Business Process Management with JBoss jBPM. Find out how to improve business processes with jBPM, and discover how you can begin making a transformative impact as a business analyst in your organization

Matt Cumberlidge, Tom Baeyens

JBoss jBPM is a free, open-source, business process management solution. It enables users to create business processes that coordinate people, applications, and services.A business process is a sequence of activities triggered by a certain input that results in a valuable output. Business Process Management is about analyzing those activities in a structured way and eventually supporting their execution with a workflow application. This allows for the following results:Better management visibility of their business: improved decision makingLow cost of inputs: de-skilled labor requirements, less waste, standardized componentsBetter outputs: consistent quality, more customer satisfactionBusinesses have always tried to manage their processes, but software such as jBPM brings the methodology and management theory to practical life.JBoss jBPM offers the following key features:Graphical process definitionFlexibility to integrate code into the graphical process definitionA customizable web-based workflow application that runs the process you’ve definedEasy programming model to extend the graphical process definitionA process-oriented programming model (jPDL) that blends the best of process definition languages and Java.Easy to integrate with other systems through the JBoss middleware suite.

PHP and MongoDB Web Development Beginner's Guide. Combine the power of PHP and MongoDB to build dynamic web 2.0 applications

Rahbirul Islam Rubayeet Rubayeet, Rubayeet Islam, MongoDB

With the rise of Web 2.0, the need for a highly scalable database, capable of storing diverse user-generated content is increasing. MongoDB, an open-source, non-relational database has stepped up to meet this demand and is being used in some of the most popular websites in the world. MongoDB is one of the NoSQL databases which is gaining popularity for developing PHP Web 2.0 applications.PHP and MongoDB Web Development Beginner’s Guide is a fast-paced, hands-on guide to get started with web application development using PHP and MongoDB. The book follows a “Code first, explain later” approach, using practical examples in PHP to demonstrate unique features of MongoDB. It does not overwhelm you with information (or starve you of it), but gives you enough to get a solid practical grasp on the concepts.The book starts by introducing the underlying concepts of MongoDB. Each chapter contains practical examples in PHP that teache specific features of the database.The book teaches you to build a blogging application, handle user sessions and authentication, and perform aggregation with MapReduce. You will learn unique MongoDB features and solve interesting problems like real-time analytics, location-aware web apps etc. You will be guided to use MongoDB alongside MySQL to build a diverse data back-end.With its concise coverage of concepts and numerous practical examples, PHP and MongoDB Web Development Beginner’s Guide is the right choice for the PHP developer to get started with learning MongoDB.

Metasploit Revealed: Secrets of the Expert Pentester. Build your defense against complex attacks

Sagar Rahalkar, Nipun Jaswal

Metasploit is a popular penetration testing framework that has one of the largest exploit databases around. This book will show you exactly how to prepare yourself against the attacks you will face every day by simulating real-world possibilities.This learning path will begin by introducing you to Metasploit and its functionalities. You will learn how to set up and configure Metasploit on various platforms to create a virtual test environment. You will also get your hands on various tools and components and get hands-on experience with carrying out client-side attacks. In the next part of this learning path, you’ll develop the ability to perform testing on various services such as SCADA, databases, IoT, mobile, tablets, and many more services. After this training, we jump into real-world sophisticated scenarios where performing penetration tests are a challenge. With real-life case studies, we take you on a journey through client-side attacks using Metasploit and various scripts built on the Metasploit framework. The final instalment of your learning journey will be covered through a bootcamp approach. You will be able to bring together the learning together and speed up and integrate Metasploit with leading industry tools for penetration testing. You’ll finish by working on challenges based on user’s preparation and work towards solving the challenge. The course provides you with highly practical content explaining Metasploit from the following Packt books:1. Metasploit for Beginners 2. Mastering Metasploit, Second Edition3. Metasploit Bootcamp

Python Machine Learning. Learn how to build powerful Python machine learning algorithms to generate useful data insights with this data analysis tutorial

Sebastian Raschka

Machine learning and predictive analytics are transforming the way businesses and other organizations operate. Being able to understand trends and patterns in complex data is critical to success, becoming one of the key strategies for unlocking growth in a challenging contemporary marketplace. Python can help you deliver key insights into your data – its unique capabilities as a language let you build sophisticated algorithms and statistical models that can reveal new perspectives and answer key questions that are vital for success.Python Machine Learning gives you access to the world of predictive analytics and demonstrates why Python is one of the world’s leading data science languages. If you want to ask better questions of data, or need to improve and extend the capabilities of your machine learning systems, this practical data science book is invaluable. Covering a wide range of powerful Python libraries, including scikit-learn, Theano, and Keras, and featuring guidance and tips on everything from sentiment analysis to neural networks, you’ll soon be able to answer some of the most important questions facing you and your organization.

Internet of Things with ESP8266. Build amazing Internet of Things projects using the ESP8266 Wi-Fi chip

Marco Schwartz

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of objects such as physical things embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and connectivity, enabling data exchange. ESP8266 is a low cost WiFi microcontroller chip that has the ability to empower IoT and helps the exchange of information among various connected objects. ESP8266 consists of networkable microcontroller modules, and with this low cost chip, IoT is booming. This book will help deepen your knowledge of the ESP8266 WiFi chip platform and get you building exciting projects. Kick-starting with an introduction to the ESP8266 chip, we will demonstrate how to build a simple LED using the ESP8266. You will then learn how to read, send, and monitor data from the cloud. Next, you’ll see how to control your devices remotely from anywhere in the world. Furthermore, you’ll get to know how to use the ESP8266 to interact with web services such as Twitter and Facebook. In order to make several ESP8266s interact and exchange data without the need for human intervention, you will be introduced to the concept of machine-to-machine communication. The latter part of the book focuses more on projects, including a door lock controlled from the cloud, building a physical Bitcoin ticker, and doing wireless gardening. You’ll learn how to build a cloud-based ESP8266 home automation system and a cloud-controlled ESP8266 robot. Finally, you’ll discover how to build your own cloud platform to control ESP8266 devices.With this book, you will be able to create and program Internet of Things projects using the ESP8266 WiFi chip.

Instant RESS Implementation How-to. Take your responsive websites to the next level with server-side components

Chip Lambert

The web design industry has changed dramatically in the last year. Everything that was common practice before is now outdated and everyone is clambering to keep up. Get ahead of the curve with the future of responsive web design, RESS. Responsive Web design with Server Side components gives you the best of both worlds. Instant RESS Implementation How-to is an introduction to using server-side languages such as PHP to build a website that can easily adapt to whatever device the user visits your site with. You will no longer need a specific mobile site. RESS means saying goodbye to .m and .mobi forever.Instant RESS Implementation How-to will teach you everything you need to get started with RESS and start on the journey to becoming a better web developer. It looks at a new way to build mobile websites that can still have the look and functionality of a normal website.You will learn how to use PHP along with Modernizr and WURFL to build dynamic websites that deliver different content dependent on the devices being used.If you want a website that is truly ahead of the curve, then this is the book for you.

Reporting with Microsoft SQL Server 2012. Learn to quickly create reports in SSRS and Power View as well as understand the best use of each reporting tool

James Serra, William Anton

In-Memory Analytics with Apache Arrow. Perform fast and efficient data analytics on both flat and hierarchical structured data

Matthew Topol, Wes McKinney

Apache Arrow is designed to accelerate analytics and allow the exchange of data across big data systems easily.In-Memory Analytics with Apache Arrow begins with a quick overview of the Apache Arrow format, before moving on to helping you to understand Arrow’s versatility and benefits as you walk through a variety of real-world use cases. You'll cover key tasks such as enhancing data science workflows with Arrow, using Arrow and Apache Parquet with Apache Spark and Jupyter for better performance and hassle-free data translation, as well as working with Perspective, an open source interactive graphical and tabular analysis tool for browsers. As you advance, you'll explore the different data interchange and storage formats and become well-versed with the relationships between Arrow, Parquet, Feather, Protobuf, Flatbuffers, JSON, and CSV. In addition to understanding the basic structure of the Arrow Flight and Flight SQL protocols, you'll learn about Dremio’s usage of Apache Arrow to enhance SQL analytics and discover how Arrow can be used in web-based browser apps. Finally, you'll get to grips with the upcoming features of Arrow to help you stay ahead of the curve.By the end of this book, you will have all the building blocks to create useful, efficient, and powerful analytical services and utilities with Apache Arrow.

Learning Tableau 2022. Create effective data visualizations, build interactive visual analytics, and improve your data storytelling capabilities - Fifth Edition

Joshua N. Milligan, Blair Hutchinson, Mark Tossell, Roberto Andreoli

Learning Tableau 2022 helps you get started with Tableau and data visualization, but it does more than just cover the basic principles. It helps you understand how to analyze and communicate data visually, and articulate data stories using advanced features.This new edition is updated with Tableau’s latest features, such as dashboard extensions, Explain Data, and integration with CRM Analytics (Einstein Analytics), which will help you harness the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive modeling in Tableau.After an exploration of the core principles, this audiobook will teach you how to use table and level of detail calculations to extend and alter default visualizations, build interactive dashboards, and master the art of telling stories with data.You’ll learn about visual statistical analytics and create different types of static and animated visualizations and dashboards for rich user experiences. We then move on to interlinking different data sources with Tableau’s Data Model capabilities, along with maps and geospatial visualization. You will further use Tableau Prep Builder’s ability to efficiently clean and structure data.By the end of this audiobook, you will be proficient in implementing the powerful features of Tableau 2022 to improve the business intelligence insights you can extract from your data.

Mastering Linux Network Administration. Master the skills and techniques that are required to design, deploy, and administer real Linux-based networks

Jay LaCroix

Linux is everywhere. Whether you run a home office, a small business, or manage enterprise systems, Linux can empower your network to perform at its very best. Armed with the advanced tools and best practice guidance of this practical guide, you'll be able to mold Linux networks to your will, empowering your systems and their users to take advantage of all that Linux-based networks have to offer.Understand how Linux networks function and get to grips with essential tips and tricks to manage them - whether you're already managing a networks, or even just starting out. With Debian and CentOS as its source, this book will divulge all the details you need to manage a real Linux-based network. With detailed activities and instructions based on real-world scenarios, this book will be your guide to the exciting world of Linux networking.

Augmented Reality with Kinect. If you know C/C++ programming, then this book will give you the ability to develop augmented reality applications with Microsoft's Kinect. By the end of the course you will have created a complete game

Rui Wang

Microsoft Kinect changes the notion of user interface design. It differs from most other user input controllers as it enables users to interact with the program without touching the mouse or a trackpad. It utilizes motion sensing technology and all it needs is a real-time cameras, tracked skeletons, and gestures.Augmented Reality with Kinect will help you get into the world of Microsoft Kinect programming with the C/C++ language. The book will cover the installation, image streaming, skeleton and face tracking, multi-touch cursors and gesture emulation. Finally, you will end up with a complete Kinect-based game.Augmented Reality with Kinect will help you get into the world of Kinect programming, with a few interesting recipes and a relatively complete example. The book will introduce the following topics: the installation and initialization of Kinect applications; capturing color and depth images; obtaining skeleton and face tracking data; emulating multi-touch cursors and gestures; and developing a complete game using Kinect features.The book is divided in such a way so as to ensure that each topic is given the right amount of focus. Beginners will start from the first chapter and build up to developing their own applications.

Solr Cookbook. Solve real-time problems related to Apache Solr 4.x and 5.0 effectively with the help of over 100 easy-to-follow recipes

Rafal Kuc

Web Development with Blazor. A practical guide to start building interactive UIs with C# 11 and .NET 7 - Second Edition

Jimmy Engström, Jeff Fritz

Blazor is an essential tool if you want to build interactive web apps without JavaScript, but it has a learning curve. Updated with the latest code in .NET 7 and C# 11 and written by someone who adopted Blazor early, this book will help you overcome the challenges associated with being a beginner with Blazor and teach you the best coding practices.You’ll start by learning how to leverage the power of Blazor and exploring the full capabilities of both Blazor Server and Blazor WebAssembly. Then you'll move on to the practical part, centered around a sample project – a blog engine. You'll apply all your newfound knowledge about creating Blazor projects, the inner workings of Razor syntax, validating forms, and creating your own components.This new edition also looks at source generators, dives deeper into Blazor WebAssembly with ahead-of-time, and includes a dedicated new chapter demonstrating how to move components of an existing JavaScript (Angular, React) or MVC-based website to Blazor or combine the two. You’ll also see how to use Blazor (Hybrid) together with .NET MAUI to create cross-platform desktop and mobile applications.When you reach the end of this book, you'll have the confidence you need to create and deploy production-ready Blazor applications, and you'll have a big-picture view of the Blazor landscape.

The Statistics and Machine Learning with R Workshop. Unlock the power of efficient data science modeling with this hands-on guide

Liu Peng

The Statistics and Machine Learning with R Workshop is a comprehensive resource packed with insights into statistics and machine learning, along with a deep dive into R libraries. The learning experience is further enhanced by practical examples and hands-on exercises that provide explanations of key concepts.Starting with the fundamentals, you’ll explore the complete model development process, covering everything from data pre-processing to model development. In addition to machine learning, you’ll also delve into R's statistical capabilities, learning to manipulate various data types and tackle complex mathematical challenges from algebra and calculus to probability and Bayesian statistics. You’ll discover linear regression techniques and more advanced statistical methodologies to hone your skills and advance your career.By the end of this book, you'll have a robust foundational understanding of statistics and machine learning. You’ll also be proficient in using R's extensive libraries for tasks such as data processing and model training and be well-equipped to leverage the full potential of R in your future projects.

Data Modeling with Snowflake. A practical guide to accelerating Snowflake development using universal data modeling techniques

Serge Gershkovich, Kent Graziano

The Snowflake Data Cloud is one of the fastest-growing platforms for data warehousing and application workloads. Snowflake's scalable, cloud-native architecture and expansive set of features and objects enables you to deliver data solutions quicker than ever before.Yet, we must ensure that these solutions are developed using recommended design patterns and accompanied by documentation that’s easily accessible to everyone in the organization.This book will help you get familiar with simple and practical data modeling frameworks that accelerate agile design and evolve with the project from concept to code. These universal principles have helped guide database design for decades, and this book pairs them with unique Snowflake-native objects and examples like never before – giving you a two-for-one crash course in theory as well as direct application.By the end of this Snowflake book, you’ll have learned how to leverage Snowflake’s innovative features, such as time travel, zero-copy cloning, and change-data-capture, to create cost-effective, efficient designs through time-tested modeling principles that are easily digestible when coupled with real-world examples.

Getting Started with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization. Leverage powerful Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization solutions to build your own IaaS cloud

Pradeep Subramaniaan

Python Reinforcement Learning. Solve complex real-world problems by mastering reinforcement learning algorithms using OpenAI Gym and TensorFlow

Sudharsan Ravichandiran, Sean Saito, Rajalingappaa Shanmugamani, Yang Wenzhuo

Reinforcement Learning (RL) is the trending and most promising branch of artificial intelligence. This Learning Path will help you master not only the basic reinforcement learning algorithms but also the advanced deep reinforcement learning algorithms.The Learning Path starts with an introduction to RL followed by OpenAI Gym, and TensorFlow. You will then explore various RL algorithms, such as Markov Decision Process, Monte Carlo methods, and dynamic programming, including value and policy iteration. You'll also work on various datasets including image, text, and video. This example-rich guide will introduce you to deep RL algorithms, such as Dueling DQN, DRQN, A3C, PPO, and TRPO. You will gain experience in several domains, including gaming, image processing, and physical simulations. You'll explore TensorFlow and OpenAI Gym to implement algorithms that also predict stock prices, generate natural language, and even build other neural networks. You will also learn about imagination-augmented agents, learning from human preference, DQfD, HER, and many of the recent advancements in RL.By the end of the Learning Path, you will have all the knowledge and experience needed to implement RL and deep RL in your projects, and you enter the world of artificial intelligence to solve various real-life problems.This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products:• Hands-On Reinforcement Learning with Python by Sudharsan Ravichandiran• Python Reinforcement Learning Projects by Sean Saito, Yang Wenzhuo, and Rajalingappaa Shanmugamani

Software Test Design. Write comprehensive test plans to uncover critical bugs in web, desktop, and mobile apps

Simon Amey

Software Test Design details best practices for testing software applications and writing comprehensive test plans. Written by an expert with over twenty years of experience in the high-tech industry, this guide will provide you with training and practical examples to improve your testing skills.Thorough testing requires a thorough understanding of the functionality under test, informed by exploratory testing and described by a detailed functional specification. This book is divided into three sections, the first of which will describe how best to complete those tasks to start testing from a solid foundation.Armed with the feature specification, functional testing verifies the visible behavior of features by identifying equivalence partitions, boundary values, and other key test conditions. This section explores techniques such as black- and white-box testing, trying error cases, finding security weaknesses, improving the user experience, and how to maintain your product in the long term.The final section describes how best to test the limits of your application. How does it behave under failure conditions and can it recover? What is the maximum load it can sustain? And how does it respond when overloaded?By the end of this book, you will know how to write detailed test plans to improve the quality of your software applications.

Angular Design Patterns and Best Practices. Create scalable and adaptable applications that grow to meet evolving user needs

Alvaro Camillo Neto, William Grasel, Loiane Groner

Single page applications (SPAs) have become the standard for most web experiences. Angular, with its batteries-included approach, has emerged as a powerful framework for simplifying the development of these interfaces by offering a comprehensive toolbox. This book guides you through the Angular ecosystem, uncovering invaluable design patterns and harnessing its essential features.The book begins by laying a strong foundation, helping you understand when and why Angular should be your web development framework of choice. The next set of chapters will help you gain expertise in component design and architecting efficient, flexible, and high-performing communication patterns between components. You’ll then delve into Angular's advanced features to create forms in a productive and secure way with robust data model typing. You'll also learn how to enhance productivity using interceptors to reuse code for common functionalities, such as token management, across various apps. The book also covers micro frontend architecture in depth to effectively apply this architectural approach and concludes by helping you master the art of crafting tests and handling errors effortlessly.By the end of this book, you'll have unlocked the full potential of the Angular framework.

Matplotlib for Python Developers. Effective techniques for data visualization with Python - Second Edition

Aldrin Yim, Claire Chung, Allen Yu

Python is a general-purpose programming language increasingly being used for data analysis and visualization. Matplotlib is a popular data visualization package in Python used to design effective plots and graphs. This is a practical, hands-on resource to help you visualize data with Python using the Matplotlib library. Matplotlib for Python Developers, Second Edition shows you how to create attractive graphs, charts, and plots using Matplotlib. You will also get a quick introduction to third-party packages, Seaborn, Pandas, Basemap, and Geopandas, and learn how to use them with Matplotlib. After that, you’ll embed and customize your plots in third-party tools such as GTK+3, Qt 5, and wxWidgets. You’ll also be able to tweak the look and feel of your visualization with the help of practical examples provided in this book. Further on, you’ll explore Matplotlib 2.1.x on the web, from a cloud-based platform using third-party packages such as Django. Finally, you will integrate interactive, real-time visualization techniques into your current workflow with the help of practical real-world examples.By the end of this book, you’ll be thoroughly comfortable with using the popular Python data visualization library Matplotlib 2.1.x and leveraging its power to build attractive, insightful, and powerful visualizations.

.NET MAUI Cross-Platform Application Development. Build high-performance apps for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows using XAML and Blazor with .NET 8 - Second Edition

Roger Ye

An evolution of Xamarin.Forms, .NET MAUI is a cross-platform framework for creating native mobile and desktop apps with C# and XAML. Using .NET MAUI, you can develop apps that’ll run on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows from a single shared codebase. In this revised edition of .NET MAUI Cross-Platform Application Development you will be introduced to .NET 8 and get up to speed with app development in no time.The book begins by showing you how to develop a cross-platform application using .NET MAUI, including guidance for migrating from Xamarin.Forms. You’ll gain all the knowledge needed to create a cross-platform application for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows following an example project step by step.As you advance, you’ll integrate the latest frontend technology into your app using Blazor components, including the new Blazor Bindings feature. After this, you’ll learn how to test and deploy your apps. With new coverage on creating mock .NET MAUI components, you can develop unit tests for your application. You will additionally learn how to perform Razor component testing using bUnit.By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to develop your own cross-platform applications using .NET MAUI.

Scoring to Picture in Logic Pro. Explore synchronization techniques for film, TV, and multimedia composers using Apple's flagship DAW

Prof. Chris Piorkowski, David K. Schmal, Luciano Saber, Michael M. Conti

This book will help you leverage the Logic Pro digital audio workstation (DAW) for scoring to picture. With the help of expert insights from a Hollywood film composer, you'll understand how the film music industry works and be ready to meet the demands of film directors or producers, exploring common scenarios and the process of post-production and final film score delivery. Packed with all the technical and practical skills needed when scoring to picture in Logic Pro, along with insights into real film scoring tasks, this book will prepare you for success in the industry.You’ll start by getting acquainted with film scoring terminology and then advance to working with QuickTime video and its components, getting an overview of how to set up and sync a movie file in Logic Pro. You’ll see the different methods of creating tempo maps, find a suitable tempo for a film scene using hit points and scene markers, and work with time signature and beat mapping functions. You’ll also work with a pre-composed score of a Mercedes commercial that you can analyze and emulate in your own Logic Pro session.By the end of this book, you’ll have gained new skills and the knowledge of commonly used industry scenarios to help you enter the professional market of scoring to picture.

Azure Cloud Adoption Framework Handbook. A comprehensive guide to adopting and governing the cloud for your digital transformation

Sasa Kovacevic, Darren Dempsey

You've heard about the benefits of the cloud and you want to get on board, but you’re not sure where to start, what services to use, or how to make sure your data is safe. Making the decision to move to the cloud can be daunting and it's easy to get overwhelmed, but if you're not careful, you can easily make mistakes that cost you time and money.Azure Cloud Adoption Framework Handbook is here to help. This guide will take you step-by-step through the process of making the switch to the Microsoft Azure cloud. You’ll learn everything from foundational cloud concepts and planning workload migration through to upskilling and organization transformation. As you advance, you’ll find out how to identify and align your business goals with the most suitable cloud technology options available. The chapters are designed in a way to enable you to plan for a smooth transition, while minimizing disruption to your day-to-day operations. You’ll also discover how the cloud can help drive innovation in your business or enable modern software development practices such as microservices and CI/CD. Throughout the chapters, you’ll see how decision makers can interact with other internal stakeholders to achieve success through the power of collaboration. By the end of this book, you’ll be more informed and less overwhelmed about moving your business to the cloud.

Learning Python Network Programming. Utilize Python 3 to get network applications up and running quickly and easily

Dr. M. O. Faruque Sarker, Samuel B Washington, Sam Washington