Help your organization join the DevOps revolution About This Book ? Helps you skill up your DevOps knowledge without a strong set of prerequisites ? Deliver continuously improved software by showcasing the most advanced tools and techniques ? Acquire a deeper insight into implementing DevOps in your organization and deliver results from day 1 Who This Book Is For This book is written for engineers and companies that want to learn the minimum set of required technologies and processes to be successful in the DevOps world. This book also targets system administrators, developers, and IT professionals who would like to employ DevOps techniques and best practices to manage IT infrastructures or would like to acquire the necessary skills needed to work in DevOps teams. What You Will Learn ? Master development best practices. ? Understand how the Agile Delivery Methodology helps you ensure accuracy and quality. ? Analyze branching strategies such as branch creation, merging, and synchronization. ? Learn to automate builds to deploy and deliver code faster and more often ? Explore testing frameworks and how to automate testing ? Learn to put specific metrics in place to measure ROI of DevOps and monitor logs and events in a system In Detail This book follows a unique approach to modern DevOps using cutting-edge tools and technologies such as Ansible, Kubernetes, and Google Cloud Platform. This book starts by explaining the organizational alignment that has to happen in every company that wants to implement DevOps in order to be effective, and the use of cloud datacenters in combination with the most advanced DevOps tools to get the best out of a small team of skilled engineers. It also delves into how to use Kubernetes to run your applications in Google Cloud Platform, minimizing the friction and hassle of maintaining a cluster but ensuring its high availability. By the end of this book, you will be able to realign teams in your company and create a Continuous Delivery pipeline with Kubernetes and Docker. With strong monitoring in place, you will also be able to react to adverse events in your system, minimizing downtime and improving the overall up-time and stability of your system. Style and approach This book takes a step-by-step practical approach to the implementation of DevOps. This book will teach you how to enable IT organizations to deliver faster and smarter through a unique approach using Code-Build-Test-Release-Configure-Monitor (CBTRCM).

Master the art of machine learning with .NET and gain insight into real-world applications About This Book Based on .NET framework 4.6.1, includes examples on ASP.NET Core 1.0 Set up your business application to start using machine learning techniques Familiarize the user with some of the more common .NET libraries for machine learning Implement several common machine learning techniques Evaluate, optimize and adjust machine learning models Who This Book Is For This book is targeted at .Net developers who want to build complex machine learning systems. Some basic understanding of data science is required. What You Will Learn Write your own machine learning applications and experiments using the latest .NET framework, including .NET Core 1.0 Set up your business application to start using machine learning. Accurately predict the future using regressions. Discover hidden patterns using decision trees. Acquire, prepare, and combine datasets to drive insights. Optimize business throughput using Bayes Classifier. Discover (more) hidden patterns using KNN and Na?ve Bayes. Discover (even more) hidden patterns using K-Means and PCA. Use Neural Networks to improve business decision making while using the latest ASP.NET technologies. Explore “Big Data”, distributed computing, and how to deploy machine learning models to IoT devices – making machines self-learning and adapting Along the way, learn about Open Data, Bing maps, and MBrace In Detail .Net is one of the widely used platforms for developing applications. With the meteoric rise of Machine learning, developers are now keen on finding out how can they make their .Net applications smarter. Also, .NET developers are interested into moving into the world of devices and how to apply machine learning techniques to, well, machines. This book is packed with real-world examples to easily use machine learning techniques in your business applications. You will begin with introduction to F# and prepare yourselves for machine learning using .NET framework. You will be writing a simple linear regression model using an example which predicts sales of a product. Forming a base with the regression model, you will start using machine learning libraries available in .NET framework such as Math.NET, Numl.NET and Accord.NET with the help of a sample application. You will then move on to writing multiple linear regressions and logistic regressions. You will learn what is open data and the awesomeness of type providers. Next, you are going to address some of the issues that we have been glossing over so far and take a deep dive into obtaining, cleaning, and organizing our data. You will compare the utility of building a KNN and Naive Bayes model to achieve best possible results. Implementation of Kmeans and PCA using Accord.NET and Numl.NET libraries is covered with the help of an example application. We will then look at many of issues confronting creating real-world machine learning models like overfitting and how to combat them using confusion matrixes, scaling, normalization, and feature selection. You will now enter into the world of Neural Networks and move your line of business application to a hybrid scientific application. After you have covered all the above machine learning models, you will see how to deal with very large datasets using MBrace and how to deploy machine learning models to Internet of Thing (IoT) devices so that the machine can learn and adapt on the fly. Style and approach This book will guide you in learning everything about how to tackle the flood of data being encountered these days in your .NET applications with the help of popular machine learning libraries offered by the .NET framework.

Build and customize a wide range of powerful Unity AI systems with over 70 hands-on recipes and techniques About This Book Empower your agent with decision making capabilities using advanced minimaxing and Negamaxing techniques Discover how AI can be applied to a wide range of games to make them more interactive. Instigate vision and hearing abilities in your agent through collider based and graph based systems Who This Book Is For This book is intended for those who already have a basic knowledge of Unity and are eager to get more tools under their belt to solve AI and gameplay-related problems. What You Will Learn Use techniques such as A*and A*mbush to empower your agents with path finding capabilities. Create a representation of the world and make agents navigate it Construct decision-making systems to make the agents take different actions Make different agents coordinate actions and create the illusion of technical behavior Simulate senses and apply them in an awareness system Design and implement AI in board games such as Tic-Tac-Toe and Checkers Implement efficient prediction mechanism in your agents with algorithms such as N-Gram predictor and na?ve Bayes classifier Understand and analyze how the influence maps work. In Detail Unity 5 comes fully packaged with a toolbox of powerful features to help game and app developers create and implement powerful game AI. Leveraging these tools via Unity’s API or built-in features allows limitless possibilities when it comes to creating your game’s worlds and characters. This practical Cookbook covers both essential and niche techniques to help you be able to do that and more. This Cookbook is engineered as your one-stop reference to take your game AI programming to the next level. Get to grips with the essential building blocks of working with an agent, programming movement and navigation in a game environment, and improving your agent's decision making and coordination mechanisms - all through hands-on examples using easily customizable techniques. Discover how to emulate vision and hearing capabilities for your agent, for natural and humanlike AI behaviour, and improve them with the help of graphs. Empower your AI with decision-making functions through programming simple board games such as Tic-Tac-Toe and Checkers, and orchestrate agent coordination to get your AIs working together as one. Style and approach This recipe-based guide will take you through implementing various AI algorithms. Each topic is explained and placed among other related techniques, sometimes building on the knowledge from previous chapters. There are also references to more technical books and papers, so you can dig deeper if you want to.

Design and develop state-of-the-art applications using Force.com's powerful development platformAbout This BookFlaunt your skillsets by developing complex applications that include demanding concepts such as triggers, Visualforce controllers, batch jobs, and Lightning componentsEarn the gratitude of your colleagues by structuring a project so that multiple developers can work independently of each otherKevin Poorman, the author of the book and a Force.com MVP, shares his years of Force.com knowledge and experience with you through the medium of telling examplesWho This Book Is ForIf you're a Force.com developer with a fundamental understanding of Apex and JavaScript but now want to enhance your skills with tips, tricks, and guidance on the best architectural and engineering practices, then this book is for you.What You Will LearnCreating triggers, and the best practices for writing themDeveloping a number of Visualforce controllers and extensionsIntegrating third-party web APIs into your Apex codeWriting unit tests that cover testing bulk safety, user and profile settings, and negative testsCreating a Lightning component for use in Salesforce1Getting acquainted with various methods for deploying metadata between orgsUsing the Rest sObject API for access to Salesforce objects and data using the REST methodologyLearning about overarching architectural considerations such as naming conventions, testing practices, and data modeling practicesIn DetailForce.com is an extremely powerful, scalable, and secure cloud platform, delivering a complete technology stack, ranging from databases and security to workflow and the user interface. With salesforce.com's Force.com cloud platform, you can build any business application and run it on your servers.The book will help you enhance your skillset and develop complex applications using Force.com. It gets you started with a quick refresher of Force.com's development tools and methodologies, and moves to an in-depth discussion of triggers, bulkification, DML order of operations, and trigger frameworks. Next, you will learn to use batchable and schedulable interfaces to process massive amounts of information asynchronously. You will also be introduced to Salesforce Lightning and cover components—including backend (apex) controllers, frontend (JavaScript) controllers, events, and attributes—in detail.Moving on, the book will focus on testing various apex components: what to test, when to write the tests, and—most importantly—how to test. Next, you will develop a changeset and use it to migrate your code from one org to another, and learn what other tools are out there for deploying metadata. You will also use command-line tools to authenticate and access the Force.com Rest sObject API and the Bulk sObject API; additionally, you will write a custom Rest endpoint, and learn how to structure a project so that multiple developers can work independently of each other without causing metadata conflicts.Finally, you will take an in-depth look at the overarching best practices for architecture (structure) and engineering (code) applications on the Force.com platform.Style and approach A step-by-step tutorial, with plenty of tips and tricks that will help you develop complex Force.com applications.

Explore the possibility of building truly native, cross-platform mobile applications using your JavaScript skill—NativeScript!About This BookSave your marketing time by building for iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile platforms simultaneouslyBe an ace at utilizing the features of NativeScript and its ability to communicate with each of the host device libraries nativelyProficiently, build your fully cross-platform communication application exhibiting the fundamentals of NativeScriptWho This Book Is ForIf you are a JavaScript developer and want to build cross-platform applications, then this book is just the right one for you!What You Will LearnInstall and compile your application in NativeScriptGet important know-how on the NativeScript project structureDevelop and style your screens for multiple platformsCreate a full-featured cross-platform communication applicationImport and use several third-party componentsSimplify and deal with device resolution and cross-platform issuesTest and deploy your applicationIn DetailNativeScript allows you to build a fast cross-platform application that has a native UI. NativeScript is a true cross-platform framework that generates native speed applications using the native components of the host platform, all using JavaScript. Although NativeScript allows you to build your application in JavaScript, you have full access to the host OS from your code, allowing you to easily tweak or use new platform features instantly at native code speeds.Whether you have already developed multiple applications or zero applications, this book will help you to develop your next application in a cross-platform framework quickly, saving you a massive amount of time and money.This book concisely shows you NativeScript’s built-in framework that allows you to rapidly develop a fully-working compiled cross-platform application in just a few chapters. It starts by laying the foundation of NativeScript and working through the fundamentals to create a basic shell of the application. Moving on, you’ll see how to build a full-fledged application step by step. We’ll show you how to use plugins, and how to communicate with the native OS libraries easily so that you can customize your application as if your app was created in Java or Objective C. We then deal with the issues that arise from being cross platform and compensate for the different screen sizes, screen resolutions, and device abilities. Finally, we progress to testing and deploying your app.Style and approach A stepwise guide for building cross-platform mobile applications with the help of easy-to-understand examples.

Harness the power of ElasticSearch to build and manage scalable search and analytics solutions with this fast-paced guideAbout This BookNew to ElasticSearchHere’s what you need—a highly practical guide that gives you a quick start with ElasticSearch using easy-to-follow examples; get up and running with ElasticSearch APIs in no timeGet the latest guide on ElasticSearch 2.0.0, which contains concise and adequate information on handling all the issues a developer needs to know while handling data in bulk with search relevancyLearn to create large-scale ElasticSearch clusters using best practicesLearn from our experts—written by Bharvi Dixit who has extensive experience in working with search servers (especially ElasticSearch)Who This Book Is ForAnyone who wants to build efficient search and analytics applications can choose this book. This book is also beneficial for skilled developers, especially ones experienced with Lucene or Solr, who now want to learn Elasticsearch quickly.What You Will LearnGet to know about advanced Elasticsearch concepts and its REST APIsWrite CRUD operations and other search functionalities using the ElasticSearch Python and Java clientsDig into wide range of queries and find out how to use them correctlyDesign schema and mappings with built-in and custom analyzersExcel in data modeling concepts and query optimizationMaster document relationships and geospatial dataBuild analytics using aggregationsSetup and scale Elasticsearch clusters using best practicesLearn to take data backups and secure Elasticsearch clustersIn DetailWith constantly evolving and growing datasets, organizations have the need to find actionable insights for their business. ElasticSearch, which is the world's most advanced search and analytics engine, brings the ability to make massive amounts of data usable in a matter of milliseconds. It not only gives you the power to build blazing fast search solutions over a massive amount of data, but can also serve as a NoSQL data store.This guide will take you on a tour to become a competent developer quickly with a solid knowledge level and understanding of the ElasticSearch core concepts. Starting from the beginning, this book will cover these core concepts, setting up ElasticSearch and various plugins, working with analyzers, and creating mappings. This book provides complete coverage of working with ElasticSearch using Python and performing CRUD operations and aggregation-based analytics, handling document relationships in the NoSQL world, working with geospatial data, and taking data backups. Finally, we’ll show you how to set up and scale ElasticSearch clusters in production environments as well as providing some best practices.Style and approachThis is an easy-to-follow guide with practical examples and clear explanations of the concepts. This fast-paced book believes in providing very rich content focusing majorly on practical implementation. This book will provide you with step-by-step practical examples, letting you know about the common errors and solutions along with ample screenshots and code to ensure your success.

Leverage the power of D and the vibe.d framework to develop web applications that are incredibly fastAbout This BookUtilize the elegant vibe.d framework to build web applications easily and REST backends with the D programming languageLearn about all components of vibe.d to enhance your web development with DA hands-on guide to the vibe.d framework; from static web pages to template-based, interactive and localized web applications with database access and REST backendsWho This Book Is ForWhether you are new to the world of D, or already have developed applications in D, or if you want to leverage the power of D for web development, then this book is ideal for you. Basic knowledge of core web technologies like HTML 5 is helpful but not required. This book explains the difficult details to speed your web development.What You Will LearnCreate amazingly fast web applications with DUse Diet templates to easily create a web user interfaceUtilize the web framework for interactive applications with input validation and internationalizationAccess a database to provide persistent storage for your applicationExtend your application with a REST interface and access other applications via RESTUnderstand vibe.d’s fiber-based approach to asynchronous I/O and use it for integration of existing componentsCreate GUI applications with vibe.dIn DetailD is a programming language with C-like syntax and static typing. The vibe.d framework builds on powerful D concepts like template meta-programming and compile-time function execution to provide an easy-to-use environment for web applications. The combination of a feature-rich web programming framework with a language compiling to native code solves two common issues in web development today: it accelerates your development and it results in fast, native web applications. Learning the vibe.d framework before you start your application will help you to choose the right features to reach your goal.This book guides you through all aspects of web development with D and the vibe.d framework.Covering the popular operating systems today, this guide starts with the setup of your development system. From the first Hello World-style application you will move on to building static web pages with templates. The concise treatment of web forms will give you all the details about form handling and web security. Using the abstractions of the web framework you will learn how to easily validate user input. Next, you will add database access to your application, providing persistent storage for your data. Building on this foundation, you will expose your component and integrate other components via REST. Learning about the internals of vibe.d you will be able to use low-level techniques such as raw TCP access. The vibe.d concepts can also be used for GUI clients, which is the next topic that you will learn. vibe.d is supported by an active community, which adds new functionality. This comprehensive guide concludes with an overview of the most useful vibe.d extensions and where to find them. It also shows you how to integrate these extensions in your application.The concepts are always illustrated with source code, giving you an insight into how to apply them in your application.Style and approachA tutorial-style guide to develop web applications with D and the vibe.d framework. Each topic is explained in detail and illustrated with source code, providing you with hands-on assistance for your application.

Learn Database design, development,and administration using the feature-rich SQL Developer 4.1 interfaceAbout This BookExplore all the SQL Developer 4.1 features useful for Oracle database developers, architects, and administratorsUnderstand how this free tool from Oracle has evolved over the years and has become a complete tool that makes life easy for Oracle and third-party database usersThe author, Ajith Narayanan, has a total of 10+ years of work experience as an Oracle [APPS] DBAWho This Book Is ForThis book is intended for Oracle developers who are responsible for database management. You are expected to have programming knowledge of SQL and PL/SQL, and must be familiar with basic Oracle database concepts.What You Will LearnInstall and navigate through all the advanced features of SQL Developer that were introduced in version 4.1Browse, create, edit, and delete (drop) database objectsUse the SQL worksheet to run SQL statements and *s, edit and debug PL/SQL code, manipulate and export (unload) dataCarry out all DBA-related activities such as exporting/importing, tuning, and analyzing database performance issuesQuickly analyze, create, and edit the data model using data modelerExtend the SQL developer capabilities by exploring the APEX related pages, enabling and working with RESTful servicesUse the available reports and create new custom reports with custom *sGrasp how to connect to third-party databases and work smoothly with themIn DetailAt times, DBAs support 100s of databases at work. In such scenarios, using a command-line tool like putty adds to the difficulty, while SQL Developer makes the life of a developer, DBA, or DB architect easier by providing a graphical user interface equipped with features that can bolster and enhance the user experience and boost efficiency. Features such as DBA panel, Reports, Data Modeler, and Data Miner are just a few examples of its rich features, and its support for APEX, REST Services, timesten, and third-party database drivers demonstrate its extensibility.You may be a newbie to databases or a seasoned database expert, either way this book will help you understand the database structure and the different types of objects that organize enterprise data in an efficient manner. This book introduces the features of the SQL Developer 4.1 tool in an incremental fashion, starting with installing them, making the database connections, and using the different panels. By sequentially walking through the steps in each chapter, you will quickly master SQL Developer 4.1.Style and approachThis book follows a step-by-step approach and is in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Screenshots , and detailed explanations of the basic and advanced features of SQL Developer 4.1 that will make your work and life easy.

Unveil many hidden gems of programming functionally by taking the foundational steps with ElixirAbout This BookExplore the functional paradigms of programming with Elixir through use of helpful examplesConcise step-by-step instructions to teach you difficult technical conceptsBridge the gap between functional programming and ElixirWho This Book Is ForThis book targets developers new to Elixir, as well as Erlang, in order to make them feel comfortable in functional programming with Elixir, thus enabling them to develop more scalable and fault-tolerant applications.Although no knowledge of Elixir is assumed, some programming experience with mainstream Object-Oriented programming languages such a Ruby, Python, Java, C# would be beneficial.What You Will LearnExplore Elixir to create resilient, scalable applicationsCreate fault-tolerant applicationsBecome better acquainted with Elixir code and see how it is structured to build and develop functional programsLearn the basics of functional programmingGain an understanding of effective OTP principlesDesign program-distributed applications and systemsWrite and create branching statements in ElixirLearn to do more with less using Elixir's metaprogrammingBe familiar with the facilities Elixir provides for metaprogramming, macros, and extending the Elixir languageIn DetailElixir, based on Erlang’s virtual machine and ecosystem, makes it easier to achieve scalability, concurrency, fault tolerance, and high availability goals that are pursued by developers using any programming language or programming paradigm. Elixir is a modern programming language that utilizes the benefits offered by Erlang VM without really incorporating the complex syntaxes of Erlang.Learning to program using Elixir will teach many things that are very beneficial to programming as a craft, even if at the end of the day, the programmer isn't using Elixir. This book will teach you concepts and principles important to any complex, scalable, and resilient application. Mostly, applications are historically difficult to reason about, but using the concepts in this book, they will become easy and enjoyable. It will teach you the functional programing ropes, to enable them to create better and more scalable applications, and you will explore how Elixir can help you achieve new programming heights. You will also glean a firm understanding of basics of OTP and the available generic, provided functionality for creating resilient complex systems. Furthermore, you will learn the basics of metaprogramming: modifying and extending Elixir to suite your needs.Style and approach An exploration of functional programming and Elixir with easy to follow examples using Elixir and the functional style. All the topics, concepts, and principles covered are clearly and concisely explained with either code examples or in depth discussions, or both!

Learn the essence of data science and visualization using R in no time at allAbout This BookBecome a pro at making stunning visualizations and dashboards quickly and without hassleFor better decision making in business, apply the R programming language with the help of useful statistical techniques.From seasoned authors comes a book that offers you a plethora of fast-paced techniques to detect and analyze data patternsWho This Book Is ForIf you are an aspiring data scientist or analyst who has a basic understanding of data science and has basic hands-on experience in R or any other analytics tool, then R Data Science Essentials is the book for you.What You Will LearnPerform data preprocessing and basic operations on dataImplement visual and non-visual implementation data exploration techniquesMine patterns from data using affinity and sequential analysisUse different clustering algorithms and visualize themImplement logistic and linear regression and find out how to evaluate and improve the performance of an algorithmExtract patterns through visualization and build a forecasting algorithmBuild a recommendation engine using different collaborative filtering algorithmsMake a stunning visualization and dashboard using ggplot and R shinyIn DetailWith organizations increasingly embedding data science across their enterprise and with management becoming more data-driven it is an urgent requirement for analysts and managers to understand the key concept of data science. The data science concepts discussed in this book will help you make key decisions and solve the complex problems you will inevitably face in this new world.R Data Science Essentials will introduce you to various important concepts in the field of data science using R. We start by reading data from multiple sources, then move on to processing the data, extracting hidden patterns, building predictive and forecasting models, building a recommendation engine, and communicating to the user through stunning visualizations and dashboards.By the end of this book, you will have an understanding of some very important techniques in data science, be able to implement them using R, understand and interpret the outcomes, and know how they helps businesses make a decision.Style and approachThis easy-to-follow guide contains hands-on examples of the concepts of data science using R.

Get up and running with developing effective Hybrid Mobile Apps with IonicAbout This BookDevelop engaging mobile experiences with a native-looking UI in Ionic and AngularJSBuild mobile applications with a native UI and interactions with device APIs using popular web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScriptCreate an e-commerce mobile app using tutorials and code samplesWho This Book Is ForThis book is ideal for any web developer who wants to enter into the world of mobile app development but has no clue where to start. Ionic is an ideal starting point and provides a smooth learning curve to help you build hybrid apps using web technologies and to develop native apps for iOS and Android, you do not need to know multiple languages. This book will also be useful for Hybrid App developers who have not found the perfect framework to ensure users get a rich experience from your apps.What You Will LearnGet to know about Hybrid Apps and AngularJSSet up a development environment to build Hybrid AppsNavigate around the components and routing in IonicUse different Ionic directives for a mobile-specific experienceIntegrate an Ionic App with backend web servicesWork with plugins to include native functionality in your hybrid appsTest your apps on real devicesBuild an e-commerce app for iOS and Android from scratchIn DetailHybrid Apps are a promising choice in mobile app development to achieve cost effectiveness and rapid development. However, they were not preferred over native apps until few years back due to a poor performance and bad user experience, but everything has changed with the release of Ionic. It has evolved as the most popular choice for Hybrid Mobile App development as it tends to match the native experience and provides robust components/tools to build apps.Getting Started with Ionic equips any web developer with the basic knowledge needed to use modern web technologies to build amazing hybrid mobile apps using Ionic.This fast-paced, practical book explains all the important concepts of AngularJS and Cordova Framework required to develop apps, then gives you a brief introduction to hybrid mobile applications. It will guide you through setting up the environment to develop mobile apps, and through the multiple options and features available in Ionic so you can use them in your mobile apps. Features such as the Side Menu, Tabs, Touch Interactions, and native features such as Bar Code, Camera, and Geolocations are all covered.. Finally, we’ll show you how to use Cordova plugins and publish your apps.Style and approachGetting started with Ionic is a compact, easy-to-follow guide to developing hybrid mobile apps using Ionic with real world examples of building an e-commerce app.

Develop fun and exciting games and create amazing animations for your existing apps with SpriteKit, Apple's 2D game development frameworkAbout This BookLearn the key concepts of game development in iOSTake advantage of SpriteKit to create your own games and improve your appsFollow the step-by-step chapters to create a complete product ready to submit to the App StoreWho This Book Is ForGetting Started with SpriteKit is for beginner-level iOS developers who want to add an extra edge to their apps and create amazing games using SpriteKit. It doesn’t matter whether you have experience in iOS development or not as this book will show you the swift tricks you can use to create games.What You Will LearnCreate and configure a SpriteKit project from scratchLoad and manage the basic elements of games such as sprites, labels, and geometrical primitivesHandle touch events, detect collisions, and play sound audio filesCreate complex elements, animate sprites, and run the parallax effectComplete your games with key components such as a main menu, transitions between scenes, a tutorial, and the ability to load and save dataIncrease the efficiency of your device using the accelerometer or by adding shaders, lights, and shadowsGain complementary techniques such as creating or finding audio resources, applying SpriteKit to apps, or using third-party toolsIn DetailSpriteKit is Apple’s game engine to develop native iOS games. Strongly boosted by the Apple Inc., Cupertino, it has increased in popularity since its first release. This book shows you the solutions provided by SpriteKit to help you create any 2D game you can imagine and apply them to create animations that will highlight your existing apps.This book will give you the knowledge you need to apply SpriteKit to your existing apps or create your own games from scratch.Throughout the book, you will develop a complete game. The beautiful designs implemented in the game in this book will easily lead you to learn the basis of 2D game development, including creating and moving sprites, and adding them to a game scene. You will also discover how to apply advanced techniques such as collision detection, action execution, playing music, or running animations to give a more professional aspect to the game. You will finish your first game by learning how to add a main menu and a tutorial, as well as saving and loading data from and to the player’s device.Finally, you will find out how to apply some mobile games techniques such as accelerometer use or touch detection.Style and approachWritten in an informal way with plenty of illustrative screenshots, this easy-to-follow and practical guide will help you get the most from SpriteKit. The main part of the book provides step-by-step instructions to develop of a complete product, while the last chapters give you some complementary techniques than can be used in mobile 2D game development.

Get to know techniques and approaches to procedurally generate game content in C++ using Simple and Fast Multimedia LibraryAbout This BookThis book contains a bespoke Simple and Fast Multimedia Library (SFML) game engine with complete online documentationThrough this book, you’ll create games that are non-predictable and dynamic and have a high replayability factorGet a breakdown of the key techniques and approaches applied to a real game.Who This Book Is ForIf you are a game developer who is familiar with C++ and is looking to create bigger and more dynamic games, then this book is for you. The book assumes some prior experience with C++, but any intermediate concepts are clarified in detail. No prior experience with SFML is required.What You Will LearnDiscover the systems and ideology that lie at the heart of procedural systemsUse Random number generation (RNG) with C++ data types to create random but controlled resultsBuild levels procedurally with randomly located items and eventsCreate dynamic game objects at runtimeConstruct games using a component-based approachAssemble non-predictable game events and scenariosOperate procedural generation to create dynamic content fast and easilyGenerate game environments for endless replayabilityIn DetailProcedural generation is a growing trend in game development. It allows developers to create games that are bigger and more dynamic, giving the games a higher level of replayability. Procedural generation isn’t just one technique, it’s a collection of techniques and approaches that are used together to create dynamic systems and objects. C++ is the industry-standard programming language to write computer games. It’s at the heart of most engines, and is incredibly powerful. SFML is an easy-to-use, cross-platform, and open-source multimedia library. Access to computer hardware is broken into succinct modules, making it a great choice if you want to develop cross-platform games with ease.Using C++ and SFML technologies, this book will guide you through the techniques and approaches used to generate content procedurally within game development.Throughout the course of this book, we’ll look at examples of these technologies, starting with setting up a roguelike project using the C++ template. We’ll then move on to using RNG with C++ data types and randomly scattering objects within a game map. We will create simple console examples to implement in a real game by creating unique and randomised game items, dynamic sprites, and effects, and procedurally generating game events. Then we will walk you through generating random game maps. At the end, we will have a retrospective look at the project.By the end of the book, not only will you have a solid understanding of procedural generation, but you’ll also have a working roguelike game that you will have extended using the examples provided.Style and approachThis is an easy-to-follow guide where each topic is explained clearly and thoroughly through the use of a bespoke example, then implemented in a real game project.

Build amazing cross-platform mobile apps with Ionic, the HTML5 framework that makes modern mobile application development simpleAbout This BookLearn how to use one of the most exciting mobile development frameworks around to build even better appsFollow the featured sample projects to experience Ionic’s impressive capabilitiesExtend your developer skillset to build, test, and launch mobile apps with confidenceWho This Book Is ForThis book is for anyone who wants to see Ionic in action - and find out how it could transform the way they build mobile apps. If you’re a JavaScript web developer, you’ll be building great projects in no time.What You Will LearnLearn Ionic by creating three complete mobile applicationsGet to know the Ionic CLIAdd basic and advanced features to the Ionic frameworkConnect an Ionic app with a Firebase back endIntegrate PhoneGap plugins with NG-CordovaTest your apps to improve and optimize performanceIn DetailChange doesn’t have to be challenging. Sometimes it can be simple – sometimes it just makes sense. With Ionic, mobile development has never been so simple, so elegant and obvious. By helping developers to harness AngularJS and HTML5 for mobile development, it’s the perfect framework for anyone obsessed with performance, and anyone that understands just how important a great user experience really is.This book shows you how to get started with Ionic framework immediately. But it doesn’t just give you instructions and then expect you to follow them. Instead it demonstrates what Ionic is capable of through three practical projects you can follow and build yourself.From a basic to-do list app, a London tourist app, to a complete social media app, all three projects have been designed to help you learn Ionic at its very best. From setting up your project to developing on both the server side and front end, and best practices for testing and debugging your projects, you’ll quickly become a better mobile developer, delivering high performance mobile apps that look awesome.Ionic Framework by Example is for people who don’t want to learn now, build later – it’s for people who want to learn and build at the same time – so they can meet today’s mobile development challenges head on and deliver better products than anyone else.Style and approachThis book isn’t just an instruction manual. It doesn’t just tell you what to do – it shows you. Featuring three sample projects, it’s been created so you can get started with Ionic immediately.

Get up and running with Magento 2 to create custom solutions, themes, and extensions effectivelyAbout This BookCreate unique solutions for Magento 2 by developing and implementing solutions, themes, and extensionsBe proficient in the main functionalities, resources, and system structure of Magento 2Get to grips with this practical and hands-on guide to raise your web development skills to the next levelWho This Book Is ForIf you are a PHP developer who wants to improve your skills in e-commerce development by creating themes and extensions for Magento 2, then this book is for you.What You Will LearnInstall and set up the Magento EcosystemChoose the best options for Magento’s Sell System featuresWork with Search Engine Optimization in MagentoCreate and customize themes for MagentoDevelop extensions for new Magento functionalitiesPackage extensions to publish in the Magento Connect networkCreate Magento solutions for mobile devicesCarry out performance adjustments to speed up your Magento systemIn DetailMagento is the e-commerce software and platform trusted by the world's leading brands. Used by thousands of merchants for their transactions worth billions, it provides the flexibility to customize the content and functionality of your website. By strengthening your fundamentals in Magento development, you can develop the best solutions and take advantage of the growing market.This fast-paced tutorial will provide you with skills you need to successfully create themes, extensions, and solutions to Magento 2 projects.This book begins by setting up Magento 2 before gradually moving onto setting the basic options of the Sell System. You will take advantage of Search Engine Optimization aspects, create design and customize theme layout, develop new extensions, and adjust the Magento System to achieve great performance. By sequentially working through the steps in each chapter, you will quickly explore all the features of Magento 2 to create a great solution.With ample examples and a practical approach, this book will ensure your success with this astonishing e-commerce management system.Style and approachThis book would be a fast-paced tutorial guide that uses hands-on examples to developing new solutions for Magento e-commerce system. Each topic is explained sequentially in the process of creating a Magento solution, along with detailed explanations of the basic and advanced features of Magento 2.

Master the principles and techniques of multithreaded programming with the Java 8 Concurrency APIAbout This BookImplement concurrent applications using the Java 8 Concurrency API and its new componentsImprove the performance of your applications or process more data at the same time, taking advantage of all of your resources.Construct real-world examples related to machine learning, data mining, image processing, and client/server environmentsWho This Book Is ForIf you are a competent Java developer with a good understanding of concurrency but have no knowledge of how to effectively implement concurrent programs or use streams to make processes more efficient, then this book is for you.What You Will LearnDesign concurrent applications by converting a sequential algorithm into a concurrent oneDiscover how to avoid all the possible problems you can get in concurrent algorithmsUse the Executor framework to manage concurrent tasks without creating threadsExtend and modify Executors to adapt their behavior to your needsSolve problems using the divide and conquer technique and the Fork/Join frameworkProcess massive data sets with parallel streams and Map/Reduce implementationControl data-race conditions using concurrent data structures and synchronization mechanismsTest and monitor concurrent applicationsIn DetailConcurrency programming allows several large tasks to be divided into smaller sub-tasks, which are further processed as individual tasks that run in parallel. All the sub-tasks are combined together once the required results are achieved; they are then merged to get the final output. The whole process is very complex. This process goes from the design of concurrent algorithms to the testing phase where concurrent applications need extra attention. Java includes a comprehensive API with a lot of ready-to-use components to implement powerful concurrency applications in an easy way, but with a high flexibility to adapt these components to your needs.The book starts with a full de*ion of design principles of concurrent applications and how to parallelize a sequential algorithm. We'll show you how to use all the components of the Java Concurrency API from basics to the most advanced techniques to implement them in powerful concurrency applications in Java.You will be using real-world examples of complex algorithms related to machine learning, data mining, natural language processing, image processing in client / server environments. Next, you will learn how to use the most important components of the Java 8 Concurrency API: the Executor framework to execute multiple tasks in your applications, the phaser class to implement concurrent tasks divided into phases, and the Fork/Join framework to implement concurrent tasks that can be split into smaller problems (using the divide and conquer technique). Toward the end, we will cover the new inclusions in Java 8 API, the Map and Reduce model, and the Map and Collect model. The book will also teach you about the data structures and synchronization utilities to avoid data-race conditions and other critical problems. Finally, the book ends with a detailed de*ion of the tools and techniques that you can use to test a Java concurrent application.Style and approach A complete guide implementing real-world examples with algorithms related to machine learning, data mining, and natural language processing in client/server environments. All the examples are explained in a step-by-step approach.

Understand, train, and be ready to develop 3D Web applications/video games using the Babylon.js framework, even for beginners About This Book Understand the basics of 3D (along with the theory) before practicing Each mini-project provides previous features, alongside the new feature you are learning, to supply the examples Learn from the best of the best, a developer at Microsoft, France Who This Book Is For Babylon.JS Essentials is intended for developers who want to enter the world of 3D development for the Web, or developers who want to add the Babylon.js framework to their skill set. The notion of Oriented Object Programming would be helpful to understand the architecture of the Babylon.js framework. Also, a familiarity with Web development would be useful, to understand the principles used. What You Will Learn Understand what the TypeScript language is and its benefits (compared to JavaScript) in large projects such as 3D engines Learn the basics of 3D using Babylon.js without too much theory but with an emphasis on practice, for a better understanding of the architecture Know the usage of Material—a fundamental principle of 3D engines in Babylon.js—and then customize the appearance of 3D objects Integrate collisions and physics in gameplay. Understand the notion of impostor for physics simulation Manage, create, and spatialize audio tracks in 3D scenes Go further with the Babylon.js framework to create actions on events Create rendering effects provided by the Babylon.js framework, such as post-processes In Detail Are you familiar with HTML5Do you want to build exciting games and Web applicationsThen explore the exciting world of game and Web development with one of the best frameworks out there: Babylon.JS. Starting from the beginning, the book introduces the required basics for 3D development and the knowledge you need to use the Babylon.js framework. It focuses on the simplicity provided by Babylon.js and uses a combination of theory and practice. All the chapters are provided with example files ready to run; each example file provides the previously learned features of the framework. Finally, developers will be ready to easily understand new features added to the framework in the future. Style and approach The book is a comprehensive guide packed with ready-to-run examples with a mix of theory and practice.

Create responsive and intelligent game AI using Blueprints in Unreal Engine 4 About This Book Understand and apply your Game AI better through various projects such as adding randomness and probability, and introducing movement Configure and debug Game AI logic using multiple methodologies Bridge the gap between your knowledge and Game AI in Unreal Engine 4 Who This Book Is For This book is for programmers and artists who want to expand their knowledge of Game AI in relation to Unreal Engine 4. You are recommended to have some experience of exploring Unreal Engine 4 prior to this book because we jump straight into Game AI. What You Will Learn Understand the fundamental components of Game AI within Unreal Engine 4 Skillfully introduce Game AI within Unreal Engine 4 Configure, customize, and assign Navigation and AI components to your pawn Create, debug, and analyze Game AI behavior Design responsive Game AI using the Behavior Tree methodology Create smart objects designed to interact with AI Utilize advanced AI features within your project to maximize the user experience In Detail Unreal Engine is a powerful game development engine that provides rich functionalities to create 2D and 3D games. It is one of the three big game engines used, alongside Unity and CryEngine. Developers have the opportunity to build cross-platform mobile and desktop games from scratch. With Blueprints in Unreal Engine 4, you’re able to fully leverage the visual aid that Behavior Trees are built on. Rarely has there been an opportunity to prototype powerful Game AI and have immediate control over constructing, *ing, and viewing the response in a live gaming environment. This book will show you how to apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to your Unreal Script using C++ as your *ing language through multiple projects. With the knowledge gained through this book, you’ll be able to leverage the benefits of Unreal Engine 4. We’ll start with an introduction to AI, and you’ll learn how it is applied to gaming. Then you’ll jump right in and create a simple AI bot and apply basic behaviors to allow it to move randomly. Furthermore, you will get to know the difference between an AI Controller and a Player Controller. As you progress, you’ll find out how to implement randomness and probability traits. Using Navmesh, we will impart navigation components such as Character Movement, MoveTo Nodes, Settings, and World Objects, and implement behavior trees. You will see different techniques to sense the environment and create your own sensory system, and will implement Steering Behaviors, Path Following, Avoidance, and Projectiles. At the end of the book, we will troubleshoot any issues that might crop up while building the entire game. Style and approach This easy-to-follow project-based guide throws you directly into the excitement of Game AI in an approachable and comprehensive manner.

Deliver applications to virtual desktop environments in seconds and at scale with the click of a button About This Book Learn how can you deliver a great user experience and drive down storage and management costs Discover hidden gems to deliver applications to virtual desktop environments in seconds This book will help you fully utilize the true potential of VMware App Volumes and design and build a complete production environment Who This Book Is For This book is for administrators and IT teams who would like to take full advantage of App Volumes to deal with application workloads. It will also be useful for virtualization professionals and teams who are working on VDI deployments and VMware end user computing solutions. What You Will Learn Find out how the VMware App Volumes solution can enhance the management and delivery of applications in your desktop environment Design a real-life App Volumes solution using best practices and following the recommended sizing guides Install, configure, and deploy App Volumes so it is ready to start delivering applications Create and prepare applications ready to be delivered to end users Discover how App Volumes can enhance other desktop solutions by looking at how it integrates with VMware Horizon View, VMware ThinApp, RDSH, and Citrix XenDesktop/XenApp Understand how to configure the advanced options within App Volumes In Detail App Volumes provides a virtualized, real-time application delivery engine for virtual desktop infrastructure and is designed to enable VDI deployments to ensure greater flexibility, agility, and cost reduction. This book starts with an in-depth overview of the architecture and components used to design an optimized solution. We then show you how to install and configure App Volumes for different use cases such as VMware View integration, using VMware ThinApp, Citrix XenApp, and more. Throughout the chapters, we provide hints, tips, and tricks as well as best practices. By the end of the book, you will have built a working App Volumes environment and acquired the skills to build and run a production environment. Style and approach This book comprises of the theoretical explanations that will help you perform a complete App Volumes deployment through step-by-step instructions

Create powerful applications with the most robust open source web mapping library using this advanced guideAbout This BookDevelop responsive and platform-independent web mapping applications with OpenLayers 3Learn the key points of creating great applications with native JavaScript through the step-by-step examplesMaster the use of the library, from compiling custom builds to developing a complete WebGIS applicationWho This Book Is ForThis book is intended for front-end developers with basic understanding of JavaScript and GIS concepts, and preferably for those who are familiar with the fundamentals of OpenLayers 3. You might have never used OpenLayers 3 as a seasoned JavaScript developer. If this is the case and you are eager to learn web mapping, this book will definitely set you on the right track.What You Will LearnUse the advanced functionality of the OpenLayers 3 library effectivelyImplement the library in your application, shaping it to your needsManage layers and the layer stack dynamicallyCreate not only stunning but also accurate thematic mapsExtend OpenLayers 3 with your own custom classesDevelop mobile-friendly web mapping applicationsMake stunning effects with canvas manipulation, or visualize point clouds with WebGLIntegrate third-party applications, and create custom builds that completely satisfy your needsIn DetailOpenLayers 3 allows you to create stunning web mapping and WebGIS applications. It uses modern, cutting edge browser technologies. It is written with Closure Library, enabling you to build browser-independent applications without painful debugging ceremonies, which even have some limited fallback options for older browsers.With this guide, you will be introduced to the world of advanced web mapping and WebGIS.First, you will be introduced to the advanced features and functionalities available in OpenLayers 3. Next, you will be taken through the key points of creating custom applications with OpenLayers 3. You will then learn how to create the web mapping application of yours (or your company's) dream with this open source, expense-free, yet very powerful library. We’ll also show you how to make amazing looking thematic maps and create great effects with canvas manipulation.By the end of this book, you will have a strong command of web mapping and will be well on your way to creating amazing applications using OpenLayers 3.Style and approachThis is an advanced guide packed with comprehensive examples, and it concentrates on the advanced parts of OpenLayers 3 and JavaScript. It intentionally skips the basic and well-known methodologies, but discusses the hard-to-understand ones in great detail.

Get to grips with object-oriented programming in Swift to efficiently build powerful real-world applicationsAbout This BookLeverage the most efficient object-oriented design patterns in your Swift applicationsWrite robust, safer, and better code using the blueprints that generate objectsBuild a platform with object-oriented code by using real-world elements and represent them in your appWho This Book Is ForIf you are an iOS developer who has a basic idea of object-oriented programming and want to incorporate its concepts with Swift to optimize your application's code and create reusable and easily to understand building blocks, then this book is for you. This is a very useful resource for developers who want to shift from Objective C, C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, or other object-oriented languages to SwiftWhat You Will LearnBuild solid, stable, and reliable applications using SwiftWork with encapsulation, abstraction, and polymorphism using Swift 2.0Customize constructors and destructors based on your needsDevelop Swift 2.0 with classes, instances, properties, and methodsTake advantage of generic code to maximize code reuse and generalize behaviorsUse state of inheritance, specialization, and the possibility to overload membersWrite high quality object-oriented code to build apps for iOS or Mac OS XIn DetailObject-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of objects; these are data structures that contain data in the form of fields, often known as attributes and code. Objects are everywhere, and so it is very important to recognize elements, known as objects, from real-world situations and know how they can easily be translated into object-oriented code.Object-Oriented Programming with Swift is an easy-to-follow guide packed full of hands-on examples of solutions to common problems encountered with object-oriented code in Swift. It starts by helping you to recognize objects using real-life scenarios and demonstrates how working with them makes it simpler to write code that is easy to understand and reuse.You will learn to protect and hide data with the data encapsulation features of Swift. Then, you will explore how to maximize code reuse by writing code capable of working with objects of different types. After that, you'll discover the power of parametric polymorphism and will combine generic code with inheritance and multiple inheritance. Later, you move on to refactoring your existing code and organizing your source for easy maintenance and extensions.By the end of the book, you will be able to create better, stronger, and more reusable code, which will help you build better applications.Style and approachThis simple guide is packed with practical examples of solutions to common problems. Each chapter includes exercises and the possibility for you to test your progress by answering questions.