Work at your own pace through a series of lessons and reviews that fully cover each exam objective. Then, reinforce what you’ve learned by applying your knowledge to real-world case scenarios and labs. This official Microsoft study guide is designed to help you make the most of your study time.Maximize your performance on the exam by learning to:Use system types, collections, and generics to help manage data Validate input, reformat text, and extract data with regular expressions Develop services, application domains, and multithreaded applications Enhance your application by adding graphics and images Implement code access security, role-based security, and data encryption Work with serialization and reflection techniques Instrument your applications with logging and tracing Interact with legacy code using COM Interop and PInvoke Practice TestsAssess your skills with practice tests on CD. You can work through hundreds of questions using multiple testing modes to meet your specific learning needs. You get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers—including a customized learning path that describes how and where to focus your studies.Your kit includes:15% exam discount from Microsoft. (Limited time offer). Details inside. Official self-paced study guide. Practice tests with multiple, customizable testing options and a learning plan based on your results. 450 practice and review questions. Case scenarios and lab exercises. Code samples on CD. 90-day evaluation version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition. Fully searchable eBook. A Note Regarding the CD or DVDThe print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to booktech@oreilly.com.

    It shows readers how to step back from coding to consider design strategies and attempt to get into the head of the designer.

    The task-based approach teaches readers how to combine HTML and CSS to create sharp and consistent Web pages.

    Along with a clear introduction to asynchronous programming, you get an in-depth look at how the async feature works and why you might want to use it in your application.Written for experienced C# programmers—yet approachable for beginners—this book is packed with code examples that you can extend for your own projects.Write your own asynchronous code, and learn how async saves you from this messy choreDiscover new performance possibilities in ASP.NET web server codeExplore how async and WinRT work together in Windows 8 applicationsLearn the importance of the await keyword in async methodsUnderstand which .NET thread is running your code—and at what points in the programUse the Task-based Asynchronous Pattern (TAP) to write asynchronous APIs in .NETTake advantage of parallel computing in modern machinesMeasure async code performance by comparing it with alternatives

    Techniques covered include state- and goal-based behavior, inter-agent communication, individual and group steering behaviors, team AI, graph theory, search, path planning and optimization, triggers, scripting, scripted finite state machines, perceptual modeling, goal evaluation, goal arbitration, and fuzzy logic.

    

    We start off easy, defining some of the tech lingo you may have heard before, but didn’t fully understand. From there, each lesson introduces something new, slowly building up to the point where you are confident about what an API is and, for the brave, could actually take a stab at using one.

    Proceed step-by-step through five progressively more complex web applications: from a "Hello World" app all the way to a robust Newspaper app with a custom user model, complete user authentication flow, foreign key relationships, and more. Learn current best practices around class-based views, templates, urls, user authentication, testing, and deployment. The material is up-to-date with the latest versions of both Django (2.0) and Python (3.6). TABLE OF CONTENTS: * Introduction * Chapter 1: Initial Setup * Chapter 2: Hello World app * Chapter 3: Pages app * Chapter 4: Message Board app * Chapter 5: Blog app * Chapter 6: Forms * Chapter 7: User Accounts * Chapter 8: Custom User Model * Chapter 9: User Authentication * Chapter 10: Bootstrap * Chapter 11: Password Change and Reset * Chapter 12: Email * Chapter 13: Newspaper app * Chapter 14: Permissions and Authorizations * Chapter 15: Comments * Conclusion

    . . . Put this one on your must-have list if you have software, love software, hate programmers, or even ARE a programmer, because Mr. Platt (who teaches programming) has set out to puncture the bloated egos of all those who think that just because they can write a program, they can make it easy to use. . . . This book is funny, but it is also an important wake-up call for software companies that want to reduce the size of their customer support bills. If you were ever stuck for an answer to the question, 'Why do good programmers make such awful software?' this book holds the answer."--John McCormick, Locksmith columnist, TechRepublic.com "I must say first, I don't get many computing manuscripts that make me laugh out loud. Between the laughs, Dave Platt delivers some very interesting insight and perspective, all in a lucid and engaging style. I don't get much of that either!"--Henry Leitner, assistant dean for information technology andsenior lecturer on computer science, Harvard University "A riotous book for all of us downtrodden computer users, written in language that we understand."--Stacy Baratelli, author's barber "David's unique take on the problems that bedevil software creation made me think about the process in new ways. If you care about the quality of the software you create or use, read this book."--Dave Chappell, principal, Chappell & Associates "I began to read it in my office but stopped before I reached the bottom of the first page. I couldn't keep a grin off my face! I'll enjoy it after I go back home and find a safe place to read."--Tsukasa Makino, IT manager "David explains, in terms that my mother-in-law can understand, why the software we use today can be so frustrating, even dangerous at times, and gives us some real ideas on what we can do about it."--Jim Brosseau, Clarrus Consulting Group, Inc. A Book for Anyone Who Uses a Computer Today...and Just Wants to Scream! Today's software sucks. There's no other good way to say it. It's unsafe, allowing criminal programs to creep through the Internet wires into our very bedrooms. It's unreliable, crashing when we need it most, wiping out hours or days of work with no way to get it back. And it's hard to use, requiring large amounts of head-banging to figure out the simplest operations.It's no secret that software sucks. You know that from personal experience, whether you use computers for work or personal tasks. In this book, programming insider David Platt explains why that's the case and, more importantly, why it doesn't have to be that way. And he explains it in plain, jargon-free English that's a joy to read, using real-world examples with which you're already familiar. In the end, he suggests what you, as a typical user, without a technical background, can do about this sad state of our software--how you, as an informed consumer, don't have to take the abuse that bad software dishes out.As you might expect from the book's title, Dave's expose is laced with humor--sometimes outrageous, but always dead on. You'll laugh out loud as you recall incidents with your own software that made you cry. You'll slap your thigh with the same hand that so often pounded your computer desk and wished it was a bad programmer's face. But Dave hasn't written this book just for laughs. He's written it to give long-overdue voice to your own discovery--that software does, indeed, suck, but it shouldn't.

    The commercial success of a game is often dependent upon the quality of the AI, yet the engineering of AI is often begun late in the development process and is frequently misunderstood. In this book, Ian Millington brings extensive professional experience to the problem of improving the quality of AI in games. A game developer since 1987, he was founder of Mindlathe Ltd., at the time the largest specialist AI company in gaming. Ian shows how to think about AI as an integral part of game play. He describes numerous examples from real games and explores the underlying ideas through detailed case studies. He goes further to introduce many techniques little used by developers today. The book's CD-ROM contains a library of C++ source code and demonstration programs, and provides access to a website with a complete commercial source code library of AI algorithms and techniques. * A comprehensive, professional tutorial and reference to implement true AI in games.* Walks through the entire development process from beginning to end.* Includes over 100 pseudo code examples of techniques used in commercial games, case studies for all major genres, a CD-ROM and companion website with extensive C++ source code implementations for Windows, and source code libraries for Linux and OS X available through the website.

    Today, Rails developers and architects need better ways to interface with legacy systems, move into the cloud, and scale to handle higher volumes and greater complexity. In Service-Oriented Design with Ruby and Rails Paul Dix introduces a powerful, services-based design approach geared toward overcoming all these challenges. Using Dix's techniques, readers can leverage the full benefits of both Ruby and Rails, while overcoming the difficulties of working with larger codebases and teams. Dix demonstrates how to integrate multiple components within an enterprise application stack; create services that can easily grow and connect; and design systems that are easier to maintain and upgrade. Key concepts are explained with detailed Ruby code built using open source libraries such as ActiveRecord, Sinatra, Nokogiri, and Typhoeus. The book concludes with coverage of security, scaling, messaging, and interfacing with third-party services. Service-Oriented Design with Ruby and Rails will help you Build highly scalable, Ruby-based service architectures that operate smoothly in the cloud or with legacy systems Scale Rails systems to handle more requests, larger development teams, and more complex code bases Master new best practices for designing and creating services in Ruby Use Ruby to glue together services written in any language Use Ruby libraries to build and consume RESTful Web services Use Ruby JSON parsers to quickly represent resources from HTTP services Write lightweight, well-designed API wrappers around internal or external services Discover powerful non-Rails frameworks that simplify Ruby service implementation Implement standards-based enterprise messaging with Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) Optimize performance with load balancing and caching Provide for security and authentication

    Written in typical no-nonsense style, it lays out the basis of Mike's “minimalist” maintenance philosophy for owner-flown general aviation aircraft. An owner who follows the book's guidance can save a small fortune on maintenance costs and end up with a safer, more reliable aircraft.Owners are advised to perform the absolute least amount of maintenance required to make their aircraft safe, reliable and legal… and nothing more. The book explains in detail why engine and propeller TBOs and most other manufacturer-prescribed maintenance intervals should be disregarded. And “Manifesto” explains exactly how to do it.About the Author:Mike Busch is arguably the best-known A&P/IA in general aviation. In 2008, he was honored by the FAA as “National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year.” Mike has been a prolific aviation writer for more than four decades. His “Savvy Aviator” columns have appeared in numerous publications including EAA Sport Aviation, AOPA’s Opinion Leader’s Blog, AVweb, and magazines for the three largest GA type clubs (ABS, CPA, and COPA). He is renowned for his free monthly maintenance webinars and his standing-room-only forums at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Mike has been a pilot and aircraft owner for 45 years with 7,500+ hours logged, and he is a CFIA/I/ME. He’s founder and CEO of Savvy Aircraft Maintenance Management, Inc., the world’s largest firm providing maintenance-management services for owner-flown aircraft.

    The addition of lambda expressions (closures) and streams represents the biggest change to Java programming since the introduction of generics and annotations. Now, with Java SE 8 for the Really Impatient , internationally renowned Java author Cay S. Horstmann concisely introduces Java 8's most valuable new features (plus a few Java 7 innovations that haven't gotten the attention they deserve). If you're an experienced Java programmer, Horstmann's practical insights and sample code will help you quickly take advantage of these and other Java language and platform improvements. This indispensable guide includes Coverage of using lambda expressions (closures) to write computation "snippets" that can be passed to utility functions The brand-new streams API that makes Java collections far more flexible and efficient Major updates to concurrent programming that make use of lambda expressions (filter/map/reduce) and that provide dramatic performance improvements for shared counters and hash tables A full chapter with advice on how you can put lambda expressions to work in your own programs Coverage of the long-awaited introduction of a well-designed date/time/calendar library (JSR 310) A concise introduction to JavaFX, which is positioned to replace Swing GUIs, and to the Nashorn Javascript engine A thorough discussion of many small library changes that make Java programming more productive and enjoyable This is the first title to cover all of these highly anticipated improvements and is invaluable for anyone who wants to write tomorrow's most robust, efficient, and secure Java code.

    But recently, the industry has turned to dynamic languages for increased productivity and speed to market.Groovy is one of a new breed of dynamic languages that run on the Java platform. You can use these new languages on the JVM and intermix them with your existing Java code. You can leverage your Java investments while benefiting from advanced features including true Closures, Meta Programming, the ability to create internal DSLs, and a higher level of abstraction.If you're an experienced Java developer, Programming Groovy will help you learn the necessary fundamentals of programming in Groovy. You'll see how to use Groovy to do advanced programming including using Meta Programming, Builders, Unit Testing with Mock objects, processing XML, working with Databases and creating your own Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs).

     It is about business process management (BPM) and Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN 2.0). Truth be told, there are several BPMN books on the market. Some of them are quite good, so why should you care about this one? This book distills the experience the authors accumulated while running Camunda, a consulting company that specializes in BPM. Camunda helped to define the BPMN specification, and during the past ten years, they have applied BPMN in over 1000 customer engagements. These were big businesses, small companies, and public institutions. Now you can benefit from this practical experience. Topics covered: The basics of modeling processes with Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN 2.0) Methods to apply BPMN successfully to real-world problems A practical approach for automating processes with BPMN 2.0 The alignment of business and IT as an attainable goal Advice on introducing BPMN across your company This book explains the notation, of course, but it also delves into the kinds of challenges that process designers face every day. It talks about pitfalls to avoid. It gives dos and don'ts. There are guidelines and best practices. In the 3rd edition we added introductions to the related BPM standards CMMN 1.1 for case management, handling unstructured processes DMN 1.1 for decision management, you might know as business rules management (BRM) This third edition in English is based on the successful fith German edition, which, according to amazon.de, it is the highest-ranked book on BPMN in German. The number of five-star ratings awarded by readers speaks volumes. Also available in Spanish. Note: The resolution of all images for the 3rd edition of the ebook has been increased to improve the digial reading experience.