Publisher: Packt Publishing
Founded in 2004 in Birmingham, UK, Packt's mission is to help the world put software to work in new ways, through the delivery of effective learning and information services to IT professionals. Working towards that vision, we have published over 6,500 books and videos so far, providing IT professionals with the actionable knowledge they need to get the job done - whether that's specific learning on an emerging technology or optimizing key skills in more established tools. As part of our mission, we have also awarded over $1,000,000 through our Open Source Project Royalty scheme, helping numerous projects become household names along the way.
5489
Ebook

Business Intelligence Cookbook: A Project Lifecycle Approach Using Oracle Technology. Take your data warehousing and business intelligence to the next level with this practical guide to Oracle Database 11g. Packed with illustrations, tips, and examples, it has over 80 advanced recipes to fine-tune your skills and knowledge

John Heaton

Oracle Database 11g is a comprehensive database platform for data warehousing and business intelligence that combines industry-leading scalability and performance, deeply-integrated analytics, and embedded integration and data-quality all in a single platform running on a reliable, low-cost grid infrastructure. This book steps through the lifecycle of building a data warehouse with key tips and techniques along the way.Business Intelligence Cookbook: A Project Lifecycle Approach Using Oracle Technology outlines the key ways to effectively use Oracle technology to deliver your business intelligence solution. This is a practical guide starting with key recipes for project management then moving onto project delivery.Business Intelligence Cookbook: A Project Lifecycle Approach Using Oracle Technology is a practical guide for performing key steps and functions on your project. This book starts with setting the foundation for a highly repeatable efficient project management approach by assessing your current methodology to see how suitable it is for a business intelligence program. We also learn to set up the project delivery phases to consistently estimate the effort for a project. Along the way we learn to create blueprints for the business intelligence solution that help to connect and map out the destination of the solution. We then move on to analyze requirements, sources, and data. Finally we learn to secure the data as it is an important asset within the organization and needs to be secured efficiently and effectively.

5490
Ebook

Extending Excel with Python and R. Unlock the potential of analytics languages for advanced data manipulation and visualization

Steven Sanderson, David Kun

– Extending Excel with Python and R is a game changer resource written by experts Steven Sanderson, the author of the healthyverse suite of R packages, and David Kun, co-founder of Functional Analytics. – This comprehensive guide transforms the way you work with spreadsheet-based data by integrating Python and R with Excel to automate tasks, execute statistical analysis, and create powerful visualizations. – Working through the chapters, you’ll find out how to perform exploratory data analysis, time series analysis, and even integrate APIs for maximum efficiency. – Both beginners and experts will get everything you need to unlock Excel's full potential and take your data analysis skills to the next level. – By the end of this book, you’ll be able to import data from Excel, manipulate it in R or Python, and perform the data analysis tasks in your preferred framework while pushing the results back to Excel for sharing with others as needed.

5491
Ebook

CryENGINE Game Programming with C++, C#, and Lua. For developers wanting to create 3D games, CryENGINE offers the intuitive route to success and this book is the complete guide to using it. Learn to use sophisticated tools and build super-real, super-addictive games

Ruan Pearce-Authers, Filip Lundgren, Ruan Pearce Authers

CryENGINE is a complete 3D game development solution that can run on multiple platforms. It is orientated around giving intuitive tools to the developer. A variety of interactive video games can be created using CryENGINE. CryENGINE is one of the most beginner-friendly engines out there to learn. If you are interested in diving into the various systems and understanding their workings in a way that is easily understood, then this book is for you.This book provides you with the knowledge to tame the powerful but hard-to-master CryENGINE. CryENGINE Game Programming with C++, C#, and Lua dives into the various systems and explains their workings in a way that can be easily understood by developers of all levels. It provides knowledge on the engine along with step-by-step exercises and detailed information on the backend implementation of the subsystems, giving you an excellent foundation to build upon when developing your own CryENGINE games.Written by developers with years of CryENGINE experience, this book breaks down the common confusion that encompasses the CryENGINE engine code, guiding you through a series of chapters aimed towards giving you the ability to create your own games in a rapid yet productive fashion. You will learn everything you need to know in order to create your own CryENGINE-powered games as well as detailed information on how to use the engine to your advantage. By teaching systems such as audio, particle effects, rendering, AI, networking, and more, we'll be exposing the most inner parts of CryENGINE that commonly confuse programmers. If you want to quickly gain the knowledge required to create your own CryENGINE game title, then this book is for you.

5492
Ebook

Unity 2017 Game AI programming. Leverage the power of Artificial Intelligence to program smart entities for your games - Third Edition

Raymundo Barrera

Unity 2017 provides game and app developers with a variety of tools to implement Artificial Intelligence. Leveraging these tools via Unity's API or built-in features allows limitless possibilities when it comes to creating your game's worlds and characters. This third edition with Unity will help you break down Artificial Intelligence into simple concepts to give you a fundamental understanding of the topic to build upon. Using a variety of examples, the book then takes those concepts and walks you through actual implementations designed to highlight key concepts, and features related to game AI in Unity 5. Further on you will learn to distinguish the state machine pattern and implement one of your own. This is followed by learning how to implement a basic sensory system for your AI agent and coupling it with a Finite State Machine (FSM).Next you'll learn how to use Unity's built-in NavMesh feature and implement your own A* pathfinding system. You will then learn how to implement simple flocks and crowd's dynamics, key AI concepts. Moving on, you will learn how to implement a behavior tree through a game-focused example. Lastly, you'll combine fuzzy logic concepts with state machines and apply all the concepts in the book to build a simple tank game.

5493
Ebook

Blender 3D: Designing Objects. Click here to enter text

Romain Caudron, Pierre-Armand Nicq, Enrico Valenza

Blender is a powerful, stable tool with an integral workflow that will allow you to understand 3D creation with ease. With its integrated game engine and use of the Python language, it is an efficient choice for many productions, including 3D animated or live action films, architecture, research, and even game creation. Blender has an active community that contributes to expanding its functionalities. Today, it is used in many professional products and by many companies.Throughout Blender for Designers, you will create many types of complete projects using a step-by-step approach. Start by getting to know the modeling tools available in Blender to create a 3D robot toy, and discover more advanced techniques such as sculpting and retopology by creating an alien character. Move on in the second module to engage with the workflow used to create characters. Run through the process from modeling to the rendering stages, using the tools of the latest official release of Blender.The last module will teach you how to utilize the power of the Blender series to create a wide variety of materials, textures, and effects using the Cycles rendering engine. You will learn about node-based shader creation, and master Cycles through step-by-step, recipe-based advice. Start small by rendering the textures of stones and water, then scale things up to massive landscapes of mountains and oceans. This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products:•Blender 3D By Example By Romain Caudron and Pierre-Armand Nicq•Blender 3D Cookbook By Enrico Valenza•Blender Cycles: Materials and Textures Cookbook - Third Edition By Enrico Valenza

5494
Ebook

Developing Modern Database Applications with PostgreSQL. Use the highly available and object-relational PostgreSQL to build scalable and reliable apps

Dr. Quan Ha Le, Marcelo Diaz

PostgreSQL is an open-source object-relational database management system (DBMS) that provides enterprise-level services, including high performance and scalability. This book is a collection of unique projects providing you with a wealth of information relating to administering, monitoring, and testing PostgreSQL. The focus of each project is on both the development and the administrative aspects of PostgreSQL.Starting by exploring development aspects such as database design and its implementation, you’ll then cover PostgreSQL administration by understanding PostgreSQL architecture, PostgreSQL performance, and high-availability clusters. Various PostgreSQL projects are explained through current technologies such as DevOps and cloud platforms using programming languages like Python and Node.js. Later, you’ll get to grips with the well-known database API tool, PostgREST, before learning how to use popular PostgreSQL database testing frameworks. The book is also packed with essential tips and tricks and common patterns for working seamlessly in a production environment. All the chapters will be explained with the help of a real-world case study on a small banking application for managing ATM locations in a city.By the end of this DBMS book, you’ll be proficient in building reliable database solutions as per your organization's needs.

5495
Ebook

World of Warcraft Gold Strategy Guide. The comprehensive guide to making gold in World of Warcraft, packed with the latest tips and strategies, designed to make you millions

Eric Gilmour, Eric Dekker

World of Warcraft provides an immersive gaming experience with an exciting new world to explore. In this world (of Warcraft), players use gold to improve their characters and buy exciting items such as armor, vanity items, pets, mounts, and so much more. WoW gold not only helps with levelling up, but also helps the player gain respect in the WoW community.World of Warcraft Gold Strategy Guide will show you the most effective ways to make gold in World of Warcraft. It includes detailed examples and instructions that will set you up to efficiently make plentiful amounts of gold both now and in future expansions.World of Warcraft Gold Strategy Guide will arm you with all the latest strategies to become a World of Warcraft gold tycoon.Start by setting up your accounts for optimal gold making and progress through to advanced market techniques. You will learn to maintain thousands of auctions per day, master add-ons to reduce time spent making gold and increase time spent playing, and set yourself up to obtain anything you want in game.The World of Warcraft Gold Strategy Guide teaches readers how to go from rags to riches.

5496
Ebook

Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure AZ-204 Exam Guide. A comprehensive guide to passing the AZ-204 exam - Second Edition

Paul Ivey, Alex Ivanov

Get ready to delve into Microsoft Azure and build efficient cloud-based solutions with this updated second edition. Authored by seasoned Microsoft trainers, Paul Ivey and Alex Ivanov, this book offers a structured approach to mastering the AZ-204 exam topics while focusing on the intricacies of Azure development.You’ll familiarize yourself with cloud fundamentals, understanding the core concepts of Azure and various cloud models. Next, you’ll gain insights into Azure App Service web apps, containers and container-related services in Azure, Azure Functions, and solutions using Cosmos DB and Azure Blob Storage. Later, you'll learn how to secure your cloud solutions effectively as well as how to implement message- and event-based solutions and caching. You’ll also explore how to monitor and troubleshoot your solutions effectively. To build on your skills, you’ll get hands-on with monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing Azure applications, ensuring peak performance and reliability. Moving ahead, you’ll be able to connect seamlessly to third-party services, harnessing the power of API management, event-based solutions, and message-based solutions.By the end of this MS Azure book, you'll not only be well-prepared to pass the AZ-204 exam but also be equipped with practical skills to excel in Azure development projects.