Designed for experienced developers ready to advance their status, Exam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the Microsoft Specialist level.Focus on the expertise measured by these objectives:Design the application architectureDesign the user experienceDevelop the user experienceTroubleshoot and debug web applicationsDesign and implement securityThis Microsoft Exam Ref:Organizes its coverage by exam objectives.Features strategic, what-if scenarios to challenge you.Includes a 15% exam discount from Microsoft. (Limited time offer)

    The award-winning author Melanie Mitchell, a leading computer scientist, now reveals AI’s turbulent history and the recent spate of apparent successes, grand hopes, and emerging fears surrounding it.In Artificial Intelligence, Mitchell turns to the most urgent questions concerning AI today: How intelligent—really—are the best AI programs? How do they work? What can they actually do, and when do they fail? How humanlike do we expect them to become, and how soon do we need to worry about them surpassing us? Along the way, she introduces the dominant models of modern AI and machine learning, describing cutting-edge AI programs, their human inventors, and the historical lines of thought underpinning recent achievements. She meets with fellow experts such as Douglas Hofstadter, the cognitive scientist and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of the modern classic Gödel, Escher, Bach, who explains why he is “terrified” about the future of AI. She explores the profound disconnect between the hype and the actual achievements in AI, providing a clear sense of what the field has accomplished and how much further it has to go.Interweaving stories about the science of AI and the people behind it, Artificial Intelligence brims with clear-sighted, captivating, and accessible accounts of the most interesting and provocative modern work in the field, flavored with Mitchell’s humor and personal observations. This frank, lively book is an indispensable guide to understanding today’s AI, its quest for “human-level” intelligence, and its impact on the future for us all.

    Using a downloadable programming environment developed by the author, Visualizing Data demonstrates methods for representing data accurately on the Web and elsewhere, complete with user interaction, animation, and more. How do the 3.1 billion A, C, G and T letters of the human genome compare to those of a chimp or a mouse? What do the paths that millions of visitors take through a web site look like? With Visualizing Data, you learn how to answer complex questions like these with thoroughly interactive displays. We're not talking about cookie-cutter charts and graphs. This book teaches you how to design entire interfaces around large, complex data sets with the help of a powerful new design and prototyping tool called "Processing". Used by many researchers and companies to convey specific data in a clear and understandable manner, the Processing beta is available free. With this tool and Visualizing Data as a guide, you'll learn basic visualization principles, how to choose the right kind of display for your purposes, and how to provide interactive features that will bring users to your site over and over. This book teaches you:The seven stages of visualizing data -- acquire, parse, filter, mine, represent, refine, and interact How all data problems begin with a question and end with a narrative construct that provides a clear answer without extraneous details Several example projects with the code to make them work Positive and negative points of each representation discussed. The focus is on customization so that each one best suits what you want to convey about your data set The book does not provide ready-made "visualizations" that can be plugged into any data set. Instead, with chapters divided by types of data rather than types of display, you'll learn how each visualization conveys the unique properties of the data it represents -- why the data was collected, what's interesting about it, and what stories it can tell. Visualizing Data teaches you how to answer questions, not simply display information.

    Beginning with an introduction to array formulas, this manual examines topics such as how they differ from ordinary formulas, the benefits and drawbacks of their use, functions that can and cannot handle array calculations, and array constants and functions. Among the practical applications surveyed include how to extract data from tables and unique lists, how to get results that match any criteria, and how to utilize various methods for unique counts. This book contains 529 screen shots.

    If you're a reasonably proficient programmer who can think logically, you have all the background you'll need. Stepanov and Rose introduce the relevant abstract algebra and number theory with exceptional clarity. They carefully explain the problems mathematicians first needed to solve, and then show how these mathematical solutions translate to generic programming and the creation of more effective and elegant code. To demonstrate the crucial role these mathematical principles play in many modern applications, the authors show how to use these results and generalized algorithms to implement a real-world public-key cryptosystem. As you read this book, you'll master the thought processes necessary for effective programming and learn how to generalize narrowly conceived algorithms to widen their usefulness without losing efficiency. You'll also gain deep insight into the value of mathematics to programming--insight that will prove invaluable no matter what programming languages and paradigms you use. You will learn aboutHow to generalize a four thousand-year-old algorithm, demonstrating indispensable lessons about clarity and efficiencyAncient paradoxes, beautiful theorems, and the productive tension between continuous and discreteA simple algorithm for finding greatest common divisor (GCD) and modern abstractions that build on itPowerful mathematical approaches to abstractionHow abstract algebra provides the idea at the heart of generic programmingAxioms, proofs, theories, and models: using mathematical techniques to organize knowledge about your algorithms and data structuresSurprising subtleties of simple programming tasks and what you can learn from themHow practical implementations can exploit theoretical knowledge

    Through computers, the Internet, the media, and even our daily newspapers, we are awash in a seemingly endless stream of charts, maps, infographics, diagrams, and data. Visual Explanations is a navigational guide through this turbulent sea of information. The book is an essential reference for anyone involved in graphic, web, or multimedia design, as well as for educators and lecturers who use graphics in presentations or classes.Jacket design: Dmitry Krasny.Other artwork by Bonnie Scranton, Dmitry Krasny, and Weilin Wu.

    The principal enhancement in Java 8 was the addition of functional programming constructs to Java's object-oriented roots. Java 7, 8, and 9 also introduced language features, such as the try-with-resources statement, the diamond operator for generic types, default and static methods in interfaces, the @SafeVarargs annotation, and modules. New library features include pervasive use of functional interfaces and streams, the java.time package for manipulating dates and times, and numerous minor enhancements such as convenience factory methods for collections. In this new edition of Effective Java, Bloch updates the work to take advantage of these new language and library features, and provides specific best practices for their use. Java's increased support for multiple paradigms increases the need for best-practices advice, and this book delivers. As in previous editions, each chapter consists of several "items," each presented in the form of a short, standalone essay that provides specific advice, insight into Java platform subtleties, and updated code examples. The comprehensive descriptions and explanations for each item illuminate what to do, what not to do, and why. Coverage includes:Updated techniques and best practices on classic topics, including objects, classes, methods, libraries, and generics How to avoid the traps and pitfalls of commonly misunderstood subtleties of the platform Focus on the language and its most fundamental libraries, such as java.lang and java.util

    Full of insights, arguments and philosophical perspectives, the book covers an amazing array of topics. Beginning in antiquity with Democritus, it progresses through logic and set theory, computability and complexity theory, quantum computing, cryptography, the information content of quantum states and the interpretation of quantum mechanics. There are also extended discussions about time travel, Newcomb's Paradox, the anthropic principle and the views of Roger Penrose. Aaronson's informal style makes this fascinating book accessible to readers with scientific backgrounds, as well as students and researchers working in physics, computer science, mathematics and philosophy.

    This book draws on material Michael created for his renowned Object Mentor seminars, techniques Michael has used in mentoring to help hundreds of developers, technical managers, and testers bring their legacy systems under control. The topics covered include: Understanding the mechanics of software change, adding features, fixing bugs, improving design, optimizing performance Getting legacy code into a test harness Writing tests that protect you against introducing new problems Techniques that can be used with any language or platform, with examples in Java, C++, C, and C# Accurately identifying where code changes need to be made Coping with legacy systems that aren't object-oriented Handling applications that don't seem to have any structureThis book also includes a catalog of twenty-four dependency-breaking techniques that help you work with program elements in isolation and make safer changes.

    Joining the professional web designers and programmers are new audiences who need to know a little bit of code at work (update a content management system or e-commerce store) and those who want to make their personal blogs more attractive. Many books teaching HTML and CSS are dry and only written for those who want to become programmers, which is why this book takes an entirely new approach. • Introduces HTML and CSS in a way that makes them accessible to everyone—hobbyists, students, and professionals—and it’s full-color throughout • Utilizes information graphics and lifestyle photography to explain the topics in a simple way that is engaging • Boasts a unique structure that allows you to progress through the chapters from beginning to end or just dip into topics of particular interest at your leisureThis educational book is one that you will enjoy picking up, reading, then referring back to. It will make you wish other technical topics were presented in such a simple, attractive and engaging way!

    Bjarne Stroustrup, the designer and original implementer of C++, thoroughly covers the details of this language and its use in his definitive reference, The C++ Programming Language, Fourth Edition. In A Tour of C++ , Stroustrup excerpts the overview chapters from that complete reference, expanding and enhancing them to give an experienced programmer-in just a few hours-a clear idea of what constitutes modern C++. In this concise, self-contained guide, Stroustrup covers most major language features and the major standard-library components-not, of course, in great depth, but to a level that gives programmers a meaningful overview of the language, some key examples, and practical help in getting started. Stroustrup presents the C++ features in the context of the programming styles they support, such as object-oriented and generic programming. His tour is remarkably comprehensive. Coverage begins with the basics, then ranges widely through more advanced topics, including many that are new in C++11, such as move semantics, uniform initialization, lambda expressions, improved containers, random numbers, and concurrency. The tour ends with a discussion of the design and evolution of C++ and the extensions added for C++11. This guide does not aim to teach you how to program (see Stroustrup's Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ for that); nor will it be the only resource you'll need for C++ mastery (see Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language, Fourth Edition, for that). If, however, you are a C or C++ programmer wanting greater familiarity with the current C++ language, or a programmer versed in another language wishing to gain an accurate picture of the nature and benefits of modern C++, you can't find a shorter or simpler introduction than this tour provides.

    Written by three prominent members of the Perl community who each have several years of experience teaching Perl around the world, this edition has been updated to account for all the recent changes to the language up to Perl 5.8.Perl is the language for people who want to get work done. It started as a tool for Unix system administrators who needed something powerful for small tasks. Since then, Perl has blossomed into a full-featured programming language used for web programming, database manipulation, XML processing, and system administration--on practically all platforms--while remaining the favorite tool for the small daily tasks it was designed for. You might start using Perl because you need it, but you'll continue to use it because you love it.Informed by their years of success at teaching Perl as consultants, the authors have re-engineered the Llama to better match the pace and scope appropriate for readers getting started with Perl, while retaining the detailed discussion, thorough examples, and eclectic wit for which the Llama is famous.The book includes new exercises and solutions so you can practice what you've learned while it's still fresh in your mind. Here are just some of the topics covered:Perl variable typessubroutinesfile operationsregular expressionstext processingstrings and sortingprocess managementusing third party modulesIf you ask Perl programmers today what book they relied on most when they were learning Perl, you'll find that an overwhelming majority will point to the Llama. With good reason. Other books may teach you to program in Perl, but this book will turn you into a Perl programmer.

    Lambda enables users to develop code that executes in response to events - API calls, file uploads, schedules, etc - and upload it without worrying about managing traditional server metrics such as disk space, memory, or CPU usage. With its "per execution" cost model, Lambda can enable organizations to save hundreds or thousands of dollars on computing costs. With in-depth walkthroughs, large screenshots, and complete code samples, the reader is guided through the step-by-step process of creating new functions, responding to infrastructure events, developing API backends, executing code at specified intervals, and much more. Introduction to AWS Computing Evolution of the Computing Workload Lambda Background The Internals The Basics Functions Languages Resource Allocation Getting Set Up Hello World Uploading the Function Working with Events AWS Events Custom Events The Context Object Properties Methods Roles and Permissions Policies Trust Relationships Console Popups Cross Account Access Dependencies and Resources Node Modules OS Dependencies OS Resources OS Commands Logging Searching Logs Testing Your Function Lambda Console Tests Third-Party Testing Libraries Simulating Context Hello S3 Object The Bucket The Role The Code The Event The Trigger Testing When Lambda Isn’t the Answer Host Access Fine-Tuned Configuration Security Long-Running Tasks Where Lambda Excels AWS Event-Driven Tasks Scheduled Events (Cron) Offloading Heavy Processing API Endpoints Infrequently Used Services Real-World Use Cases S3 Image Processing Shutting Down Untagged Instances Triggering CodeDeploy with New S3 Uploads Processing Inbound Email Enforcing Security Policies Detecting Expiring Certificates Utilizing the AWS API Execution Environment The Code Pipeline Cold vs. Hot Execution What is Saved in Memory Scaling and Container Reuse From Development to Deployment Application Design Development Patterns Testing Deployment Monitoring Versioning and Aliasing Costs Short Executions Long-Running Processes High-Memory Applications Free Tier Calculating Pricing CloudFormation Reusable Template with Minimum Permissions Cross Account Access CloudWatch Alerts AWS API Gateway API Gateway Event Creating the Lambda Function Creating a New API, Resource, and Method Initial Configuration Mapping Templates Adding a Query String Using HTTP Request Information Within Lambda Deploying the API Additional Use Cases Lambda Competitors Iron.io StackHut WebTask.io Existing Cloud Providers The Future of Lambda More Resources Conclusion

    

    This book is focused on the details of data analysis that sometimes fall through the cracks in traditional statistics classes and textbooks. It is based in part on the authors blog posts, lecture materials, and tutorials. The author is one of the co-developers of the Johns Hopkins Specialization in Data Science the largest data science program in the world that has enrolled more than 1.76 million people. The book is useful as a companion to introductory courses in data science or data analysis. It is also a useful reference tool for people tasked with reading and critiquing data analyses. It is based on the authors popular open-source guides available through his Github account (https://github.com/jtleek). The paper is also available through Leanpub (https://leanpub.com/datastyle), if the book is purchased on that platform you are entitled to lifetime free updates.