Modern Web Testing with TestCafe. Get to grips with end-to-end web testing with TestCafe and JavaScript

Dmytro Shpakovskyi

TestCafe is an open source end-to-end testing framework that combines unmatched ease of use with advanced automation and robust built-in stability mechanisms. This book is a comprehensive, project-based introduction to TestCafe that will show you how to use the TestCafe framework and enable you to write fast and reliable tests; plus you’ll have a proof of concept ready to demonstrate the practical potential of TestCafe.You’ll begin by learning how to write end-to-end web tests using the TestCafe syntax and features of the TestCafe framework. You’ll then go from setting up the environment all the way through to writing production-ready tests. You’ll also find out how to build a sample set of tests in a step-by-step manner and use TestCafe to log in to the website, verify the elements present on different pages, create/delete entities, and run custom JavaScript code. As you advance, you’ll delve into several stages of refactoring that will take you through the showcase setup/teardown and PageObject patterns. While this test suite is relatively simple to build, it showcases some of the most prominent features of TestCafe. Finally, this TestCafe book will show you how the tests can be run on a free and simple-to-use website, without requiring you to build and deploy your own servers or backend services.By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to write and enhance end-to-end tests with TestCafe to solve real-world problems and deliver results.

Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation 4.0 Cookbook for Developing SOA Applications. Over 85 easy recipes for managing communication between applications

Juntao Cheng, Steven Cheng

The Windows Communication Foundation 4.0 (WCF 4.0) is a .NET-based application programming interface for building and running connected systems. It enables secure and reliable communication among systems within an organization or across the Internet. This book deals with the difficult issues faced by a .NET developer while working with WCF.WCF 4.0 is a communications infrastructure that unifies a broad array of distributed systems' capabilities in a composable, extensible architecture that supports multiple transports, messaging patterns, encodings, network topologies, and hosting models. This book is a collection of focused real-world recipes and covers basic recipes on topics such as working with contracts to more advanced topics such as extending WCF runtime. By the end of this book you will have valuable information that helps transform the potentially unproductive habits of .Net developers who work with WCF.This book will take you through many concepts starting with complete support for contract-related design for WCF service development. You will learn to use WCF's built-in feature for building various service endpoints. Service hosting and configuration are important areas for building WCF services, especially at the service deployment stage, and are detailed in this book. You will find it easy to work with WCF client proxy generation and metadata publishing and discovery when you go through recipes such as customizing auto-generated service proxies.The author then discusses the exchange of data in WCF service operation features, related to WCF data serialization. You will discover some useful tips for security in WCF service development and built-in features for developing concurrency control for your services built upon it.One big plus is that you will learn to extend the existing WCF framework to achieve advanced functionality. You will find a dedicated chapter for RESTful and AJAX-enabled service development. Moving on, you will find several useful WCF service interoperability cases, which are important for a distributed service development platform. Towards the end of this book you will find some handy and useful diagnostic methods for troubleshooting.

Building Python Real-Time Applications with Storm. Learn to process massive real-time data streams using Storm and Python—no Java required!

Kartik Bhatnagar, Barry Hart

Big data is a trending concept that everyone wants to learn about. With its ability to process all kinds of data in real time, Storm is an important addition to your big data “bag of tricks.” At the same time, Python is one of the fastest-growing programming languages today. It has become a top choice for both data science and everyday application development. Together, Storm and Python enable you to build and deploy real-time big data applications quickly and easily.You will begin with some basic command tutorials to set up storm and learn about its configurations in detail. You will then go through the requirement scenarios to create a Storm cluster. Next, you’ll be provided with an overview of Petrel, followed by an example of Twitter topology and persistence using Redis and MongoDB. Finally, you will build a production-quality Storm topology using development best practices.

Realizing 3D Animation in Blender. Master the fundamentals of 3D animation in Blender, from keyframing to character movement

Sam Brubaker

Completely free and open source, Blender, with its supportive community and powerful feature set, is an indispensable tool for creating 3D animations. However, learning the software can be a challenge given the complexity of its interface and the intricacies of animation theory.If you want to venture into 3D animation but don’t know where to start, Realizing 3D Animation in Blender is for you. Adopting a practical approach, this guide simplifies the theory of 3D animation and the many animation workflows specific to Blender. Through detailed exercises and a sharp focus on the animation process, this book equips you with everything you need to set out on your path to becoming a 3D animator. It’s much more than just an introduction; this book covers complex concepts such as F-Curve modifiers, rigid-body physics simulation, and animating with multiple cameras, presented in an easy-to-follow manner to avoid common pitfalls encountered by novice animators.By the end of this Blender 3D animation book, you’ll have gained the knowledge, experience, and inspiration to start creating impressive 3D animations on your own.

Running Windows Containers on AWS. A complete guide to successfully running Windows containers on Amazon ECS, EKS, and AWS Fargate

Marcio Morales

Windows applications are everywhere, from basic intranet applications to high-traffic public APIs. Their prevalence underscores the importance of combining the same tools and experience for managing a modern containerized application with existing critical Windows applications to reduce costs, achieve outstanding operational excellence, and modernize quickly. This comprehensive guide to running and managing Windows containers on AWS looks at the best practices from years of customer interactions to help you stay ahead of the curve.Starting with Windows containers basics, you’ll learn about the architecture design that powers Amazon ECS, EKS, and AWS Fargate for Windows containers. With the help of examples and best practices, you’ll explore in depth how to successfully run and manage Amazon ECS, EKS, and AWS Fargate clusters with Windows containers support. Next, the book covers day 2 operations in detail, from logging and monitoring to using ancillary AWS tools that fully containerize existing legacy .NET Framework applications into containers without any code changes. The book also covers the most common Windows container operations, such as image lifecycle and working with ephemeral hosts.By the end of this book, you’ll have mastered how to run Windows containers on AWS and be ready to start your modernization journey confidently.

Microsoft Intune Cookbook. Over 75 recipes for configuring, managing, and automating your identities, apps, and endpoint devices

Andrew Taylor

Microsoft Intune is a powerful cloud-managed mobile device management (MDM) tool that empowers you to manage your end-user device estate across various platforms. While it is an excellent platform, the initial setup and configuration can be a daunting process, and mistakes made early on can be more challenging to resolve later. This book addresses these issues by guiding you through the end-to-end configuration of an Intune environment, incorporating best practices and utilizing the latest functionalities.In addition to setting up your environment, you’ll delve into the Microsoft Graph platform to understand the underlying mechanisms behind the web GUI. This knowledge will enable you to automate a significant portion of your daily tasks using PowerShell.By the end of this book, you’ll have established an Intune environment that supports Windows, Apple iOS, Apple macOS, and Android devices. You’ll possess the expertise to add new configurations, policies, and applications, tailoring an environment to your specific requirements. Additionally, you’ll have the ability to troubleshoot any issues that may arise and package and deploy your company applications. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn how to use Microsoft Intune to manage their organization's end-user devices.

Learning Anime Studio. Bring life to your imagination with the power of Anime Studio

Chad Troftgruben

Robo-Advisor with Python. A hands-on guide to building and operating your own Robo-advisor

Aki Ranin

Robo-advisors are becoming table stakes for the wealth management industry across all segments, from retail to high-net-worth investors. Robo-advisors enable you to manage your own portfolios and financial institutions to create automated platforms for effective digital wealth management. This book is your hands-on guide to understanding how Robo-advisors work, and how to build one efficiently. The chapters are designed in a way to help you get a comprehensive grasp of what Robo-advisors do and how they are structured with an end-to-end workflow.You’ll begin by learning about the key decisions that influence the building of a Robo-advisor, along with considerations on building and licensing a platform. As you advance, you’ll find out how to build all the core capabilities of a Robo-advisor using Python, including goals, risk questionnaires, portfolios, and projections. The book also shows you how to create orders, as well as open accounts and perform KYC verification for transacting. Finally, you’ll be able to implement capabilities such as performance reporting and rebalancing for operating a Robo-advisor with ease.By the end of this book, you’ll have gained a solid understanding of how Robo-advisors work and be well on your way to building one for yourself or your business.