This book is for people who are interested in learning and exploring electronic interfacing as well as C++ programming in a practicable and enjoyable way. Readers will learn to program a PC to do real-world things not simply number crunching and graphics. They will also master how to write programs that interact with real-world devices through the use of a specially-developed interface circuit board included with the book. The book, interface board and accompanying software incorporate simple and easy-to-understand projects such as digital-to-analog conversion and vice versa, DC and Stepper motor control, temperature and voltage measurement, PC-based timing, or basic data acquisition. The audience of this innovative and rewarding approach to learn interfacing real-world devices to a computer via C++ are undergraduate and graduate students in engineering and science, practicing engineers/scientists, technical workers, and hobbyists. The types of courses the book complements include control engineering, electronics, computing, and mechatronics.

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Because the analysis of copious amounts of data and the preparation of custom reports often take away time from true research, the automation of these processes is paramount to ensure productivity. Exploring the core areas of automation, report generation, data acquisition, and data analysis, Automated Data Analysis Using Excel illustrates how to minimize user intervention, automate parameter setup, obtain consistency in both analysis and reporting, and save time through automation.

Focusing on the built-in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) scripting language of Excel, the book shows step-by-step how to construct useful automated data analysis applications for both industrial and academic settings. It begins by discussing fundamental elements, the methods for importing and accessing data, and the creation of reports. The author then describes how to use Excel to obtain data from non-native sources, such as databases and third-party calculation tools. After providing the means to access any required information, the book explains how to automate manipulations and calculations on the acquired data sources. Collecting all of the concepts previously discussed in the book, the final chapter demonstrates from beginning to end how to create a cohesive, robust application.

With an understanding of this book, readers should be able to construct applications that can import data from a variety of sources, apply algorithms to data that has been imported, and create meaningful reports based on the results.

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As a major force in the world of affordable, advanced web site deployment, Joomla! has become the most important noncommercial Content Management System (CMS) in the world. The number of Joomla! downloads and add-ons continues to grow at lightning pace, spurring the need for a resource that explores the diverse needs of professional Joomla! developers. This book fills that void by covering the two main areas of the Joomla! field–development and deployment–with a focus on the new Joomla! version 1.5 and all the features it provides.

Seasoned author Dan Rahmel walks you through the process of creating all three types of Joomla! extensions (modules, components, and plug-ins), explains how best to use Ajax technology, and shows you how to adopt design patterns and incorporate source code control. You'll examine the underlying technologies (PHP, Apache, etc.) that can be tuned to offer the best system performance, and you'll explore interfacing with outside content, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) setup, and much more. You'll even delve into the internal structure of the Joomla! framework, and obtain a unique behind-the-scenes education so that you can modify and extend Joomla! to meet the needs of you and your customers.

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This book will provide a comprehensive survey of telecommunications technologies and services, at a reasonable level of technical depth, and in the author’s unique plain-English, commonsense style. Recent developments in technology to be explored will include:

• Power Line Carrier (PLC)
• Broad over Power Line (BPL)
• Passive Optical Network (PON)
• 802.11g
• Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)
• 802.16 & WiMAX

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This is a comprehensive, practical guide for programmers who want to develop production-quality, database-enabled web applications with PHP and MySQL. Long-time developer Marc Wandschneider systematically addresses the entire process: not only coding, but also upfront application, user interface and database design, PLUS security, testing, and more.

Youll walk through building three applications from start to finish: a calendaring system, a weblog engine, and an e-commerce store. Along the way, youll master essential strategies for creating robust web database applications and learn how to avoid the common pitfalls that trip up many developers moving to PHP and MySQL.

• Starts with a complete primer on PHP for developersincluding coverage of code organization, reuse, and object-oriented PHP
• Contains detailed treatments of data access, including transactions, foreign keys, and indexes
• Presents powerful data validation techniques utilizing PHP regular expressions
• Walks through planning web applications, including user interfaces and user management
• Offers systematic guidance on securing web applications from end to end
• Covers a wide range of implementation issuesincluding internationalization, error handling, data validation, debugging, session management, and deployment
• Includes detailed chapters on XML, XML-based web services, and the PEAR framework for reusable PHP components
• Shows how to work with the Oracle and PostgreSQL databases

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Identity and Access Management are rapidly gaining importance as key areas of practice in the IT industry, and directory services provide the fundamental building blocks that enable them. For enterprise developers struggling to build directory-enabled .NET applications, The .NET Developer’s Guide to Directory Services Programming will come as a welcome aid.

Microsoft MVPs Joe Kaplan and Ryan Dunn have written a practical introduction to programming directory services, using both versions 1.1 and 2.0 of the .NET Framework. The extensive examples in the book are in C#; a companion Web site includes both C# and Visual Basic source code and examples.

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Silverlight is a lightweight but powerful plug-in for multiple web browsers on multiple operating systems that makes it easier than ever to create rich web-based content, applications, and controls. With support for vector graphics, animations, full-screen high-definition video, and more, Silverlight gives you the ability to create more compelling content than you dreamed possible for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Silverlight provides much of the power of Windows Presentation Foundation, but with less overhead and easy integration with HTML and AJAX-style applications. Silverlight 1.0 Unleashed is the authoritative book that covers the technology in a practical and approachable fashion, authored by Silverlight guru and Microsoft developer Adam Nathan. (more…)