The ubiquity of computer-generated imagery around us, in movies, advertising or on the Internet is already being taken for granted and what impresses most people is the photorealistic quality of the images. Pictures, as we have often been told, are worth a thousand words and the information transported by an image can take many different forms. Many computer graphics researchers are exploring non-photorealistic rendering techniques as an alternative to realistic rendering. Defined by what it is not, non-photorealistic rendering brings art and science together, concentrating less on the process and more on the communication content of an image. Techniques that have long been used by artists can be applied to computer graphics to emphasize subtle attributes and to omit extraneous information. This book provides an overview of the published research on non-photorealistic rendering in order to categorize and distill the current research into a body of usable techniques. A summary of some of the algorithms as well as pseudo-code for producing some of the images is included.

Feminist War Games? explores the critical intersections and collisions between feminist values and perceptions of war, by asking whether feminist values can be asserted as interventional approaches to the design, play, and analysis of games that focus on armed conflict and economies of violence. Focusing on the ways that games, both digital and table-top, can function as narratives, arguments, methods, and instruments of research, the volume demonstrates the impact of computing technologies on our perceptions, ideologies, and actions. Exploring the compatibility between feminist values and systems of war through games is a unique way to pose destabilizing questions, solutions, and approaches; to prototype alternative narratives; and to challenge current idealizations and assumptions. Positing that feminist values can be asserted as a critical method of design, as an ideological design influence, and as a lens that determines how designers and players interact with and within arenas of war, the book addresses the persistence and brutality of war and issues surrounding violence in games, whilst also considering the place and purpose of video games in our cultural moment. Feminist War Games? is a timely volume that questions the often-toxic nature of online and gaming cultures. As such, the book will appeal to a broad variety of disciplinary interests, including sociology, education, psychology, literature, history, politics, game studies, digital humanities, media and cultural studies, and gender studies, as well as those interested in playing, or designing, socially engaged games.

This collection of articles provides practical and relevant tools, tips, and techniques for those working in the digital audio field. Volume II, with contributions from experts in their fields, includes articles on: - Field recording - Synthesis - Signal processing - Spatialization - Computer techniques and tools - Music theory - Sound design - Sound in nature An enclosed CD-ROM provides demos, source code, and examples. Audio Anecdotes is an invaluable tool for anyone who uses digital sound in the creation of computer-generated works: - Musicians - Game developers - Sound producers, and others

Learn to make games that are more fun and engaging! Building on fundamental principles of Artificial Intelligence, Funge explains how to create Non-Player Characters (NPCs) with progressively more sophisticated capabilities. Starting with the basic capability of acting in the game world, the book explains how to develop NPCs who can perceive, remember what they perceive, and then continue in the game play to think about the effects of possible actions, and finally learn from their experience. Funge considers the system architecture and explains how to implement potential behaviors (both reactive and deliberate) for intelligent and responsive NPCs allowing for games that are more fun and engaging. Emphasizing enduring design principles, Funge covers the basics of Game AI and provides a clear, easy to read introduction that beginning programmers and game designers will enjoy.

The human face is perhaps the most familiar and easily recognized object in the world, yet both its three-dimensional shape and its two-dimensional images are complex and hard to characterize. This book develops the vocabulary of ridges and parabolic curves, of illumination eigenfaces and elastic warpings for describing the perceptually salient features of a face and its images. The book also explores the underlying mathematics and applies these mathematical techniques to the computer vision problem of face recognition, using both optical and range images.

This collection of articles provides practical and relevant tools, tips, and techniques for those working in the digital audio field. Volume III, with contributions from experts in their fields, includes articles on a variety of topics, including: - Recording Music - Sound Synthesis - Voice Synthesis - Speech Processing - Applied Signal Processing - HRTF Spatialization - Synchronization - Music Composition - Human Experience Applications of digital audio techniques are indispensable in the recording industry, the film industry, interactive gaming, human computer interaction, and more.

Consider this: Robots will one day be able to write poetry and prose so touching that it will make men weep; compose dozens or even hundreds of symphonies that will rival the work of Mozart; judge a court case with absolute impartiality and fairness; or even converse with the natural ease of your best friend. Robots will one day be so life-like that a human could fall in love and marry one. Thought provoking and controversial? Certainly. Far-fetched? Not at all. David Levy presents the history of Artificial Intelligence, considers recent developments, and speculates about the future of AI. A complete bibliography is available here.

The author compiles everything a student or experienced developmental engineer needs to know about the supporting technologies associated with the rapidly evolving field of robotics. From the table of contents: Design Considerations * Dead Reckoning * Odometry Sensors * Doppler and Inertial Navigation * Typical Mobility Configurations * Tactile and Proximity Sensing * Triangulation Ranging * Stereo Disparity * Active Triangulation * Active Stereoscopic * Hermies * Structured Light * Known Target Size * Time of Flight * Phase-Shift Measurement * Frequency Modulation * Interferometry * Range from Focus * Return Signal Intensity * Acoustical Energy * Electromagnetic Energy * Optical Energy * Microwave Radar * Collision Avoidance * Guidepath Following * Position-Location Systems * Ultrasonic and Optical Position-Location Systems * Wall, Doorway, andCeiling Referencing * Application-Specific Mission Sensors

Unlike traditional embedded systems references, this book skips routine things to focus on programming microcontrollers, specifically MCS-51 family in C using Keil IDE. The book presents seventeen case studies plus many basic programs organized around on-chip resources. This "learn-through-doing" approach appeals to busy designers. Mastering basic modules and working hands-on with the projects gives readers the basic building blocks for most 8051 programs. Whether you are a student using MCS-51 microcontrollers for project work or an embedded systems programmer, this book will kick-start your practical understanding of the most popular microcontroller, bridging the gap between microcontroller hardware experts and C programmers.

.NET represents a new and improved way of developing software for the Windows platform. Given the chance, youd probably rewrite all of your existing code in the newer managed code environment that .NET provides. But it is difficult or impossible to throw out all existing legacy code and start over when a new technology arrives. Instead, you need to find a way to move forward with new .NET development while reusing existing pieces of tested, working code. You need a way to interoperate with the existing code until you have a chance to finally rewrite all of it in .NET.

The only recipe-style book on the subject,,"NET 2.0 Interoperability Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach" guides Windows developers who are transitioning from native Windows code to .NET managed code. The book Explains new interop features in .NET 2.0 and VS .NET 2005 Covers PInvoke, COM, and COM+ (other books dont cover all three areas) Features most of its example code in C# and VB .NET, and also includes some managed C++/CLI Is written by a working developer with first-hand experience

.NET tools will allow you to interoperate with existing code. But finding the appropriate tool for the task at hand can sometimes be a frustrating experience. So this book will guide you past myriad infrequently used interop options to focus on those youll use most often.

This book introduces a fairly universal approach to the design and analysis of exact optimization algorithms for multi-objective combinatorial optimization problems. It proposes the circuits without repetitions representing the sets of feasible solutions along with the increasing and strictly increasing cost functions as a model for such problems. The book designs the algorithms for multi-stage and bi-criteria optimization and for counting the solutions in the framework of this model. As applications, this book studies eleven known combinatorial optimization problems: matrix chain multiplication, global sequence alignment, optimal paths in directed graphs, binary search trees, convex polygon triangulation, line breaking (text justification), one-dimensional clustering, optimal bitonic tour, segmented least squares, optimization of matchings in trees, and 0/1 knapsack problem. The results presented are useful for researchers in combinatorial optimization. This book is also useful as the basis for graduate courses.

Taking a novel, more appealing approach than current texts, An Integrated Introduction to Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling focuses on graphics, modeling, and mathematical methods, including ray tracing, polygon shading, radiosity, fractals, freeform curves and surfaces, vector methods, and transformation techniques. The author begins with fractals, rather than the typical line-drawing algorithms found in many standard texts. He also brings the turtle back from obscurity to introduce several major concepts in computer graphics. Supplying the mathematical foundations, the book covers linear algebra topics, such as vector geometry and algebra, affine and projective spaces, affine maps, projective transformations, matrices, and quaternions. The main graphics areas explored include reflection and refraction, recursive ray tracing, radiosity, illumination models, polygon shading, and hidden surface procedures. The book also discusses geometric modeling, including planes, polygons, spheres, quadrics, algebraic and parametric curves and surfaces, constructive solid geometry, boundary files, octrees, interpolation, approximation, Bezier and B-spline methods, fractal algorithms, and subdivision techniques. Making the material accessible and relevant for years to come, the text avoids descriptions of current graphics hardware and special programming languages. Instead, it presents graphics algorithms based on well-established physical models of light and cogent mathematical methods.

An Introduction to Java Programming and Object-Oriented Application Development is an introductory text intended for beginning programming students, whether in high school, junior college, or a four-year university majoring in computer science or computer information systems. This text covers what students need to know about basic Java programming in a clear, straight-forward writing style. This text spends less time on verbiage and offers more examples than other books. The key concepts are isolated and identified for easier understanding and quick review. This kind of organization will help students better understand what they are reading and enable them to find important topics for review later.

"A Tester's Guide to .NET Programming" focuses solely on applied programming techniques for testers. You will learn how to write simple automated tests, enabling you to test tools and utilities. You will also learn about the important concepts driving modern programming today, like multitier applications and object-oriented programming. More businesses are adopting .NET technologies, and this book will equip you to assess software robustness and performance.

Whether you're an experienced programmer whos unfamiliar with testing concepts, or you're an experienced tester unversed in VB .NET and C#, the included real-world tips and example code will help you start your projects. Also included are review questions and hands-on exercises to help you retain knowledge. Additionally, the book features examples and quick language tutorials for both C# and VB .NET.

This book is an introduction to development with HTML5 game engines, an in-depth look at some popular engines, downloadable example projects for each engine, and techniques on how to package and distribute the final app to all the major platforms.

This book is a way of sharing insights empirically gathered, over decades of interactive media development, by the author and other children's designers. Included is as much emerging theory as possible in order to provide background for practical and technical aspects of design while still keeping the information accessible. The author's intent for this book is not to create an academic treatise but to furnish an insightful and practical manual for the next generation of children's interactive media and game designers. Key Features Provides practical detailing of how children's developmental needs and capabilities translate to specific design elements of a piece of media Serves as an invaluable reference for anyone who is designing interactive games for children (or adults) Detailed discussions of how children learn and how they play Provides lots of examples and design tips on how to design content that will be appealing and effective for various age ranges Accessible approach, based on years of successful creative business experience, covers basics across the gamut from developmental needs and learning theories to formats, colors, and sounds

The discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science communities have recently witnessed explosive growth in the area of algorithmic combinatorics on words. The next generation of research on combinatorics of partial words promises to have a substantial impact on molecular biology, nanotechnology, data communication, and DNA computing. Delving into this emerging research area, Algorithmic Combinatorics on Partial Words presents a mathematical treatment of combinatorics on partial words designed around algorithms and explores up-and-coming techniques for solving partial word problems as well as the future direction of research. This five-part book begins with a section on basics that covers terminology, the compatibility of partial words, and combinatorial properties of words. The book then focuses on three important concepts of periodicity on partial words: period, weak period, and local period. The next part describes a linear time algorithm to test primitivity on partial words and extends the results on unbordered words to unbordered partial words while the following section introduces some important properties of pcodes, details a variety of ways of defining and analyzing pcodes, and shows that the pcode property is decidable using two different techniques. In the final part, the author solves various equations on partial words, presents binary and ternary correlations, and covers unavoidable sets of partial words. Setting the tone for future research in this field, this book lucidly develops the central ideas and results of combinatorics on partial words.

The promise of Software Factories is to streamline and automate software development-and thus to produce higher-quality software more efficiently. The key idea is to promote systematic reuse at all levels and exploit economies of scope, which translates into concrete savings in planning, development, and maintenance efforts. However, the theory behind Software Factories can be overwhelming, because it spans many disciplines of software development. On top of that, Software Factories typically require significant investments into reusable assets.

This book was written in order to demystify the Software Factories paradigm by guiding you through a practical case study from the early conception phase of building a Software Factory to delivering a ready-made software product. The authors provide you with a hands-on example covering each of the four pillars of Software Factories: software product lines, architectural frameworks, model-driven development, and guidance in context.

While the ideas behind Software Factories are platform independent, the Microsoft .NET platform, together with recent technologies such as DSL Tools and the Smart Client Baseline Architecture Toolkit, makes an ideal foundation. A study shows the different facets and caveats and demonstrates how each of these technologies becomes part of a comprehensive factory. Software Factories are a top candidate for revolutionizing software development. This book will give you a great starting point to understanding the concepts behind it and ultimately applying this knowledge to your own software projects.

Contributions by Jack Greenfield, Wojtek Kozaczynski Foreword by Douglas C. Schmidt, Jack Greenfield, JA1/4rgenKazmeier and Eugenio Pace.

We Deserve Better Villains is a highly accessible how-to guide for video game designers no matter what level of experience to understand what is needed to be successful in the development cycle of any video game from concept to supporting the game live. Each chapter outlines a period in a video games development cycle, what key concepts need to be on a designers mind and how they can work to improve themselves every step of the way. To help visualize the journey the chapters start with a section centered on the reader as a hero character in a fictitious adventure video game that faces the trials and tribulations of the development cycle to completing the game. We all deserve better games, better heroes and villains which starts with learning what it takes to survive in the game development system as a videogame designer. Key Features Accessible enough for novices, insightful enough for veteran game designers Allows readers of at any level of video game knowledge to connect with the struggle of making a video game Concepts are delivered in a short, specific approach followed with practical exercises to follow to getting the reader into action to improve their skills

Do you spend a lot of time during the design process wondering what users really need? Do you hate those endless meetings where you argue how the interface should work? Have you ever developed something that later had to be completely redesigned?
Paper Prototyping can help. Written by a usability engineer with a long and successful paper prototyping history, this book is a practical, how-to guide that will prepare you to create and test paper prototypes of all kinds of user interfaces. You'll see how to simulate various kinds of interface elements and interactions. You'll learn about the practical aspects of paper prototyping, such as deciding when the technique is appropriate, scheduling the activities, and handling the skepticism of others in your organization. Numerous case studies and images throughout the book show you real world examples of paper prototyping at work.
Learn how to use this powerful technique to develop products that are more useful, intuitive, efficient, and pleasing:
* Save time and money - solve key problems before implementation begins
* Get user feedback early - use it to focus the development process
* Communicate better - involve development team members from a variety of disciplines
* Be more creative - experiment with many ideas before committing to one
*Enables designers to solve design problems before implementation begins
*Five case studies provide real world examples of paper prototyping at work
*Delves into the specifics of what types of projects paper prototyping is and isn't good for.

Getting Started for Internet of Things with Launch Pad and ESP8266 provides a platform to get started with the Ti launch pad and IoT modules for Internet of Things applications. The book provides the basic knowledge of Ti launch Pad and ESP8266 based customized modules with their interfacing, along with the programming. The book discusses the application of Internet of Things in different areas. Several examples for rapid prototyping are included, this to make the readers understand the concept of IoT. The book comprises of twenty-seven chapters, which are divided into four sections and which focus on the design of various independent prototypes. Section-A gives a brief introduction to Ti launch pad (MSP430) and Internet of Things platforms like GPRS, NodeMCU and NuttyFi (ESP8266 customized board), and it shows steps to program these boards. Examples on how to interface these boards with display units, analog sensors, digital sensors and actuators are also included, this to make reader comfortable with the platforms. Section-B discusses the communication modes to relay the data like serial out, PWM and I2C. Section-C explores the IoT data loggers and shows certain steps to design and interact with the servers. Section-D includes few IoT based case studies in various fields. This book is based on the practical experience of the authors while undergoing projects with students and partners from various industries.

Software is infested with security flaws that can be misused by hackers. Current test automation does not cover negative or crash testing of software, and security experts are relying on penetration tests that focus on finding old known flaws rather than new. This book approaches the problem with the mindset of a hacker and explores the method they use to find flaws in software. The aim is give you a powerful new tool to fix worm-size holes in your own design, testing and building without adding expense or time to already tight software development schedules and budgets. Fuzzing is a software testing approach where carefully designed or just randomly generated unexpected inputs are sent to software a device in order to crash it. It's the most used technique hackers use to find security bugs. The book shows how to make it a standard practice that integrates seamlessly with other development activities and goes through each phase of software development and points out where testing and auditing can tighten security. The book also identifies cases where available tools fall short and surveys other popular fuzzing tools and techniques that work better.

Real Process Improvement Using the CMMI (R) presents readers with non-academic, real-world approaches to process improvement via CMMI. The author provides concepts and techniques for CMMI-based process improvement which are as effective as they are innovative. Professionals at all levels from system engineers to CEOs will find a wealth of practical guidance and new ways to look at model-based process improvement that have already benefited large and small organizations in a variety of environments. Using plain language and enlightening illustrations, the author identifies the most critical concepts of the CMMI, and explains how to turn those concepts into real process improvement. This book provides you with key information that will significantly benefit all CMMI process improvement efforts. Topics include: * Ways to discover and understand the business goals and drivers for successful process improvement initiatives * How to recognize the structures and practices many organizations already have in place that can accelerate process improvement, even before they begin using the CMMI * Planning and managing the process improvement project * Innovative, untraditional yet highly effective and proven strategies for CMMI-based process improvement * A thorough debunking of many of the costly and wasteful myths surrounding CMMI-based improvement

Printed in full color.Android is booming like never before, with millions of devices shipping every day. It's never been a better time to learn how to create your own 3D games and live wallpaper for Android. You'll find out all about shaders and the OpenGL pipeline, and discover the power of OpenGL ES 2.0, which is much more feature-rich than its predecessor. If you can program in Java and you have a creative vision that you'd like to share with the world, then this is the book for you.This book will teach you everything you need to know to create compelling graphics on Android. You'll learn the basics of OpenGL by building a simple game of air hockey, and along the way, you'll see how to initialize OpenGL and program the graphics pipeline using shaders. Each lesson builds upon the one before it, as you add colors, shading, 3D projections, touch interaction, and more.Then, you'll find out how to turn your idea into a live wallpaper that can run on the home screen. You'll learn about more advanced effects involving particles, lighting models, and the depth buffer. You'll understand what to look for when debugging your program, and what to watch out for when deploying to the market.OpenGL can be somewhat of a dark art to the uninitiated. As you read this book, you'll learn each new concept from first principles. You won't just learn about a feature; you'll also understand how it works, and why it works the way it does. Everything you learn is forward-compatible with the just-released OpenGL ES 3, and you can even apply these techniques to other platforms, such as iOS or HTML5 WebGL.

Demystifying one of the most popular content management systems in use today, Drupal Web Profiles offers a complete introduction to the installation, configuration, and administration of Drupal versions 6 and 7. Filled with worked examples, step-by-step instructions, and hands-on projects, it provides readers with the tools to develop effective business web solutions using Drupal. The book supplies easy-to-follow instruction on the primary aspects of the Drupal framework-from basic installation, configuration, and administration to creating new functionality with custom modules and themes. Defining key Drupal terminology in a way that users and developers can easily understand, this project-based guide explains how to: Create an installation environment for Drupal as well as how to carry out the actual installation Build web applications using Drupal builds and profiles Add new content to a Drupal site and describe, classify, and organize content using the Taxonomy module Optimize Drupal performance with automatic throttling, bandwidth optimization, and page caching Customize Drupal themes and create, install, and debug modules The first five chapters describe how to install, configure, and administer a basic site using Drupal version 6 or 7. The next five chapters introduce Drupal profiles and explain how to get them set up and running. Supplying in-depth treatment of web analytics, including Google analytics, parsing Web logs, and node tagging, the book arms you with time-tested advice on how to monitor, analyze, and optimize the performance of your Drupal installation.