Cocos2d Cross-Platform Game Development Cookbook. Develop games for iOS and Android using Cocos2d with the aid of over 70 step-by-step recipes - Second Edition

Siddharth Shekar, Raydelto Hernandez

Cocos2d is the world’s leading game development framework for developing iOS games. With the introduction of Swift and Spritebuilder, it has become easier than ever to develop the games of your dreams without much effort. With Cocos2d, you can also deploy the game on Android, thereby maximizing profit and reducing development and porting costs.The book starts off with a detailed look at how to implement sprites and animations into your game to make it livelier. You will then learn to add scenes to the game such as the gameplay scene and options scene and create menus and buttons in these scenes, as well as creating transitions between them. From there on, you will get an understanding of how to program user interactions such as tapping, holding, and swiping. You’ll then add accelerometer inputs and physics to the scene, and make objects respond back to the inputs. A game is practically incomplete without audio being added, so this will be covered next. The next section will include ways to add Artificial Intelligence to enemies in the game, allowing them to patrol, chase, and shoot in a projectile manner. You will then learn to use NSUserDefault to save and load game progress, and create and access files using JSON, Plist, and XML files for custom storage and retrieval of data. Then you will learn to add dynamic lighting to your game and will use industry-wide tools such as Texture Packer, Glyph Designer, Physics Editor, Particle Designer, and Sprite Illuminator to create more visually appealing and performance-optimized games.Towards the end of the book, we dive into Apple’s latest programming language—Swift, highlighting the major differences between Objective C and Swift. The book culminates with taking your existing game developed for iOS and porting it to Android, showing you how to install the Android Xcode plugin as well.

PhpStorm Cookbook. Discover over 80 recipes to learn how to build and test PHP applications efficiently using the PhpStorm IDE

Mukund Chaudhary

Writing API Tests with Karate. Enhance your API testing for improved security and performance

Benjamin Bischoff, Peter Thomas

Software in recent years is moving away from centralized systems and monoliths to smaller, scalable components that communicate with each other through APIs. Testing these communication interfaces is becoming increasingly important to ensure the security, performance, and extensibility of the software. A powerful tool to achieve safe and robust applications is Karate, an easy-to-use, and powerful software testing framework.In this book, you’ll work with different modules of karate to get tailored solutions for modern test challenges. You’ll be exploring interface testing, UI testing as well as performance testing.By the end of this book, you’ll be able to use the Karate framework in your software development lifecycle to make your APIs and applications robust and trustworthy.

Enterprise GENERATIVE AI Well-Architected Framework & Patterns. An Architect's Real-life Guide to Adopting Generative AI in Enterprises at Scale

Suvoraj Biswas

The course begins with an insightful introduction to the burgeoning field of Generative AI, laying down a robust framework for understanding its applications within the AWS ecosystem.The course focuses on meticulously detailing the five pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework—Operational Excellence, Security, Compliance, Reliability, and Cost Optimization. Each module is crafted to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of these essential areas, integrating Generative AI technologies. You'll learn how to navigate the complexities of securing AI systems, ensuring they comply with legal and regulatory standards, and designing them for unparalleled reliability. Practical sessions on cost optimization strategies for AI projects will empower you to deliver value without compromising on performance or scalability. Furthermore, the course delves into System Architecture Excellence, emphasizing the importance of robust design principles in creating effective Generative AI solutions.The course wraps up by offering a forward-looking perspective on the Common Architectural Pattern for FM/LLM Integration & Adoption within the AWS framework. You'll gain hands-on experience with AWS solutions specifically tailored for Generative AI applications, including Lambda, API Gateway, and DynamoDB, among others.

Mastering Windows Security and Hardening. Secure and protect your Windows environment from intruders, malware attacks, and other cyber threats

Mark Dunkerley, Matt Tumbarello

Are you looking for effective ways to protect Windows-based systems from being compromised by unauthorized users?Mastering Windows Security and Hardening is a detailed guide that helps you gain expertise when implementing efficient security measures and creating robust defense solutions.We will begin with an introduction to Windows security fundamentals, baselining, and the importance of building a baseline for an organization. As you advance, you will learn how to effectively secure and harden your Windows-based system, protect identities, and even manage access. In the concluding chapters, the book will take you through testing, monitoring, and security operations. In addition to this, you’ll be equipped with the tools you need to ensure compliance and continuous monitoring through security operations.By the end of this book, you’ll have developed a full understanding of the processes and tools involved in securing and hardening your Windows environment.

Full Stack Development with Spring Boot 3 and React. Build modern web applications using the power of Java, React, and TypeScript - Fourth Edition

Juha Hinkula

If you’re an existing Java developer who wants to go full stack or pick up another frontend framework, this book is your concise introduction to React. In this three-part build-along, you’ll create a robust Spring Boot backend, a React frontend, and then deploy them together.This new edition is updated to Spring Boot 3 and includes expanded content on security and testing. For the first time ever, it also covers React development with the in-demand TypeScript.You’ll explore the elements that go into creating a REST API and testing, securing, and deploying your applications. You’ll learn about custom Hooks, third-party components, and MUI.By the end of this book, you'll be able to build a full stack application using the latest tools and modern best practices.

3D Printing Designs: The Sun Puzzle. Bringing puzzles in 3 dimensions for 3D printing with Blender

Joe Larson

Jigsaw puzzles derive their name from when they were cut from wood sheets using a hand-woodworking tool called a jig saw back in the 1760s. Have you ever wondered how a model idea for a jigsaw puzzle is articulated, and how it was made with these traditional tools? Through this book, you will master the techniques of designing simple to complex puzzles models for 3D printing. We will quickly introduce you to some simple and effective principles of designing 3D printed objects using Blender. Through the course of the book, you'll explore various robust sculpting methods supported by Blender that allow you to edit objects with actions such as bends or curves, similar to drawing or building up a clay structure of different shapes and sizes. Finally, when the model is sculpted, you'll learn some methods to cut the model and carve out multiple pieces of perfectly-fitting edges of different geometries to complete the puzzle.-------------------------------------------Note from CM - [Page count: 60][Price: $9.99 eBook | $19.99 print]

PostgreSQL 16 Administration Cookbook. Solve real-world Database Administration challenges with 180+ practical recipes and best practices

Gianni Ciolli, Boriss Mejías, Jimmy Angelakos, Vibhor Kumar, ...

PostgreSQL has seen a huge increase in its customer base in the past few years and is becoming one of the go-to solutions for anyone who has a database-specific challenge. This PostgreSQL book touches on all the fundamentals of Database Administration in a problem-solution format. It is intended to be the perfect desk reference guide.This new edition focuses on recipes based on the new PostgreSQL 16 release. The additions include handling complex batch loading scenarios with the SQL MERGE statement, security improvements, running Postgres on Kubernetes or with TPA and Ansible, and more. This edition also focuses on certain performance gains, such as query optimization, and the acceleration of specific operations, such as sort. It will help you understand roles, ensuring high availability, concurrency, and replication. It also draws your attention to aspects like validating backups, recovery, monitoring, and scaling aspects. This book will act as a one-stop solution to all your real-world database administration challenges.By the end of this book, you will be able to manage, monitor, and replicate your PostgreSQL 16 database for efficient administration and maintenance with the best practices from experts.