 2 introduces an entirely new way to build applications. It wholly embraces all the newest concepts that are built into the next generation of browsers, and it cuts away all the fat and bloat from Angular 1. This book plunges directly into the heart of all the most important Angular 2 concepts for you to conquer. In addition to covering all the Angular 2 fundamentals, such as components, forms, and services, it demonstrates how the framework embraces a range of new web technologies such as ES6 and TypeScript syntax, Promises, Observables, and Web Workers, among many others. This book covers all the most complicated Angular concepts and at the same time introduces the best practices with which to wield these powerful tools. It also covers in detail all the concepts you'll need to get you building applications faster. Oft-neglected topics such as testing and performance optimization are widely covered as well. A developer that reads through all the content in this book will have a broad and deep understanding of all the major topics in the Angular 2 universe. Style and approach This book follows a cookbook approach—each recipe presents a unique problem to which the solution is presented in a clear, concise, and manner step-by-step manner. With practical hands-on guidance in each and every recipe, you’ll be able to get to grips with the concepts.

A concise, fast-paced guide to orchestrating and deploying scalable services with Docker About This Book Explore the new features added to the core Docker Engine to make multi-container orchestration easy Leverage tools such as Docker Machine, Swarm, Compose, and third-party tools such as Kubernetes, Mesosphere, and CoreOS to orchestrate containers Use Docker Compose with Swarm and apply rolling updates for zero downtime deployments Who This Book Is For This book is aimed at Sysadmins and DevOps engineers who know what Docker does and are now looking to manage multiple containers on multiple hosts using the orchestration feature. What You Will Learn Build scalable, reliable services with Docker See how to manage a service in Docker using Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, and Mesosphere Discover simpler orchestration tools such as CoreOS/Fleet and Rancher Cattle Understand cluster-wide logging, system monitoring, and troubleshooting Build, test, and deploy containers using Continuous Integration Deploy cluster hosts on cloud services and automate your infrastructure In Detail Docker orchestration is what you need when transitioning from deploying containers individually on a single host to deploying complex multi-container apps on many machines. This book covers the new orchestration features of Docker 1.12 and helps you efficiently build, test, and deploy your application using Docker. You will be shown how to build multi-container applications using Docker Compose. You will also be introduced to the building blocks for multi-host Docker clusters such as registry, overlay networks, and shared storage using practical examples. This book gives an overview of core tools such as Docker Machine, Swarm, and Compose which will enhance your orchestration skills. You’ll learn how to set up a swarm using the decentralized building block. Next, you’ll be shown how to make the most out of the in-built orchestration feature of Docker engine and you’ll use third-party tools such as Kubernetes, Mesosphere, and CoreOS to orchestrate your existing process. Finally, you will learn to deploy cluster hosts on cloud services and automate your infrastructure. Style and approach This comprehensive guide will take you through the orchestration feature of Docker. Using practical examples, you will discover various tools that can be used to manage multiple containers with ease.

Expert tabular modeling techniques for building and deploying cutting-edge business analytical reporting solutions About This Book Build and deploy Tabular Model projects from relational data sources Leverage DAX and create high-performing calculated fields and measures Create ad-hoc reports based on a Tabular Model solution Useful tips to monitor and optimize your tabular solutions Who This Book Is For This book is for SQL BI professionals and Architects who want to exploit the full power of the new Tabular models in Analysis Services. Some knowledge of previous versions of Analysis services would be helpful but is not essential. What You Will Learn Learn all about Tabular services mode and how it speeds up development Build solutions using sample datasets Explore built-in actions and transitions in SSAS 2016 Implement row-column, and role-based security in a Tabular Data model Realize the benefits of in-memory and DirectQuery deployment modes Get up to date with the new features added to SQL Server 2016 Analysis Services Optimize Data Models and Relationships Usage In Detail SQL Server Analysis Service (SSAS) has been widely used across multiple businesses to build smart online analytical reporting solutions. It includes two different types of modeling for analysis services: Tabular and Multi Dimensional. This book covers Tabular modeling, which uses tables and relationships with a fast in-memory engine to provide state of the art compression algorithms and query performance. The book begins by quickly taking you through the concepts required to model tabular data and set up the necessary tools and services. As you learn to create tabular models using tools such as Excel and Power View, you’ll be shown various strategies to deploy your model on the server and choose a query mode (In-memory or DirectQuery) that best suits your reporting needs. You’ll also learn how to implement key and newly introduced DAX functions to create calculated columns and measures for your model data. Last but not least, you’ll be shown techniques that will help you administer and secure your BI implementation along with some widely used tips and tricks to optimize your reporting solution. By the end of this book, you’ll have gained hands-on experience with the powerful new features that have been added to Tabular models in SSAS 2016 and you’ll be able to improve user satisfaction with faster reports and analytical queries. Style and approach This book takes a practical, recipe-based approach where each recipe lists the steps to address or implement a solution. You will be provided with several approaches to creating a business intelligence semantic model using analysis services.

Build customized themes to make your Moodle courses engaging and interactive About This Book Leverage the power of Moodle 3 to create interactive and engaging themes for your courses Experience and integrate the power of Bootstrap and CSS into your Moodle app Implement your plans with illustrative examples to become a top notch designer Who This Book Is For If you are a Moodle administrator, developer, or designer and wish to enhance your Moodle site to make it visually attractive, then this book is for you. You should be familiar with web design techniques such as HTML and further experience with CSS would be helpful. What You Will Learn Plan a personalized Moodle theme from start to finish Install a Moodle theme in different operating systems and change Moodle’s theme settings Add your own customized logo and test your changes in several web browsers Customize the Moodle site to fit in with other elements such as websites and social networks, among others Create a design mock-up using graphics software Design themes that are capable of working with a huge number of different resolutions, screen sizes, screen orientations, and pixel densities Work with code to adjust the theme to users requirements Create new custom icons for your theme In Detail Theming is one of the main features of Moodle, and it can be used to customize your online courses and make them look exactly how you want them to,according to your target audience. If you have been looking for a book that will help you develop Moodle themes that you are proud of, and that your students will enjoy, then this is the book for you. We start off by introducing Moodle 3 and explaining what it is, how it works, and what tools you might need to create a stunning Moodle theme. We then show you how to choose and change the pre-installed Moodle themes in detailed steps, and explain what Moodle themes are and how they work. Next, we show you how to change an existing theme and test the changes that you have made. You can not only plan the customization of theme, but also tailor it using advanced Moodle theming processes; this book is your one-stop guide to creating your own personalized Moodle 3 theme. Style and approach This book acts as a comprehensive guide which helps you to create visually stunning and responsive themes to add that extra edge to your Moodle apps.

Transform physical phenomena into computer-acceptable data using a truly object-oriented language About This Book Create your own data acquisition system independently using LabVIEW and build interactive dashboards Collect data using National Instrument's and third-party, open source, affordable hardware Step-by-step real-world examples using various tools that illustrate the fundamentals of data acquisition Who This Book Is For If you are an engineer, scientist, experienced hobbyist, or student, you will highly benefit from the content and examples illustrated in this book. A working knowledge of precision testing, measurement instruments, and electronics, as well as a background in computer fundamentals and programming is expected. What You Will Learn Create a virtual instrument which highlights common functionality of LabVIEW Get familiarized with common buses such as Serial, GPIB, and SCPI commands Staircase signal acquisition using NI-DAQmx Discover how to measure light intensity and distance Master LabVIEW debugging techniques Build a data acquisition application complete with an installer and required drivers Utilize open source microcontroller Arduino and a 32-bit Arduino compatible Uno32 using LabVIEW programming environment In Detail NI LabVIEW's intuitive graphical interface eliminates the steep learning curve associated with text-based languages such as C or C++. LabVIEW is a proven and powerful integrated development environment to interact with measurement and control hardware, analyze data, publish results, and distribute systems. This hands-on tutorial guide helps you harness the power of LabVIEW for data acquisition. This book begins with a quick introduction to LabVIEW, running through the fundamentals of communication and data collection. Then get to grips with the auto-code generation feature of LabVIEW using its GUI interface. You will learn how to use NI-DAQmax Data acquisition VIs, showing how LabVIEW can be used to appropriate a true physical phenomenon (such as temperature, light, and so on) and convert it to an appropriate data type that can be manipulated and analyzed with a computer. You will also learn how to create Distribution Kit for LabVIEW, acquainting yourself with various debugging techniques offered by LabVIEW to help you in situations where bugs are not letting you run your programs as intended. By the end of the book, you will have a clear idea how to build your own data acquisition system independently and much more. Style and approach A hands-on practical guide that starts by laying down the software and hardware foundations necessary for subsequent data acquisition-intensive chapters. The book is packed full of specific examples with software screenshots and schematic diagrams to guide you through the creation of each virtual instrument.

Opera often seems to arouse either irrational enthusiasm or visceral dislike. Such madness, as Goethe wrote, is indispensable in all theater, and yet in practice, sentiment and passion must be balanced by sense and reason. Exploring this tension between madness and reason, Not without Madness presents new analytical approaches to thinking about eighteenth- and nineteenth-century opera through the lenses of its historical and cultural contexts.?In these twelve essays, Fabrizio Della Seta explores the concept of opera as a dramatic event and an essential moment in the history of theater. Examining the meaning of opera and the devices that produce and transmit this meaning, he looks at the complex verbal, musical, and scenic mechanisms in parts of La sonnambula, Ernani, Aida, Le nozze di Figaro, Macbeth, and Il trovatore. He argues that approaches to the study of opera must address performance, interpretation, composition, reception, and cultural ramifications. Purely musical analysis does not make sense unless we take into account music's dramatic function. Containing many essays available for the first time in English, Not without Madness bridges recent divisions in opera studies and will attract musicologists, musicians, and opera lovers alike.

The Sciences of the Soul is the first attempt to explain the development of the disciplinary conception of psychology from its appearance in the late sixteenth century to its redefinition at the end of the seventeenth and its emergence as an institutionalized field in the eighteenth. Fernando Vidal traces this development through university courses and textbooks, encyclopedias, and nonacademic books, as well as through various histories of psychology.?Vidal reveals that psychology existed before the eighteenth century essentially as a "e;physics of the soul,"e; and it belonged as much to natural philosophy as to Christian anthropology. It remained so until the eighteenth century, when the "e;science of the soul"e; became the "e;science of the mind."e; Vidal demonstrates that this Enlightenment refashioning took place within a Christian framework, and he explores how the preservation of the Christian idea of the soul was essential to the development of the science. Not only were most psychologists convinced that an empirical science of the soul was compatible with Christian faith; their perception that psychology preserved the soul also helped to elevate its rank as an empirical science. Broad-ranging and impeccably researched, this book will be of wide importance in the history and philosophy of psychology, the history of the human sciences more generally, and in the social and intellectual history of eighteenth-century Europe.

With global demand for energy poised to increase by more than half in the next three decades, the supply of safe, reliable, and reasonably priced gas and oil will continue to be of fundamental importance to modern economies. Central to this supply are the pipelines that transport this energy. And while the fundamental economics of the major pipeline networks are the same, the differences in their ownership, commercial development, and operation can provide insight into the workings of market institutions in various nations.?Drawing on a century of the world's experience with gas and oil pipelines, this book illustrates the importance of economics in explaining the evolution of pipeline politics in various countries. It demonstrates that institutional differences influence ownership and regulation, while rents and consumer pricing depend on the size and diversity of existing markets, the depth of regulatory institutions, and the historical structure of the pipeline businesses themselves. The history of pipelines is also rife with social conflict, and Makholm explains how and when institutions in a variety of countries have controlled pipeline behavior-either through economic regulation or government ownership-in the public interest.

As explorers and scientists have known for decades, the Neotropics harbor a fantastic array of our planet's mammalian diversity, from capybaras and capuchins to maned wolves and mouse opossums to sloths and sakis. This biological bounty can be attributed partly to the striking diversity of Neotropical landscapes and climates and partly to a series of continental connections that permitted intermittent faunal exchanges with Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and North America. Thus, to comprehend the development of modern Neotropical mammal faunas requires not only mastery of the Neotropics' substantial diversity, but also knowledge of mammalian lineages and landscapes dating back to the Mesozoic.Bones, Clones, and Biomes offers just that-an exploration of the development and relationships of the modern mammal fauna through a series of studies that encompass the last 100 million years and both Central and South America. This work serves as a complement to more taxonomically driven works, providing for readers the long geologic and biogeographic contexts that undergird the abundance and diversity of Neotropical mammals. Rather than documenting diversity or distribution, this collection traverses the patterns that the distributions and relationships across mammal species convey, bringing together for the first time geology, paleobiology, systematics, mammalogy, and biogeography. Of critical importance is the book's utility for current conservation and management programs, part of a rapidly rising conservation paleobiology initiative.

"e;American success or failure in Iraq may well depend on whether the Iraqis like American soldiers or not."e;?The U.S. military could certainly have used that bit of wisdom in 2003, as violence began to eclipse the Iraq War's early successes. Ironically, had the Army only looked in its own archives, they would have found it-that piece of advice is from a manual the U.S. War Department handed out to American servicemen posted in Iraq back in 1943.The advice in Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq during World War II,presented here in a new facsimile edition, retains a surprising, even haunting, relevance in light of today's muddled efforts to win Iraqi hearts and minds. Designed to help American soldiers understand and cope with what was at the time an utterly unfamiliar culture-the manual explains how to pronounce the word Iraq, for instance-this brief, accessible handbookmixes do-and-don't-style tips ("e;Always respect the Moslem women."e; "e;Talk Arabic if you can to the people. No matter how badly you do it, they will like it."e;) with general observations on Iraqi history and society. The book's overall message still rings true-dramatically so-more than sixty years later: treat an Iraqi and his family with honor and respect, and you will have a strong ally; treat him with disrespect and you will create an unyielding enemy.With a foreword by Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl reflecting on the manual's continuing applicability-and lamenting that it was unknown at the start of the invasion-this new edition of Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq will be essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of Iraq and the fate of the American soldiers serving there.

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Create fully-featured and highly functional iOS apps by writing tests firstAbout This BookLearn test-driven principles to help you build apps with fewer bugs and better designsBecome more efficient while working with Swift to move on to your next project faster!Learn how to incorporate all of the principles of test-driven development (TDD) in to your daily programming workflowWho This Book Is ForIf debugging iOS apps is a nerve-racking task for you and you are looking for a fix, this book is for you.What You Will LearnImplement TDD in swift application developmentGet to know the fundamentals, life cycle, and benefits of TDDExplore the tools and frameworks to effectively use TDDDevelop models and controllers driven by testsConstruct the network layer using stubsUse functional tests to ensure the app works as plannedAutomate and streamline the building, analysing, testing, and archiving of your iOS appsIn DetailTest-driven development (TDD) is a proven way to find software bugs early. Writing tests before your code improves the structure and maintainability of your app.Test-driven iOS Development with Swift will help you understand the process of TDD and how it impacts your applications written in Swift. Through practical, real-world examples, you’ll start seeing how to implement TDD in context. We will begin with an overview of your TDD workflow and then deep-dive into unit testing concepts and code cycles. We will showcase the workings of functional tests, which will help you improve the user interface. Finally, you will learn about automating deployments and continuous integration to run an environment.Style and approachThis is an easy-to-follow example-driven tutorial, packed with lots of tips and tricks that explore TDD bit-by-bit in the process of making an iOS application.

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

Design, process, and analyze large sets of complex data in real timeAbout This BookGet acquainted with transformations and database-level interactions, and ensure the reliability of messages processed using StormImplement strategies to solve the challenges of real-time data processingLoad datasets, build queries, and make recommendations using Spark SQLWho This Book Is ForIf you are a Big Data architect, developer, or a programmer who wants to develop applications/frameworks to implement real-time analytics using open source technologies, then this book is for you.What You Will LearnExplore big data technologies and frameworksWork through practical challenges and use cases of real-time analytics versus batch analyticsDevelop real-word use cases for processing and analyzing data in real-time using the programming paradigm of Apache StormHandle and process real-time transactional dataOptimize and tune Apache Storm for varied workloads and production deploymentsProcess and stream data with Amazon Kinesis and Elastic MapReducePerform interactive and exploratory data analytics using Spark SQLDevelop common enterprise architectures/applications for real-time and batch analyticsIn DetailEnterprise has been striving hard to deal with the challenges of data arriving in real time or near real time.Although there are technologies such as Storm and Spark (and many more) that solve the challenges of real-time data, using the appropriate technology/framework for the right business use case is the key to success. This book provides you with the skills required to quickly design, implement and deploy your real-time analytics using real-world examples of big data use cases.From the beginning of the book, we will cover the basics of varied real-time data processing frameworks and technologies. We will discuss and explain the differences between batch and real-time processing in detail, and will also explore the techniques and programming concepts using Apache Storm.Moving on, we’ll familiarize you with “Amazon Kinesis” for real-time data processing on cloud. We will further develop your understanding of real-time analytics through a comprehensive review of Apache Spark along with the high-level architecture and the building blocks of a Spark program.You will learn how to transform your data, get an output from transformations, and persist your results using Spark RDDs, using an interface called Spark SQL to work with Spark.At the end of this book, we will introduce Spark Streaming, the streaming library of Spark, and will walk you through the emerging Lambda Architecture (LA), which provides a hybrid platform for big data processing by combining real-time and precomputed batch data to provide a near real-time view of incoming data.Style and approachThis step-by-step is an easy-to-follow, detailed tutorial, filled with practical examples of basic and advanced features.Each topic is explained sequentially and supported by real-world examples and executable code snippets.