Disruptive Possibilities: How Big Data Changes Everything


Jeffrey Needham - 2013
    As author Jeffrey Needham points out in this eye-opening book, big data can provide unprecedented insight into user habits, giving enterprises a huge market advantage. It will also inspire organizations to change the way they function."Disruptive Possibilities: How Big Data Changes Everything" takes you on a journey of discovery into the emerging world of big data, from its relatively simple technology to the ways it differs from cloud computing. But the big story of big data is the disruption of enterprise status quo, especially vendor-driven technology silos and budget-driven departmental silos. In the highly collaborative environment needed to make big data work, silos simply don't fit.Internet-scale computing offers incredible opportunity and a tremendous challenge--and it will soon become standard operating procedure in the enterprise. This book shows you what to expect.

The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas that Make Computers Work


William Daniel Hillis - 1998
    What they don't realize—and what Daniel Hillis's short book brilliantly demonstrates—is that computers' seemingly complex operations can be broken down into a few simple parts that perform the same simple procedures over and over again.Computer wizard Hillis offers an easy-to-follow explanation of how data is processed that makes the operations of a computer seem as straightforward as those of a bicycle. Avoiding technobabble or discussions of advanced hardware, the lucid explanations and colorful anecdotes in The Pattern on the Stone go straight to the heart of what computers really do.Hillis proceeds from an outline of basic logic to clear descriptions of programming languages, algorithms, and memory. He then takes readers in simple steps up to the most exciting developments in computing today—quantum computing, parallel computing, neural networks, and self-organizing systems.Written clearly and succinctly by one of the world's leading computer scientists, The Pattern on the Stone is an indispensable guide to understanding the workings of that most ubiquitous and important of machines: the computer.

Mastering Regular Expressions


Jeffrey E.F. Friedl - 1997
    They are now standard features in a wide range of languages and popular tools, including Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, VB.NET and C# (and any language using the .NET Framework), PHP, and MySQL.If you don't use regular expressions yet, you will discover in this book a whole new world of mastery over your data. If you already use them, you'll appreciate this book's unprecedented detail and breadth of coverage. If you think you know all you need to know about regularexpressions, this book is a stunning eye-opener.As this book shows, a command of regular expressions is an invaluable skill. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you never imagined could be automated. Regular expressions can save you time and aggravation. They can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Once you've mastered regular expressions, they'll become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Yet what is power in the hands of an expert can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Mastering Regular Expressions will help you navigate the minefield to becoming an expert and help you optimize your use of regular expressions.Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition, now includes a full chapter devoted to PHP and its powerful and expressive suite of regular expression functions, in addition to enhanced PHP coverage in the central "core" chapters. Furthermore, this edition has been updated throughout to reflect advances in other languages, including expanded in-depth coverage of Sun's java.util.regex package, which has emerged as the standard Java regex implementation.Topics include:A comparison of features among different versions of many languages and toolsHow the regular expression engine worksOptimization (major savings available here!)Matching just what you want, but not what you don't wantSections and chapters on individual languagesWritten in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth information that you can put to immediateuse.Reviews of this new edition and the second edition: "There isn't a better (or more useful) book available on regular expressions."--Zak Greant, Managing Director, eZ Systems"A real tour-de-force of a book which not only covers the mechanics of regexes in extraordinary detail but also talks about efficiency and the use of regexes in Perl, Java, and .NET...If you use regular expressions as part of your professional work (even if you already have a good book on whatever language you're programming in) I would strongly recommend this book to you."--Dr. Chris Brown, Linux Format"The author does an outstanding job leading the reader from regexnovice to master. The book is extremely easy to read and chock full ofuseful and relevant examples...Regular expressions are valuable toolsthat every developer should have in their toolbox. Mastering RegularExpressions is the definitive guide to the subject, and an outstandingresource that belongs on every programmer's bookshelf. Ten out of TenHorseshoes."--Jason Menard, Java Ranch

Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking)


Christian Rudder - 2014
    In Dataclysm, Christian Rudder uses it to show us who we truly are.   For centuries, we’ve relied on polling or small-scale lab experiments to study human behavior. Today, a new approach is possible. As we live more of our lives online, researchers can finally observe us directly, in vast numbers, and without filters. Data scientists have become the new demographers.   In this daring and original book, Rudder explains how Facebook "likes" can predict, with surprising accuracy, a person’s sexual orientation and even intelligence; how attractive women receive exponentially more interview requests; and why you must have haters to be hot. He charts the rise and fall of America’s most reviled word through Google Search and examines the new dynamics of collaborative rage on Twitter. He shows how people express themselves, both privately and publicly. What is the least Asian thing you can say? Do people bathe more in Vermont or New Jersey? What do black women think about Simon & Garfunkel? (Hint: they don’t think about Simon & Garfunkel.) Rudder also traces human migration over time, showing how groups of people move from certain small towns to the same big cities across the globe. And he grapples with the challenge of maintaining privacy in a world where these explorations are possible.   Visually arresting and full of wit and insight, Dataclysm is a new way of seeing ourselves—a brilliant alchemy, in which math is made human and numbers become the narrative of our time.

The Art of Readable Code


Dustin Boswell - 2010
    Over the past five years, authors Dustin Boswell and Trevor Foucher have analyzed hundreds of examples of "bad code" (much of it their own) to determine why they’re bad and how they could be improved. Their conclusion? You need to write code that minimizes the time it would take someone else to understand it—even if that someone else is you.This book focuses on basic principles and practical techniques you can apply every time you write code. Using easy-to-digest code examples from different languages, each chapter dives into a different aspect of coding, and demonstrates how you can make your code easy to understand.Simplify naming, commenting, and formatting with tips that apply to every line of codeRefine your program’s loops, logic, and variables to reduce complexity and confusionAttack problems at the function level, such as reorganizing blocks of code to do one task at a timeWrite effective test code that is thorough and concise—as well as readable"Being aware of how the code you create affects those who look at it later is an important part of developing software. The authors did a great job in taking you through the different aspects of this challenge, explaining the details with instructive examples." —Michael Hunger, passionate Software Developer

Data Jujitsu: The Art of Turning Data into Product


D.J. Patil - 2012
    Acclaimed data scientist DJ Patil details a new approach to solving problems in Data Jujitsu.Learn how to use a problem's "weight" against itself to:Break down seemingly complex data problems into simplified partsUse alternative data analysis techniques to examine themUse human input, such as Mechanical Turk, and design tricks that enlist the help of your users to take short cuts around tough problemsLearn more about the problems before starting on the solutions—and use the findings to solve them, or determine whether the problems are worth solving at all.

Thinking in Java


Bruce Eckel - 1998
    The author's take on the essence of Java as a new programming language and the thorough introduction to Java's features make this a worthwhile tutorial. Thinking in Java begins a little esoterically, with the author's reflections on why Java is new and better. (This book's choice of font for chapter headings is remarkably hard on the eyes.) The author outlines his thoughts on why Java will make you a better programmer, without all the complexity. The book is better when he presents actual language features. There's a tutorial to basic Java types, keywords, and operators. The guide includes extensive source code that is sometimes daunting (as with the author's sample code for all the Java operators in one listing.) As such, this text will be most useful for the experienced developer. The text then moves on to class design issues, when to use inheritance and composition, and related topics of information hiding and polymorphism. (The treatment of inner classes and scoping will likely seem a bit overdone for most readers.) The chapter on Java collection classes for both Java Developer's Kit (JDK) 1.1 and the new classes, such as sets, lists, and maps, are much better. There's material in this chapter that you are unlikely to find anywhere else. Chapters on exception handling and programming with type information are also worthwhile, as are the chapters on the new Swing interface classes and network programming. Although it adopts somewhat of a mixed-bag approach, Thinking in Java contains some excellent material for the object-oriented developer who wants to see what all the fuss is about with Java.

The Non-Designer's Design Book


Robin P. Williams - 2003
    Not to worry: This book is the one place you can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help. In The Non-Designer's Design Book, 2nd Edition, best-selling author Robin Williams turns her attention to the basic principles of good design and typography. All you have to do is follow her clearly explained concepts, and you'll begin producing more sophisticated, professional, and interesting pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, illustrations, and dozens of examples make learning a snap—which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence


Max Tegmark - 2017
    It doesn't shy away from the full range of viewpoints or from the most controversial issues--from superintelligence to meaning, consciousness and the ultimate physical limits on life in the cosmos.

The Tangled Web: A Guide to Securing Modern Web Applications


Michal Zalewski - 2011
    Every piece of the web application stack, from HTTP requests to browser-side scripts, comes with important yet subtle security consequences. To keep users safe, it is essential for developers to confidently navigate this landscape.In The Tangled Web, Michal Zalewski, one of the world's top browser security experts, offers a compelling narrative that explains exactly how browsers work and why they're fundamentally insecure. Rather than dispense simplistic advice on vulnerabilities, Zalewski examines the entire browser security model, revealing weak points and providing crucial information for shoring up web application security. You'll learn how to:Perform common but surprisingly complex tasks such as URL parsing and HTML sanitization Use modern security features like Strict Transport Security, Content Security Policy, and Cross-Origin Resource Sharing Leverage many variants of the same-origin policy to safely compartmentalize complex web applications and protect user credentials in case of XSS bugs Build mashups and embed gadgets without getting stung by the tricky frame navigation policy Embed or host user-supplied content without running into the trap of content sniffing For quick reference, "Security Engineering Cheat Sheets" at the end of each chapter offer ready solutions to problems you're most likely to encounter. With coverage extending as far as planned HTML5 features, The Tangled Web will help you create secure web applications that stand the test of time.

Learning SQL


Alan Beaulieu - 2005
    If you're working with a relational database--whether you're writing applications, performing administrative tasks, or generating reports--you need to know how to interact with your data. Even if you are using a tool that generates SQL for you, such as a reporting tool, there may still be cases where you need to bypass the automatic generation feature and write your own SQL statements.To help you attain this fundamental SQL knowledge, look to "Learning SQL," an introductory guide to SQL, designed primarily for developers just cutting their teeth on the language."Learning SQL" moves you quickly through the basics and then on to some of the more commonly used advanced features. Among the topics discussed: The history of the computerized databaseSQL Data Statements--those used to create, manipulate, and retrieve data stored in your database; example statements include select, update, insert, and deleteSQL Schema Statements--those used to create database objects, such as tables, indexes, and constraintsHow data sets can interact with queriesThe importance of subqueriesData conversion and manipulation via SQL's built-in functionsHow conditional logic can be used in Data StatementsBest of all, "Learning SQL" talks to you in a real-world manner, discussing various platform differences that you're likely to encounter and offering a series of chapter exercises that walk you through the learning process. Whenever possible, the book sticks to the features included in the ANSI SQL standards. This means you'll be able to apply what you learn to any of several different databases; the book covers MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle Database, but the features and syntax should apply just as well (perhaps with some tweaking) to IBM DB2, Sybase Adaptive Server, and PostgreSQL.Put the power and flexibility of SQL to work. With "Learning SQL" you can master this important skill and know that the SQL statements you write are indeed correct.

Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide


Dave Thomas - 2000
    When Ruby first burst onto the scene in the Western world, the Pragmatic Programmers were there with the definitive reference manual, Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide.Now in its second edition, author Dave Thomas has expanded the famous Pickaxe book with over 200 pages of new content, covering all the improved language features of Ruby 1.8 and standard library modules. The Pickaxe contains four major sections:An acclaimed tutorial on using Ruby.The definitive reference to the language.Complete documentation on all built-in classes, modules, and methodsComplete descriptions of all 98 standard libraries.If you enjoyed the First Edition, you'll appreciate the expanded content, including enhanced coverage of installation, packaging, documenting Ruby source code, threading and synchronization, and enhancing Ruby's capabilities using C-language extensions. Programming for the World Wide Web is easy in Ruby, with new chapters on XML/RPC, SOAP, distributed Ruby, templating systems, and other web services. There's even a new chapter on unit testing.This is the definitive reference manual for Ruby, including a description of all the standard library modules, a complete reference to all built-in classes and modules (including more than 250 significant changes since the First Edition). Coverage of other features has grown tremendously, including details on how to harness the sophisticated capabilities of irb, so you can dynamically examine and experiment with your running code. Ruby is a wonderfully powerful and useful language, and whenever I'm working with it this book is at my side --Martin Fowler, Chief Scientist, ThoughtWorks

You Don't Know JS: Up & Going


Kyle Simpson - 2015
    With the "You Don’t Know JS" book series, you’ll get a more complete understanding of JavaScript, including trickier parts of the language that many experienced JavaScript programmers simply avoid.The series’ first book, Up & Going, provides the necessary background for those of you with limited programming experience. By learning the basic building blocks of programming, as well as JavaScript’s core mechanisms, you’ll be prepared to dive into the other, more in-depth books in the series—and be well on your way toward true JavaScript.With this book you will: Learn the essential programming building blocks, including operators, types, variables, conditionals, loops, and functions Become familiar with JavaScript's core mechanisms such as values, function closures, this, and prototypes Get an overview of other books in the series—and learn why it’s important to understand all parts of JavaScript

Convex Optimization


Stephen Boyd - 2004
    A comprehensive introduction to the subject, this book shows in detail how such problems can be solved numerically with great efficiency. The focus is on recognizing convex optimization problems and then finding the most appropriate technique for solving them. The text contains many worked examples and homework exercises and will appeal to students, researchers and practitioners in fields such as engineering, computer science, mathematics, statistics, finance, and economics.

Python Tricks: A Buffet of Awesome Python Features


Dan Bader - 2017
    Discover the “hidden gold” in Python’s standard library and start writing clean and Pythonic code today. Who Should Read This Book: If you’re wondering which lesser known parts in Python you should know about, you’ll get a roadmap with this book. Discover cool (yet practical!) Python tricks and blow your coworkers’ minds in your next code review. If you’ve got experience with legacy versions of Python, the book will get you up to speed with modern patterns and features introduced in Python 3 and backported to Python 2. If you’ve worked with other programming languages and you want to get up to speed with Python, you’ll pick up the idioms and practical tips you need to become a confident and effective Pythonista. If you want to make Python your own and learn how to write clean and Pythonic code, you’ll discover best practices and little-known tricks to round out your knowledge. What Python Developers Say About The Book: "I kept thinking that I wished I had access to a book like this when I started learning Python many years ago." — Mariatta Wijaya, Python Core Developer"This book makes you write better Python code!" — Bob Belderbos, Software Developer at Oracle"Far from being just a shallow collection of snippets, this book will leave the attentive reader with a deeper understanding of the inner workings of Python as well as an appreciation for its beauty." — Ben Felder, Pythonista"It's like having a seasoned tutor explaining, well, tricks!" — Daniel Meyer, Sr. Desktop Administrator at Tesla Inc.