The Art of Modern PHP 8. Learn how to write modern, performant, and enterprise-ready code with the latest PHP features and practices

Joseph Edmonds, Lorna Jane Mitchell

PHP has come a long way since its introduction. While the language has evolved with PHP 8, there are still a lot of websites running on a version of PHP that is no longer supported. If you are a PHP developer working with legacy PHP systems and want to discover the tenants of modern PHP, this is the book for you.The Art of Modern PHP 8 walks you through the latest PHP features and language concepts. The book helps you upgrade your knowledge of PHP programming and practices. Starting with object-oriented programming (OOP) in PHP and related language features, you'll work through modern programming techniques such as inheritance, understand how it contrasts with composition, and finally look at more advanced language features. You'll learn about the MVC pattern by developing your own MVC system and advance to understanding what a DI container does by building a toy DI container. The book gives you an overview of Composer and how to use it to create reusable PHP packages. You’ll also find techniques for deploying these packages to package libraries for other developers to explore.By the end of this PHP book, you'll have equipped yourself with modern server-side programming techniques using the latest versions of PHP.

The Art of Social Engineering. Uncover the secrets behind the human dynamics in cybersecurity

Cesar Bravo, Desilda Toska, Rhonda Childress

Social engineering is one of the most prevalent methods used by attackers to steal data and resources from individuals, companies, and even government entities. This book serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding social engineering attacks and how to protect against them.The Art of Social Engineering starts by giving you an overview of the current cyber threat landscape, explaining the psychological techniques involved in social engineering attacks, and then takes you through examples to demonstrate how to identify those attacks.You’ll learn the most intriguing psychological principles exploited by attackers, including influence, manipulation, rapport, persuasion, and empathy, and gain insights into how attackers leverage technology to enhance their attacks using fake logins, email impersonation, fake updates, and executing attacks through social media. This book will equip you with the skills to develop your own defensive strategy, including awareness campaigns, phishing campaigns, cybersecurity training, and a variety of tools and techniques.By the end of this social engineering book, you’ll be proficient in identifying cyberattacks and safeguarding against the ever-growing threat of social engineering with your defensive arsenal.

The Art of Writing Efficient Programs. An advanced programmer's guide to efficient hardware utilization and compiler optimizations using C++ examples

Fedor G. Pikus

The great free lunch of performance taking care of itself is over. Until recently, programs got faster by themselves as CPUs were upgraded, but that doesn't happen anymore. The clock frequency of new processors has almost peaked, and while new architectures provide small improvements to existing programs, this only helps slightly. To write efficient software, you now have to know how to program by making good use of the available computing resources, and this book will teach you how to do that.The Art of Efficient Programming covers all the major aspects of writing efficient programs, such as using CPU resources and memory efficiently, avoiding unnecessary computations, measuring performance, and how to put concurrency and multithreading to good use. You'll also learn about compiler optimizations and how to use the programming language (C++) more efficiently. Finally, you'll understand how design decisions impact performance.By the end of this book, you'll not only have enough knowledge of processors and compilers to write efficient programs, but you'll also be able to understand which techniques to use and what to measure while improving performance. At its core, this book is about learning how to learn.

The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Workshop. Build your own highly scalable and robust data storage systems that can support a variety of cutting-edge AI applications

Chinmay Arankalle, Gareth Dwyer, Bas Geerdink, Kunal Gera, ...

Social networking sites see an average of 350 million uploads daily - a quantity impossible for humans to scan and analyze. Only AI can do this job at the required speed, and to leverage an AI application at its full potential, you need an efficient and scalable data storage pipeline. The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Workshop will teach you how to build and manage one.The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Workshop begins taking you through some real-world applications of AI. You’ll explore the layers of a data lake and get to grips with security, scalability, and maintainability. With the help of hands-on exercises, you’ll learn how to define the requirements for AI applications in your organization. This AI book will show you how to select a database for your system and run common queries on databases such as MySQL, MongoDB, and Cassandra. You’ll also design your own AI trading system to get a feel of the pipeline-based architecture. As you learn to implement a deep Q-learning algorithm to play the CartPole game, you’ll gain hands-on experience with PyTorch. Finally, you’ll explore ways to run machine learning models in production as part of an AI application.By the end of the book, you’ll have learned how to build and deploy your own AI software at scale, using various tools, API frameworks, and serialization methods.

The ASMR (Arrogant-Sexy-Messy-Roommate)

Ludka Skrzydlewska, Magdalena Szponar

Kiedy największa zołza musi zamieszkać z najweselszym facetem na świecie... ...wszystko może pójść nie tak. Parker, jesieniara i miłośniczka cmentarnego vibe'u, miała wynająć dom ze swoją najlepszą przyjaciółką i zacząć nowy etap życia. W przededniu przeprowadzki zostaje jednak wystawiona, a przez to musi zamieszkać z niejakim Cameronem, który okazuje się hałaśliwym i irytująco pogodnym mięśniakiem. O konflikt nietrudno, tym bardziej że Parker potrzebuje ciszy, by nagrywać swoje ukochane ASMR-y, a Cameron... Cóż, według dziewczyny jej nowy współlokator nawet oddycha zbyt głośno. Gdyby tego było mało, świeżo upieczeni współlokatorzy w wyniku niefortunnego zrządzenia losu muszą udawać parę, a sam Cameron ukrywa przed Parker więcej, niż można by przypuszczać. Komedia omyłek, jesienny klimat, kilka zniczy, kalistenika oraz cała masa ASMR-owych dźwięków - oto historia, która pochłonie Was podczas długich wieczorów pod kocykiem.

The Aspern Papers

Henry James

The Aspern Papers is one of the masterpieces of the writers small prose, the plots of which are based on the collision of European and American cultural consciousness, the point of view of an individual and social stereotypes, the book perception of the world and individual experience. The tragicomic search by the hapless biographer of the lost letters of the great poet is the conflict of this story.

The Aspiring CIO and CISO. A career guide to developing leadership skills, knowledge, experience, and behavior

David J. Gee, Darryl West

Explore the intricacies of CIO and CISO roles with The Aspiring CIO and CISO by David Gee. This book leverages Gee's 20+ years of digital and cyber leadership experience, providing real-world insights, making it a valuable resource for those navigating the evolving landscape of the C-suite.Tailored to entry-level, mid-level, and senior managers looking to advance to the C-suite, this book serves a unique purpose in the realm of career guidance. The narrative speaks directly to individuals uncertain about their readiness for CIO or CISO roles, offering a personal mentorship experience that goes beyond technicalities. Armed with insights into crafting a powerful 90-day plan, you'll be well-equipped to catapult into CIO or CISO roles successfully. Beyond technical proficiency, the book instills survival skills, ensuring longevity and helping you prevent burnout in these pivotal positions. Additionally, by mastering the art of brand development and soft skills, you'll grasp the interpersonal dynamics crucial for executive leadership. This book is an indispensable guide for ambitious professionals, offering foresight and empowerment to thrive in the digital age.By the end of this book, you'll emerge with strategic dexterity, confidently steering your career trajectory towards the C-suite.

The Atom of the Universe. The Life and Work of Georges Lemaître

Dominique Lambert

This book takes us from the early childhood to the last days of George Lemaîitre, the man behind the theory of the primeval atom, now better known as Big Bang theory. But who was George Lemaître? A clergyman, a genius astronomer, an audacious cosmologist, a computer enthusiast ahead of his time, a professor with his head in the clouds, a bon vivant mathematician and gourmand? Dominique Lambert's book peels away these layers, chapter by chapter, from the adventures of a boy from Charleroi (Belgium) who became Monseigneur Lemaître as well as his impact on contemporary cosmology. The reader will follow Lemaitre’s works through the course of his life, discovering along the way his involvement with the Chinese student community, his complex relationship with the Vatican, his deep devotion to the University of Louvain, his friendship with figures such as Einstein and Eddington, his adventures through the two World Wars, his travels in America, his curious interest in Molière and his deep faith lived through the ‘Amis de Jésus’. The resulting picture is of a remarkable figure who was sensitive, creative, meticulous and, paradoxically, both discreet and exuberant while also being a man of exceptional integrity who reconciled his science with his faith. More than a book on one person, this biography of Lemaître offers the key to a better understanding of the profound changes which took place in the fields of science, faith and academic life in the last century. Preface by P.J.E. PeeblesThis book takes us from the early childhood to the last days of George Lemaîitre, the man behind the theory of the primeval atom, now better known as Big Bang theory. But who was George Lemaître? A clergyman, a genius astronomer, an audacious cosmologist, a computer enthusiast ahead of his time, a professor with his head in the clouds, a bon vivant mathematician and gourmand? Dominique Lambert's book peels away these layers, chapter by chapter, from the adventures of a boy from Charleroi (Belgium) who became Monseigneur Lemaître as well as his impact on contemporary cosmology. The reader will follow Lemaitre’s works through the course of his life, discovering along the way his involvement with the Chinese student community, his complex relationship with the Vatican, his deep devotion to the University of Louvain, his friendship with figures such as Einstein and Eddington, his adventures through the two World Wars, his travels in America, his curious interest in Molière and his deep faith lived through the ‘Amis de Jésus’. The resulting picture is of a remarkable figure who was sensitive, creative, meticulous and, paradoxically, both discreet and exuberant while also being a man of exceptional integrity who reconciled his science with his faith. More than a book on one person, this biography of Lemaître offers the key to a better understanding of the profound changes which took place in the fields of science, faith and academic life in the last century. Preface by P.J.E. Peebles

The Auction Block

Rex Beach

Lorelei Knights parents want to get rich on her beauty. They send her to New York to be on a girl show. Bob Wharton, the dissolute son of a millionaire, falls in love with a girl. When Lorelei finds out her father is ill and needs money, she marries Bob even though she doesnt love him. Bobs father cuts his allowance and Bob is forced to go to work.

The Author of Beltraffio

Henry James

In this story, a mother allows her only child, a seven-year-old boy, to die of diphtheria only so that he will never be subjected to the corrupting influence of the books written by his father, which she deeply condemns. Anyone who imagines motherly love and at least once saw the torment of a child restlessly darting in his crib, fighting for every breath, would never have invented such a monstrous story. The French call it litterature. By this word they denote works created on the basis of a cheap literary effect, devoid of any likelihood.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

For all value investors and Charlie Munger enthusiasts, don't miss out on "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." This book was a favorite of Munger's, and it's packed with practical wisdom. Franklin's life story teaches us about frugality, hard work, and building good habits-essential principles for success in both life and investing. Munger, a rational thinker himself, drew inspiration from Franklin's genius. Dive into this classic autobiography for timeless insights that align perfectly with the core principles of value investing and Munger's practical philosophy.

The Autocracy of Mr Parham

Herbert George Wells

Mr. Parham is a university academic of the traditional, classical sort, very much a snob and unhappy with many of the social trends of the time. Sir Bussy Woodcock is a self-made millionaire of sharp intelligence and great energy but lowly beginnings and no cultural education. This unlikely pair meet by chance and form an intermittent relationship. In an attempt to foster this acquaintance that goes on for six years, Mr. Parham finds himself involved in séances that summon a Master Spirit from the beyond. This entity occupies Mr. Parhams body, and commences to inspire a political movement (the League of Duty Paramount) that overthrows the British government in a coup détat. This is an intriguing tale which Wells uses to explore opposing social and political views of the period, with the fantasy element a vehicle for so doing. On the way, he creates a couple of memorable characters.

The Avenger

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Yet another collection of linked short stories from Oppenheim. By chance a young man and woman meet and set up an agency to aid Scotland Yard, but is romance in the air? This story deals with a young man and a young woman who make an informal partnership in criminal investigation. This whodunit murder mysteries collection brings to you some of Oppenheims finest murder mysteries to keep you at your toes: The Evil Shepherd Murder at Monte Carlo, or Wolves Amongst the Honey, The Glenlitten Murder and others. Phillips Oppenheim was an internationally renowned author of mystery and espionage thrillers. His novels and short stories have all the elements of blood-racing adventure and intrigue and are precursors of modern-day spy fictions.

The Avenger

Edgar Wallace

Over a period of time, men disappear, and later their heads are found. Meanwhile a young actress in a small part in a film on location, is disturbed by the actions of the owner of the place where they are filming. A detective comes to investigate, and finds many puzzling things going on. Several of the characters are suspicious, in one way or another, and as the plot unfolds, it grips you. Edgar Wallaces The Avenger is a perfectly fine example of what a page-turning thriller looked like, early in the last century. What Edgar Wallace has over modern writers is the willingness to insert a girl-snatching, sapient orangutan in his plot. Surely the seeds for his King-Kong screenplay can be found here.

The Awakening and Selected Short Stories

Kate Chopin

Awakening is one of the greatest works in American literature. Brilliant beauty Edna Pontellier, together with her husband and two wonderful kids, spend the summer in the resort town of Grand Isle. Ednas unexpected meeting with Robert, a charming young man, suddenly changes the calm and measured life of a woman. Awakening was recognized only many years later.

The Awkward Age

Henry James

The Aawkward age nonetheless analyzes the English character with great subtlety. The Awkward Age, which is highly praised for its natural dialogue and the subtlety of the sensation that it conveys, illustrates Conrads remark that James never dwells in deep darkness or in strong sunlight. But he feels deep and bright every gentle shade.