Minecraft For Dummies


Jacob Cordeiro - 2013
    With this fun and friendly beginners guide, you will quickly grasp how to play Minecraft in the three modes of game play: survival, creative, and hardcore. The easy-to-understand writing style walks you through every step of the way, from downloading the game to choosing a gaming platform to defending your creations against monsters and winning the game by defeating the Ender Dragon. Explains how to use blocks to build amazing creations and engage in gameplay with other players Details techniques for travelling across the biomes Zeroes in on playing wisely in Survival mode so you can acquire resources to maintain your health and hunger Shares tips for playing carefully in Creative mode, using your unlimited supply of resources, the ability to fly, and more Helps you play in Hardcore mode Minecraft For Dummies, Portable Edition goes where you go as you create a world you won't want to leave!

Artificial Intelligence for Humans, Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms


Jeff Heaton - 2013
    This book teaches basic Artificial Intelligence algorithms such as dimensionality, distance metrics, clustering, error calculation, hill climbing, Nelder Mead, and linear regression. These are not just foundational algorithms for the rest of the series, but are very useful in their own right. The book explains all algorithms using actual numeric calculations that you can perform yourself. Artificial Intelligence for Humans is a book series meant to teach AI to those without an extensive mathematical background. The reader needs only a knowledge of basic college algebra or computer programming—anything more complicated than that is thoroughly explained. Every chapter also includes a programming example. Examples are currently provided in Java, C#, R, Python and C. Other languages planned.

Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager's Guide


Craig Larman - 2003
    Larman offers a concise, information-packed summary of the key ideas that drive all agile and iterative processes, with the details of four noteworthy iterative methods: Scrum, XP, RUP, and Evo.

Java Se8 for the Really Impatient: A Short Course on the Basics


Cay S. Horstmann - 2013
    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.

The Scheme Programming Language


R. Kent Dybvig - 1987
    Many exercises are presented to help reinforce the lessons learned, and answers to the exercises are given in a new appendix.Most of the remaining chapters are dedicated to the reference material, which describes in detail the standard features of Scheme included in the Revised$^5$ Report on Scheme and the ANSI/IEEE standard for Scheme.Numerous examples are presented throughout the introductory and reference portions of the text, and a unique set of extended example programs and applications, with additional exercises, are presented in the final chapter. Reinforcing the book's utility as a reference text are appendices that present the formal syntax of Scheme, a summary of standard forms and procedures, and a bibliography of Scheme resources.The Scheme Programming Language stands alone as an introduction to and essential reference for Scheme programmers. it is also useful as a supplementary text for any course that uses Scheme.The Scheme Programming Language is illustrated by artist Jean-Pierre Hébert, who writes Scheme programs to extend his ability to create sophisticated works of digital art.R. Kent Dybvig is Professor of Computer Science at Indiana University and principal developer of Chez Scheme.

Stylin' with CSS: A Designer's Guide


Charles Wyke-Smith - 2005
    Stylin with CSS teaches you everything you need to know start using CSS in your web development work, from the basics of markup of your content and styling text, through to creating multi-column page layouts without the use of tables. Learn how to create interface components, such as drop-down menus, navigation links, and animated graphical buttons, using only CSS no JavaScript required. Discover how to design code that will work on the latest standard-compliant browsers, while working around the quirks of the older browsers. With a mastery of CSS, your web design capabilities will move to a new level, and everything you need to know to get your started and build your skills is right here in this book. You ll be stylin in no time!"

Why Software Sucks...and What You Can Do about It


David S. Platt - 2006
    . . . 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.

PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy


David Powers - 2006
    How easy is easy? It's not like an instant cake mix: just add water and stir. Dynamic web design is--well-- dynamic. Every website is different, so it's impossible to grab a script, paste it into a web page, and expect it to work. Building dynamic sites involves diving into the code and adju- ing it to your own requirements. If that thought makes you break out in a cold sweat, just relax for a moment. PHP is not difficult, and I've written this book very much with the n- programmer in mind. I've done so because I don't come from a computing background myself. In fact, I went to school in the days before pocket calculators were invented, never mind personal computers. As a result, I don't assume that you drank in knowledge of arrays, loops, and conditional statements with your mother's milk. Everything is explained in plain, straightforward l- guage, and I've highlighted points where things may go wrong, with advice on how to solve the problem. At the same time, if you're working with computers and websites, you're bound to have a certain level of technical knowledge and skill. So I don't talk down to you either.

Learning PHP and MySQL


Michele E. Davis - 2006
    When working hand-in-hand, they serve as the standard for the rapid development of dynamic, database-driven websites. This combination is so popular, in fact, that it's attracting manyprogramming newbies who come from a web or graphic design background and whose first language is HTML. If you fall into this ever-expanding category, then this book is for you."Learning PHP and MySQL" starts with the very basics of the PHP language, including strings and arrays, pattern matching and a detailed discussion of the variances in different PHP versions. Next, it explains how to work with MySQL, covering information on SQL data access for language and data fundamentals like tables and statements.Finally, after it's sure that you've mastered these separate concepts, the book shows you how to put them together to generate dynamic content. In the process, you'll also learn about error handling, security, HTTP authentication, and more.If you're a hobbyist who is intimidated by thick, complex computer books, then this guide definitely belongs on your shelf. "Learning PHP and MySQL" explains everything--from basic concepts to the nuts and bolts of performing specific tasks--in plain English.Part of O'Reilly's bestselling Learning series, the book is an easy-to-use resource designed specifically for newcomers. It's also a launching pad for future learning, providing you with a solid foundation for more advanced development.

Hibernate in Action


Christian Bauer - 2004
    Why is this open-source tool so popular? Because it automates a tedious task: persisting your Java objects to a relational database. The inevitable mismatch between your object-oriented code and the relational database requires you to write code that maps one to the other. This code is often complex, tedious and costly to develop. Hibernate does the mapping for you.Not only that, Hibernate makes it easy. Positioned as a layer between your application and your database, Hibernate takes care of loading and saving of objects. Hibernate applications are cheaper, more portable, and more resilient to change. And they perform better than anything you are likely to develop yourself."Hibernate in Action" carefully explains the concepts you need, then gets you going. It builds on a single example to show you how to use Hibernate in practice, how to deal with concurrency and transactions, how to efficiently retrieve objects and use caching.The authors created Hibernate and they field questions from the Hibernate community every day-they know how to make Hibernate sing. Knowledge and insight seep out of every pore of this book."What's Inside"- ORM concepts- Getting started- Many real-world tasks- The Hibernate application development process

Composing Software


Eric Elliott - 2018
    Most developers have a limited understanding of compositional techniques. It's time for that to change.In "Composing Software", Eric Elliott shares the fundamentals of composition, including both function composition and object composition, and explores them in the context of JavaScript. The book covers the foundations of both functional programming and object oriented programming to help the reader better understand how to build and structure complex applications using simple building blocks.You'll learn: • Functional programming • Object composition • How to work with composite data structures • Closures • Higher order functions • Functors (e.g., array.map) • Monads (e.g., promises) • Transducers • LensesAll of this in the context of JavaScript, the most used programming language in the world. But the learning doesn't stop at JavaScript. You'll be able to apply these lessons to any language. This book is about the timeless principles of software composition and its lessons will outlast the hot languages and frameworks of today. Unlike most programming books, this one may still be relevant 20 years from now.This book began life as a popular blog post series that attracted hundreds of thousands of readers and influenced the way software is built at many high growth tech startups and fortune 500 companies.