Learn practical and modern experimental methods used by engineers in technology and trading. Experimentation for Engineers: From A/B testing to Bayesian optimization is a toolbox of methods for optimizing machine learning systems, quantitative trading strategies, and more. You'll start with a deep dive into A/B testing, and then graduate to advanced methods used to improve performance in highly competitive industries like finance and social media. The experimentation skills you'll master in this unique, practical guide will quickly reveal which approaches and features deliver real results for your business. In Experimentation for Engineers, you'll learn how to evaluate the changes you make to your system and ensure that your experiments don't undermine revenue or other business metrics. By the time you're done, you'll be able to seamlessly deploy changes to production while avoiding common pitfalls. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

Take your idea from concept to production with this unique guide

Whether it's called physical computing, ubiquitous computing, or the Internet of Things, it's a hot topic in technology: how to channel your inner Steve Jobs and successfully combine hardware, embedded software, web services, electronics, and cool design to create cutting-edge devices that are fun, interactive, and practical. If you'd like to create the next must-have product, this unique book is the perfect place to start.

Both a creative and practical primer, it explores the platforms you can use to develop hardware or software, discusses design concepts that will make your products eye-catching and appealing, and shows you ways to scale up from a single prototype to mass production.Helps software engineers, web designers, product designers, and electronics engineers start designing products using the Internet-of-Things approach Explains how to combine sensors, servos, robotics, Arduino chips, and more with various networks or the Internet, to create interactive, cutting-edge devices Provides an overview of the necessary steps to take your idea from concept through production

If you'd like to design for the future, "Designing the Internet of Things" is a great place to start.

The must-have companion guide to the Raspberry Pi User Guide! Raspberry Pi chose Python as its teaching language of choice to encourage a new generation of programmers to learn how to program. This approachable book serves as an ideal resource for anyone wanting to use Raspberry Pi to learn to program and helps you get started with the Python programming language. Aimed at first-time developers with no prior programming language assumed, this beginner book gets you up and running. * Covers variables, loops, and functions * Addresses 3D graphics programming * Walks you through programming Minecraft * Zeroes in on Python for scripting Learning Python with Raspberry Pi proves itself to be a fantastic introduction to coding.

Using Apache Cordova 4, you can leverage native technologies and web standards to quickly build cross-platform apps for most mobile devices. You can deliver a high-end user experience where it matters, while radically simplifying code maintenance and reuse. Apache Cordova 4 Programming is the most concise, accessible introduction to this remarkable technology. In this essential guide, expert mobile developer John Wargo quickly gets you up to speed with all the essentials, from installation, configuration, and tools, to building plugins and using Cordova's powerful APIs. Wargo helps you make the most of Cordova 4's major enhancements, while offering practical guidance for all versions, including Adobe PhoneGap. Full chapters are dedicated to five major mobile platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Firefox OS, and Ubuntu. Using rich, relevant examples, Wargo guides you through both the anatomy of a Cordova app and its entire lifecycle, including cross-platform testing and debugging. Throughout, he illuminates Cordova development best practices, streamlining your development process and helping you write high-quality apps right from the start. Topics include Installing and configuring Cordova's development environment Working with the Cordova command line interfaces Creating Cordova plugins, using Plugman and the PhoneGap CLI Cordova's support for Firefox OS and Ubuntu devices Automation (Grunt and Gulp) and Cordova CLI hooks Microsoft's hybrid toolkit for Visual Studio Third-party tools, such as AppGyver, GapDebug, THyM, and more Beautifying Cordova apps with third-party HTML frameworks, such as Bootstrap, OpenUI5, Ionic, and Onsen UI Running, testing, and debugging Cordova apps on each major mobile platform Access the full code examples at cordova4programming.com, where you'll also find updates reflecting Cordova's continuing evolution. This book is an ideal companion to Wargo's authoritative collection of Apache Cordova code recipes for each Cordova API, Apache Cordova API Cookbook (Addison-Wesley, 2015).

This book introduces the basics in game usability and overall game UX mindset and techniques, as well as looking at current industry best practices and trends. Fully updated for its second edition, it includes practical advice on how to include usability in already tight development timelines, and how to advocate for UX and communicate results to higher-ups effectively. The book begins with an introduction to UX strategy considerations for games, and to UX design, before moving on to cover core user research and usability techniques as well as how to fit UX practices into the business process. It provides considerations of player differences and offers strategies for inclusion as well as chapters that give platform and context specific advice. With a wealth of new interviews with industry leaders and contributions from the very best in game UX, the book also includes brand new chapters on: Accessibility Mobile Game Usability Data Science Virtual and Augmented Reality Esports This book will be vital reading for all professional game developers and game UX advocates, as well as those students aspiring to work in game development and game UX.

Drawing on decades of experience, Beep to Boom: The Development of Advanced Runtime Sound Systems for Games and Extended Reality is a rigorous, comprehensive guide to interactive audio runtime systems. Packed with practical examples and insights, the book explains each component of these complex geometries of sound. Using practical, lowest-common-denominator techniques, Goodwin covers soundfield creation across a range of platforms from phones to VR gaming consoles. Whether creating an audio system from scratch or building on existing frameworks, the book also explains costs, benefits and priorities. In the dynamic simulated world of games and extended reality, interactive audio can now consider every intricacy of real-world sound. This book explains how and why to tame it enjoyably.

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.

Game Dev Stories: Interviews About Game Development and Culture Volumes 1 and 2 are a collection of interviews from renowned author David L. Craddock as he explores all corners of the video game industry. Collected from the author's archives, Game Dev Stories gathers conversations with individuals from all corners of the industry: Who they are, the paths they paved, and their contributions to this multibillion-dollar industry. This text offers viewpoints from well-known individuals like John Romero, Tom Hall, and Matt Householder. From artists and writers to programmers and designers, Game Dev Stories offers amazing insights and understanding to what occurs behind the screens of your favorite games and may help inspire future game developers in pursuing their dreams.

Whether you're a budding blogger or seasoned web designer, WordPress is a brilliant tool for creating websites - once you know how to tap into its impressive features. The latest edition of this jargon-free Missing Manual shows you how to use WordPress's themes, widgets, and plug-ins to build just about any kind of site. The important stuff you need to know: Set up WordPress. Configure WordPress on your web host or get it running on your home computer. Create your site. Get hands-on instructions for building all types of websites, from blogs to business sites with ecommerce features. Jazz it up. Add picture galleries, slideshows, video clips, music players, and podcasts. Add features. Select from thousands of plug-ins to enhance your site's capabilities, from contact forms to a basic shopping cart. Build a truly unique site. Customize a WordPress theme to create a site that looks exactly the way you want. Attract an audience. Use SEO, site statistics, and social sharing to reach more people. Stay safe. Use backup and staging tools to protect your content and avoid catastrophe.

In this new era of computing, where the iPhone, iPad, Xbox Kinect, and similar devices have changed the way to interact with computers, many questions have risen about how modern input devices can be used for a more intuitive user interaction. Interaction Design for 3D User Interfaces: The World of Modern Input Devices for Research, Applications, and Game Development addresses this paradigm shift by looking at user interfaces from an input perspective. The book is divided into four parts: Theory of input devices and user interfaces, with an emphasis on multi-touch interaction Advanced topics on reducing noise on input devices using Kalman Filters A collection of hands-on approaches that allows the reader to gain experience with some devices A case study examining speech as input Most of the chapters contain exercises that provide practical experience to enhance knowledge of the material in the related chapter. With its hands-on approach and the affordability of the required hardware, this book is an excellent flexible resource for both the novice and the expert in 3D user input device development. Researchers and practitioners will gain a much deeper understanding about user input devices and user interfaces. Game developers and software designers will find new techniques to improve their products by adding intuitive user interaction mechanisms to their games and applications. In addition to the resources provided in the book, its companion website, http://3DInputBook.com, provides additional resources, which include: additional exercises and project ideas, additional chapters, source code, and class instructors' resources. The additional resources are provided to keep helping you with new research and new technology as it becomes available to help you stay up to date.

Game Dev Stories: Interviews About Game Development and Culture Volumes 1 and 2 are a collection of interviews from renowned author David L. Craddock as he explores all corners of the video game industry. Collected from the author's archives, Game Dev Stories gathers conversations with individuals from all corners of the industry: Who they are, the paths they paved, and their contributions to this multibillion-dollar industry. This text offers viewpoints from well-known individuals like John Romero, Tom Hall, and Matt Householder. From artists and writers to programmers and designers, Game Dev Stories offers amazing insights and understanding to what occurs behind the screens of your favorite games and may help inspire future game developers in pursuing their dreams.

Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy moves beyond stereotypes about video game addiction and violence to consider the role that games play in psychological experiences and mental health. Chapters examine the factors that compel individual gamers to select and identify with particular games and characters, as well as the different play styles, genres, and archetypes common in video games. For clinicians looking to understand their clients' relationships with video games or to use games as a therapeutic resource in their own practice, this is a thoughtful, comprehensive, and timely resource.

Game Devs & Others: Tales from the Margins tell the true stories of life in the industry by people of color, LGBTQIA and other marginalized identities. This collection of essays give people a chance to tell their stories and to let others know what life on the other side of the screen is like when you're not part of the supposed "majority". Key Features This book is perfect for anyone interested in getting into the games industry who feels they have a marginalized identity For those who wish to better diversify their studio or workplace who may or may not have access to individuals that could or would share their stories about the industry Includes initiatives aimed at diversifying the industry that have a positive or negative impact on the ongoing discussions Coverage of ajor news items about diversity, conferences aimed at or having diversity at its core of content and mission are discussed Included essays are written with as little game dev specific jargon as possible, makeing it accessible to people outside the industry as well as those in the scene but that may not have all the insider lingo

This book is aimed at giving novice coders an understanding of the methods and techniques used in professional games development. Designed to help develop and strengthen problem solving and basic C/C++ skills, it also will help to develop familiarity targeting and using fixed/restricted hardware, which are key skills in console development. It allows the reader to increase their confidence as game programmers by walking them through increasingly involved game concepts, while maintaining the understanding that despite the increased complexity, the core methods remain consistent with the advancement of the technology; the technology only enhances the gaming experience. It also demonstrates underlying principles of game coding in practical step by step ways to increase exposure and confidence in game coding concepts. Key Features: Increases the confidence of new coders by demonstrating how to get things done. Introduces evolving projects to reinforce concepts, both directly and indirectly that the reader will use to produce and then enhance the project. Provides tutorials on Graphics API's that can be easily understood by a novice. Demystifies hardware used to gain new effects without blinding the user to the technical wizardry going on under the system. Gives a sense of achievement to the reader and pushes them toward improvement.

C++ is a powerful, much sought after programming language, but can be daunting to work with, even for engineering professionals. Why is this book so useful? Have you ever wondered: - How do keywords like static and virtual change their meanings according to context? - What are the similarities and differences between Pointers and References, Pointers and Arrays, Constructors and Copy Constructors, Nested and Local Inner Classes? - Why is Multiple Interface Inheritance seen to be beautiful but Multiple Implementation Inheritance considered evil? - When is Polymorphism Static or Dynamic, Bounded or Unbounded? Answers on these questions, and much more, are explained in this book, Cybernetics in C++. What makes this text so different and appealing in comparison to existing books on the market? - The Bulleted style, as opposed to Prose, produces results much faster, both in learning and reference - Rules of Thumb, and further expert Tips are given throughout in how to optimise your code - The Prospective Evils sections tell you what to avoid - The thorough coverage ensures you will be trained to expert level in each of Imperative, Procedural, Memory & Resource Management, Object Oriented and Generic Programming Cybernetics in C++ combines a theoretical overview and practical approach in one book, which should prove to be a useful reference for computer scientists, software programmers, engineers and students in this and related field.

Designing and Developing Robust Instructional Apps advances the state of instructional app development using three learning paradigms for building knowledge foundations, problem-solving, and experimentation. Drawing on research and development lessons gleaned from noted educational technologists, time-tested systematic instructional design processes, and results from user experience design, the book considers the planning and specification of instructional apps that blend media (text, images, sound, and moving pictures) and instructional method. Further, for readers with little to no programming experience, introductory treatments of JavaScript and Python, along with data fundamentals and machine learning techniques, offer a guided journey that produces robust instructional apps and concludes with next steps for advancing the state of instructional app development.

If you know the basics of C#, you are ready to learn to develop server-side web applications with ASP.NET and that's where this book comes in: Section 1 presents a quick-start course on ASP.NET Web Forms, Visual Studio tools, and the role of HTML5/CSS3 a course that works both for beginners and for experienced web developers who are new to ASP.NET, Section 2 gives you the skills you need for every web application like how to use the server controls, validate user entries, manage state, use master pages and themes, provide site navigation, and use friendly URLs, Section 3 presents the skills you need for developing database-driven web sites at a professional level including how to use SQL data sources, object data sources, and ASP.NET data controls like the GridView, DetailsView, FormView, and ListView controls, Section 4 covers skills that enhance your professionalism like how to develop secure web pages, authorise and authenticate users, send email, control the use of the Back button, and deploy finished applications, Section 5 takes you to the next level by showing you how to use ASP.NET Ajax, how to develop WCF and Web API services, and how ASP.N ET MVC programming differs from Web Forms programming. To make it easier for you to master ASP.NET, you get complete web applications including the web forms, the aspx code, and the C# code that show you how each feature works in context. (You can download these for free from the Murach web site.) You get chapter exercises that let you practice your new skills. And you get Murach's distinctive "paired-pages" format that developers like because it saves both training and reference time.

Describes how to create websites based on R Markdown Describes how to publish data analysis results and R computing/graphics output Can be used to create general-purpose websites, not just blogs

Successfully Navigate the Evolving World of Mobile and Social Game Design and Monetization Completely updated, Mobile and Social Game Design: Monetization Methods and Mechanics, Second Edition explains how to use the interconnectedness of social networks to make "stickier," more compelling games on all types of devices. Through the book's many design and marketing techniques, strategies, and examples, you will acquire a better understanding of the design and monetization mechanics of mobile and social games as well as working knowledge of industry practices and terminology. Learn How to Attract and Retain Gamers and Make Money The book explores how the gaming sector has changed, including the evolution of free-to-play games on mobile and tablet devices, sophisticated subscription model-based products, and games for social media websites, such as Facebook. It also demystifies the alphabet soup of industry terms that have sprouted up around mobile and social game design and monetization. A major focus of the book is on popular mechanisms for acquiring users and methods of monetizing users. The author explains how to put the right kinds of hooks in your games, gather the appropriate metrics, and evaluate that information to increase the game's overall stickiness and revenue per user. He also discusses the sale of virtual goods and the types of currency used in games, including single and dual currency models. Each chapter includes an interview with industry leaders who share their insight on designing and producing games, analyzing metrics, and much more.

The last decade has witnessed the rise of big data in game development as the increasing proliferation of Internet-enabled gaming devices has made it easier than ever before to collect large amounts of player-related data. At the same time, the emergence of new business models and the diversification of the player base have exposed a broader potential audience, which attaches great importance to being able to tailor game experiences to a wide range of preferences and skill levels. This, in turn, has led to a growing interest in data mining techniques, as they offer new opportunities for deriving actionable insights to inform game design, to ensure customer satisfaction, to maximize revenues, and to drive technical innovation. By now, data mining and analytics have become vital components of game development. The amount of work being done in this area nowadays makes this an ideal time to put together a book on this subject. Data Analytics Applications in Gaming and Entertainment seeks to provide a cross section of current data analytics applications in game production. It is intended as a companion for practitioners, academic researchers, and students seeking knowledge on the latest practices in game data mining. The chapters have been chosen in such a way as to cover a wide range of topics and to provide readers with a glimpse at the variety of applications of data mining in gaming. A total of 25 authors from industry and academia have contributed 12 chapters covering topics such as player profiling, approaches for analyzing player communities and their social structures, matchmaking, churn prediction and customer lifetime value estimation, communication of analytical results, and visual approaches to game analytics. This book's perspectives and concepts will spark heightened interest in game analytics and foment innovative ideas that will advance the exciting field of online gaming and entertainment.

Game Programming for Artists provides a foundation for artists and creatives to jumpstart learning to program their own games. It is an accessible and conversational guide focused on three areas: basic programming, understanding game engines, and practical code for commonly employed game systems. The best way to get into games is to make one, and this book will help artists do that!

Hone Your Agile Leadership Skills to Help Your Organization Transform and Thrive To leverage the immense opportunities associated with accelerating change, organizations need teams capable of trying new ideas quickly, learning from their experiences, and adapting based on that learning. Helping these teams to grow and thrive requires agile leaders who support, inspire, and encourage, and who can leave behind the management skills of directing, monitoring, and rewarding or punishing. The Professional Agile Leader is a realistic, practical guide, written by experienced agile leaders who share their collective experiences in helping agile leaders to grow responsive and adaptive teams. They structure powerful lessons around a case study based on decades of experience helping agile leaders achieve and sustain agile transformation. Best of all, they never settle for high-level hand-waving--they show you how it's really done. Reignite once-successful organizations that have lost their way Form cross-functional teams and empower them with purpose Learn to let go, as your teams start taking more responsibility Overcome forces that want to reel you back into the "old rules" Realign the whole organization, since agile and traditional models can't coexist forever Achieve the most challenging goal of all: changing culture Great agile leaders aren't born that way--they're regular people who care deeply about helping others achieve shared goals and have discovered a better way to lead. Whatever your role in the organization, this guide will help you master those skills and mindsets a whole lot faster. "Drawing on vast experience, Ron, Kurt, and Laurens tease out practical tips and patterns for good leadership [and show] how a leader can help shape the environment for agile teams to succeed. . . . The narrative style of the book makes it easy to read, and I am sure there will be many times that you see yourself in it." --From the Foreword by Dave West, CEO and Product Owner, Scrum.org Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

Every production is built on the backbone of the pipeline. While a functional and flexible pipeline can't assure a successful project, a weak pipeline can guarantee its demise. A solid pipeline produces a superior product in less time and with happier artists who can remain creative throughout the grueling production schedule. Walk through the foundational layers of the production pipeline, including IT infrastructure, software development practices and deployment policies, asset management, shot management, and rendering management. Production Pipeline Fundamentals for Film and Games will teach you how to direct limited resources to the right technological initiatives, getting the most for every dollar spent. Learn how to prepare for and manage all aspects of the pipeline with this entirely unique, one-of-a-kind guide. Expand your knowledge with real-world pipeline secrets handed to you by a stellar group of professionals from across the globe. Visit the companion website for even further resources on the pipeline.