Combine the power of analytics and cloud computing for faster and efficient insights About This Book ? Master the concept of analytics on the cloud: and how organizations are using it ? Learn the design considerations and while applying a cloud analytics solution ? Design an end-to-end analytics pipeline on the cloud Who This Book Is For This book is targeted at CIOs, CTOs, and even analytics professionals looking for various alternatives to implement their analytics pipeline on the cloud. Data professionals looking to get started with cloud-based analytics will also find this book useful. Some basic exposure to cloud platforms such as GCP will be helpful, but not mandatory. What You Will Learn ? Explore the basics of cloud analytics and the major cloud solutions ? Learn how organizations are using cloud analytics to improve the ROI ? Explore the design considerations while adopting cloud services ? Work with the ingestion and storage tools of GCP such as Cloud Pub/Sub ? Process your data with tools such as Cloud Dataproc, BigQuery, etc ? Over 70 GCP tools to build an analytics engine for cloud analytics ? Implement machine learning and other AI techniques on GCP In Detail With the ongoing data explosion, more and more organizations all over the world are slowly migrating their infrastructure to the cloud. These cloud platforms also provide their distinct analytics services to help you get faster insights from your data. This book will give you an introduction to the concept of analytics on the cloud, and the different cloud services popularly used for processing and analyzing data. If you’re planning to adopt the cloud analytics model for your business, this book will help you understand the design and business considerations to be kept in mind, and choose the best tools and alternatives for analytics, based on your requirements. The chapters in this book will take you through the 70+ services available in Google Cloud Platform and their implementation for practical purposes. From ingestion to processing your data, this book contains best practices on building an end-to-end analytics pipeline on the cloud by leveraging popular concepts such as machine learning and deep learning. By the end of this book, you will have a better understanding of cloud analytics as a concept as well as a practical know-how of its implementation Style and approach Comprehensive guide with a perfect blend of theory, examples, and implementation of real-world use-cases

Get started with designing your serverless application using optimum design patterns and industry standard practices About This Book ? Learn the details of popular software patterns and how they are applied to serverless applications ? Understand key concepts and components in serverless designs ? Walk away with a thorough understanding of architecting serverless applications Who This Book Is For If you're a software architect, engineer, or someone who wants to build serverless applications, which are non-trivial in complexity and scope, then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of programming and serverless computing concepts are assumed. What You Will Learn ? Comprehend the popular design patterns currently being used with serverless architectures ? Understand the various design options and corresponding implementations for serverless web application APIs ? Learn multiple patterns for data-intensive serverless systems and pipelines, including MapReduce and Lambda Architecture ? Learn how to leverage hosted databases, queues, streams, storage services, and notification services ? Understand error handling and system monitoring in a serverless architecture a serverless architecture ? Learn how to set up a serverless application for continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous deployment In Detail Serverless applications handle many problems that developers face when running systems and servers. The serverless pay-per-invocation model can also result in drastic cost savings, contributing to its popularity. While it's simple to create a basic serverless application, it's critical to structure your software correctly to ensure it continues to succeed as it grows. Serverless Design Patterns and Best Practices presents patterns that can be adapted to run in a serverless environment. You will learn how to develop applications that are scalable, fault tolerant, and well-tested. The book begins with an introduction to the different design pattern categories available for serverless applications. You will learn the trade-offs between GraphQL and REST and how they fare regarding overall application design in a serverless ecosystem. The book will also show you how to migrate an existing API to a serverless backend using AWS API Gateway. You will learn how to build event-driven applications using queuing and streaming systems, such as AWS Simple Queuing Service (SQS) and AWS Kinesis. Patterns for data-intensive serverless application are also explained, including the lambda architecture and MapReduce. This book will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to develop scalable and resilient serverless applications confidently. Style and approach Readers will be taken through a set of specific software patterns and learn, in detail, how to apply these patterns and build working software on top of a serverless system. At each step along the way, the reader will learn about the subcomponents and subsystems which comprise the larger system and which may be used in the future to solve different types of challenges.

Design accessible and creative games across genres, platforms, and development realities About This Book ? Implement the skills and techniques required to work in a professional studio ? Ace the core principles and processes of level design, world building, and storytelling ? Design interactive characters that animate the gaming world Who This Book Is For Whether you are a student eager to design a game or a junior game designer looking for your first role as a professional, this book will help you with the fundamentals of game design. By focusing on best practices and a pragmatic approach, Practical Game Design provides insights into the arts and crafts from two senior game designers that will interest more seasoned professionals in the game industry. What You Will Learn ? Define the scope and structure of a game project ? Conceptualize a game idea and present it to others ? Design gameplay systems and communicate them clearly and thoroughly ? Build and validate engaging game mechanics ? Design successful business models and prepare your games for live operations ? Master the principles behind level design, worldbuilding and storytelling ? Improve the quality of a game by playtesting and polishing it In Detail If you are looking for an up-to-date and highly applicable guide to game design, then you have come to the right place! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with this book, written by two highly experienced industry professionals to share their profound insights as well as give valuable advice on creating games across genres and development platforms. Practical Game Design covers the basics of game design one piece at a time. Starting with learning how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to the development team, you will gradually move on to devising a design plan for the whole project and adapting solutions from other games. You will also discover how to produce original game mechanics without relying on existing reference material, and test and eliminate anticipated design risks. You will then design elements that compose the playtime of a game, followed by making game mechanics, content, and interface accessible to all players. You will also find out how to simultaneously ensure that the gameplay mechanics and content are working as intended. As the book reaches its final chapters, you will learn to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the different challenges of designing free-to-play games, and understand how to significantly improve their quality through iteration, polishing and playtesting. Style and approach A practical step by step guide to get you up and running with Game Design from scratch

BUILDING A FAMILY En route to the Double T Orphanage to work on its expansion, carpenter Chip Evans and Caroline Hunt discover two orphaned children—and become their caregivers. But Chip’s determined not to let himself get too attached to the children who just lost their widowed father…or to the lovely woman helping him care for them. Especially since Callie and the little ones just don’t fit into his detailed plans for the future. Callie can’t help but fall in love with the orphans, and despite her better judgment, she’s falling for Chip, too. Her dreams of being a wife and mother were not quite like this. But Callie believes a plan bigger than Chip’s brought them all together…and now she just has to help him see it, too.

At the age of only 36, Sir Mark Sykes was signatory to the Sykes-Picot agreement, one of the most reviled treaties of modern times. A century later, Christopher Sykes’ lively biography of his grandfather reassesses his life and work, and the political instability and violence in the Middle East attributed to it. The Sykes–Picot agreement was drawn by the eponymous British and French diplomats in 1916 to determine the divide of the collapsing empire in the event of an allied victory in World War I. Excluding Arab involvement, it negated their earlier guarantee of independence made by the British – and controversy has raged around it ever since. But who was Mark Sykes? A century on, Christopher Simon Sykes reveals new facets of a misremembered diplomatic giant. Using previously undisclosed family letters and cartoons by his grandfather, he delivers a comprehensive and humbling account of the man behind one of the most impactful policies in the Middle East.

Compiled by a team of scientists,and edited by Jill Bailey in consultation with Sir John Burnett, Chairman of the Trustees,National Biodiversity Network and Dr Andrew Lack,Senior Lecturer in Environmental Biology,Oxford Brookes University

Cats are now the most popular pets, and it is not surprising that they have overtaken dogs in the popularity stakes. They are small, relatively silent, economical to keep, exercise themselves, easy to feed, and are ideal companions for a wide range of people, from the elderly to those who are out at work all day.Whether you want an ordinary moggie or an expensive pedigree cat, the principles of ownership and looking after them are the same. As an increasing number of owners live in big cities and small, high-rise apartment blocks, house cats are becoming more widespread. Although they may not be allowed outside like their free-roaming, predatory cousins, they share a common ancestry and owning a cat of any description is like having a relatively wild creature living with you in your home. Domestication is anathema to many cats who prefer to think that they are independent animals, under the control of nobody but themselves.

Stella Smyth and co-author Sally Bergh-Roose have been training dogs since 1978 and have been involved in competition work with a variety of dogs. Together they have been running a successful dog training course for many years.

Danger is never far off… When forensic psychologist Claire Britten started working with lawyer Nick Markwood on his South Shores project, she had no idea it would endanger her life—and the life of her daughter. But when the little girl goes missing from her South Florida home and Nick insists his long time nemesis is to blame, Claire frantically follows the trail to the Cayman Islands, desperate to save her daughter before it's too late. Nick always knew the man who staged his father's "suicide" was out to get him, but kidnapping the child of someone he cares about is despicable. Finding the billionaire criminal is one thing—meeting his demands in order to save Claire's daughter is quite another. What he wants threatens their professional and personal interests beyond imagination…but what choice do they have when a child's life is on the line?

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving. It's the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it's up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she's known and loved her whole life. But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she's forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends…and forgiveness. Caught in the cross hairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she's strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

I dangle my legs over the edge of the cliff, tapping my heels against the smooth dirt that crumbles down the side of the continent. I don't fear falling. The world below looks unreal and distant, like it's only been painted on. Falling is something I can't even imagine. As heir to a kingdom of floating continents, Kali has spent her life bound by limits: by her duties as a member of the royal family, by a forced betrothal to the son of a nobleman and by the edge of the only world she's ever known – a small island hovering above a monster-ridden earth, long since uninhabited by humans. When Kali falls off the edge of her kingdom and miraculously survives, she is shocked to discover there are still humans on the earth. Determined to get home, Kali entrusts a rugged monster-hunter named Griffin to guide her across a world overrun by chimera, storm dragons, basilisks and other terrifying creatures. But the more time she spends on earth, the more dark truths she begins to uncover about her home in the sky, and the more resolute she is to start living for herself.

Amanda Sun weaves together two tales of love, ink and magic in this companion novella to the Paper Gods series! A long, long time ago, before the world was as we know it, Izanami and Izanagi came into being. Two of the first of the ancient gods of Japan, they crafted the world from ink and their own imaginations. Izanagi wants, more than anything, to be with Izanami—but one moment of pride could tear them apart forever. Yuki and Tanaka have been friends for as long as they can remember, but lately deeper feelings have been bubbling beneath the surface. How do they navigate the transition from friendship to true love without destroying the powerful bond between them? Set a millennia apart, can these two couples, living parallel love stories, find their happily-ever-afters?

A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining. Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else. When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother's legacy. But she soon realizes that the university, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is a treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch. As evil looms on the horizon and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, everything Elloren thought she knew will be challenged and torn away. Her best hope of survival may be among the most unlikely band of misfits…if only she can find the courage to trust those she's been taught to hate and fear.

Zoe knows something needs to change… Zoe knows something needs to change… Living alone with her cat, Zoe must face up to the truth about her life. She has ended her long-term relationship, works from home, and is isolated from her baby-obsessed best friend. Zoe is more than just newly single. Zoe is alone. A new friendship and a surprise romance may offer Zoe the connections she is after, but they won’t come without their own complications! The third of Susan Mallery’s Mischief Bay series is full of warmth, laughter, and the dilemmas of family life. Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber, and Jennifer Joyce.

He promised he’d stay away…but he can’t resist keeping her close Setting rules and following them to the letter is part of cowboy Nick Haskins’s code. It keeps life uncomplicated, and his heart intact. The love he had for his high school sweetheart is ashes in the wind, but he’s not counting on her twin, Lindsay Gavin, to show up on his ranch—or in his dreams. Lindsay’s got a code of her own: hands off her sister’s guy. But now that Nick is free to share his bunkhouse and his bed, she can’t help but take what he’s offering. There’s no harm in satisfying years worth of curiosity. There’s no shame in indulging in the sexiest fun of her life. Only, when Nick and Lindsay let desire set fire to the rules, will they both end up getting burned?

A classic Cold War spy story from the bestselling thriller writer Derek Lambert. The Trans-Siberian Express has left Moscow carrying the most powerful, closely guarded man in the Soviet Union – and also the man who plans to kidnap him. Tension aboard the train is at a maximum. The KGB has checked and double checked. But as Vasily Yermakov, the Soviet leader, tries to sleep on the first night in his cabin, he has an uneasy feeling that something is about to go wrong. ‘An exciting new development – not only of Derek Lambert’s skills, but of the thriller too!’ Len Deighton ‘Exciting’ New York Times Book Review ‘Hugely entertaining’ Manchester Guardian ‘A timely and gripping thriller’ Publishers Weekly ‘Bursting with action’ Evening Standard ‘A taut and fast-moving thriller that reeks with authenticity’ Coventry Evening Telegraph ‘Quite superb … It deserves to be a best-seller’ Leslie Thomas

A classic World War II novel from the bestselling thriller writer Derek Lambert. As the Russians and the Western Allies race towards Berlin, the Nazi hierarchy plots to escape the inevitable retribution facing them at the end of World War II. Kurt Wolff is a handsome, blond SS Captain and a member of Hitler’s personal elitist bodyguard. Yet he still has to know the greatest honour of all. He has been chosen to implement Grey Fox – The Saint Peter’s Plot – the most daring and secret mission of the War. As Germany stands on the edge of an abyss, the fate of this once great nation is in his hands. ‘A fine thriller … very hard to put down’ Irish Press ‘Mr Lambert is of the Wilbur Smith school of modern adventure writers – colourfully imaginative, totally convincing’ Manchester Evening News ‘A thrilling novel … written with great sensitivity’ Derby Evening Telegraph

A classic Cold War spy story about the space race from the bestselling thriller writer Derek Lambert. As the Soviet space-shuttle Dove orbits 150 miles above the earth on its maiden flight, Warsaw Pact troops crash into Poland. The seventy-two-year-old President of America wants to be re-elected, and for that he needs to win the first stage of the war in space: he needs to capture the Soviet space shuttle. But as the President plans his coup a nuclear-armed shuttle speeds towards target America – and only defection in space can stop it. ‘Writing as crisp as the Moscow winter … the Soviet setting is magically evocative’ New York Times ‘Lambert, author of many intelligent political thrillers, has another in this fastpaced, complex, and timely novel. Highly recommended’ Library Journal ‘A most satisfying thriller with a highly dramatic finish’ Publishers Weekly

A classic World War II novel from the bestselling thriller writer Derek Lambert. For the beleaguered German and Russian armies there is no war beyond the carnage in the city’s grim skeleton, and the terrible winter at their heels. Desperate men need heroes to boost their morale: orders come from the very top for a duel between champion snipers Antonov the Russian, and Meister the German – a contest each must win. For the two marksmen there is now no war but the race to pin the other in their sights. And no other companion, either, than the stranger whose mind each must read. Dead heroes or living legends? Only time will tell. ‘The book is perfect. The horror of war is captured by the spare prose; the tension mounts, and the inevitable confrontation is uplifting in its outcome’ Daily Telegraph ‘Told me more than all the military historians ever could about the greatest battle of World War Two’ Daily Mail ‘Tense and gripping … a most effective chiller’ British Book News ‘One is reminded of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness … For those who like to be in the thick of it, this book is a must’ Surrey and South Middlesex Times ‘A good war story’ Kirkus Reviews ‘A unique tour de force … poignant, cogent, a strong novel, suspenseful and fascinating, a novel not easily forgotten’ Florida Sun News

The third instalment in the Shadow of the Storm series Jeniche and Alltud have been on an adventure for nearly three years. Now, the time has come for them to go home. But as they leave their hostel in the dead of the night, these plans are thwarted. The Qasireu of Alboran awaits the two travellers with a quest: they must move an item of great value, whose identity is to remain unknown. Carrying this item across the dusty moutains, they make a chance encounter: a woman from her past, who seems to know a great deal about the amulet around Jeniche’s neck and the power it possesses. Yet, the amulet isn’t the only secret the travellers carry with them. For little do they know, the item they are moving could pose a threat to the entire world.

The hilarious and touching novel from Laurie Graham – the fictional diary of the Queen’s best friend in pre-war London. Laurie Graham's brilliant novel is the fictional diary of Maybell Brumby, a wealthy American widow who arrives in London in 1932 and discovers that an old school friend is in town: Bessie Wallis Warfield, now Mrs Ernest Simpson. Maybell and Wally are made for one another. One has money and a foothold in high society, courtesy of a sister who married well. The other has ruthless ambition and enough energy to power the National Grid. Before the year is out, Wally has begun her seduction of the Prince of Wales, and as she clambers towards the throne she makes sure Maybell and her cheque book are always close at hand. So Maybell becomes an eye-witness to the Abdication Crisis. From her perch in Carlton Gardens, home of her influential brother-in-law Lord Melhuish, she has the perfect vantage point for observing the anxious, changing allegiances for and against Queen Wally, and the political contours of pre-war London. When the crisis comes and Wally flees to the south of France, she insists on Maybell going with her. 'Are you sure that's advisable, darling?' asks the King. 'Of course it is,' snaps Wally. 'She's the Paymaster General.' Maybell's diary records the marriage, the Windsors' exile, and the changing complexion of the Greatest Love Story. It takes the sound of German jackboots at the gate and personal tragedy to make her close its pages for the last time.