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