Are you serious about learning how to create real, Java-based games for fun and sharing? Do you have a basic understanding of the Java programming language? If you’ve answered yes, then you are ready to get started building web-based 2D games from scratch using the latest version of the Java Development Kit! "Beginning Java Game Programming, Second Edition" is a hands-on guide that is perfect for beginner-level game programmers who want to quickly and easily learn how to create games using Java. Written in simple language, the book teaches each new skill using engaging tutorials, followed by end-of-chapter questions and exercises to help reinforce what you’ve just learned. Each chapter builds upon the previous ones, allowing you to repeat and practice the techniques covered. You’ll begin with the basics of writing a simple 2D game using vector graphics, move on to utilizing Java’s advanced 2D library to add animation and sound effects, and end by creating a professional, sprite-based game full of interesting artwork and details that you can share with others on your own website!
About the Author
Jonathan S. Harbour is an Associate Professor of Game Development at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona. His current game project is Starflight: The Lost Colony (www.starflightgame.com). He lives in Arizona with his wife, Jennifer, four children (Jeremiah, Kayleigh, Kaitlyn, Kourtney), a dog (Lucy), a cat (Missy), and six temperamental computers (ages 1 to 8). He can be reached at www.jharbour.com.
This book provides a comprehensive introduction to complex variable theory and its applications to current engineering problems and is designed to make the fundamentals of the subject more easily accessible to readers who have little inclination to wade through the rigors of the axiomatic approach. Modeled after standard calculus books--both in level of exposition and layout--it incorporates physical applications throughout, so that the mathematical methodology appears less sterile to engineers. It makes frequent use of analogies from elementary calculus or algebra to introduce complex concepts, includes fully worked examples, and provides a dual heuristic/analytic discussion of all topics. A downloadable MATLAB toolbox--a state-of-the-art computer aid--is available. Complex Numbers. Analytic Functions. Elementary Functions. Complex Integration. Series Representations for Analytic Functions. Residue Theory. Conformal Mapping. The Transforms of Applied Mathematics. MATLAB ToolBox for Visualization of Conformal Maps. Numerical Construction of Conformal Maps. Table of Conformal Mappings. Features coverage of Julia Sets; modern exposition of the use of complex numbers in linear analysis (e.g., AC circuits, kinematics, signal processing); applications of complex algebra in celestial mechanics and gear kinematics; and an introduction to Cauchy integrals and the Sokhotskyi-Plemeij formulas. For mathematicians and engineers interested in Complex Analysis and Mathematical Physics.
Flex 3 is the next generation of a technology that revolutionized web applications. It is the next evolutionary step of Flash, which has grown from a web animation medium to a powerful enterprise web design and development platform. With nearly 98% of all web browsers, and a growing number of mobile devices, running Flash Player, a knowledge of Flex is indispensible for any serious web developer.
This book will show you how to create powerful Rich Internet Applications using Flex 3. After learning how to install and becoming familiar with the basics of the Flex Builder 3 software, you will explore in depth how the Flash scripting language, ActionScript 3.0, interacts with Flex's powerful XML-like design language: MXML.
You'll learn how to construct your applications using layout and navigation containers, and how to move between various states using transitions. There is coverage of how best to plan your applications and use the Model-View-Controller pattern to keep various aspects of development separated and ease creation of potentially complicated projects.
Rich Internet Applications rely on data, and this book shows how to bring data from various sources into your Flex application and check its integrity, and how best to display and interact with it.
Going farther, applications built for the Flash platform can now exist and function beyond the traditional confines of the web browser. Adobe AIR allows you to take your applications to the desktop, and this book shows how to reapply your Flex skills to take advantage of this new environment.
The Essential Guide to Flex 3 takes you through all the powerful features of Flex using a series of stand-alone, practical exercises. The skills acquired throughout the book are then brought together in the form of a full-featured case study application showcasing essential techniques that can easily be applied to your own Flex applications.
About the Author
Charles is one of the most noted authors and teachers in the computer industry today, his books receiving critical acclaim and being consistent bestsellers.
He conducts frequent seminars for the PC Learning Center, on topics including Java Programming, the Adobe Software Suites, and the MS Office environment.
Charles is also a noted classical organist, pianist and guitarist, and studied alongside such notables as Vladimir Horowitz, Virgil Fox and Igor Stravinsky. It was becasue of his association with Stravinsky that he got to meet, and develop a friendship with, famed artist Pablo Picasso.
Before I describe the contents of this book and why I think you should just take it over to the counter and buy it, I would like to give you an insider’s look at the SQL Server 2008 product development cycle. I believe this insight will provide you with a deeper understanding of how SQL Server is continuing to evolve. The rest of this book will show you why SQL Server is enterprise-ready.
For the past 5 years, I was a program manager at Microsoft in the SQL Server product unit. During this time, I owned various features within the product, including SQL Server Agent, SQL Server Express, and most recently, database security.
When I joined SQL Server in 2002, the product team was in year 3 of planning and implementing the Yukon (SQL Server 2005) release. One of my first responsibilities was to own the Create Database/ Database Properties dialog in SQL Server Management Studio. After working with the user interface (UI) design team and various UI developers, we crafted the interesting grid-based dialog that you see today in Management Studio. However, arriving at the implemented Create Database dialog was not as straightforward as we wanted.
In our organization, we had separate teams writing the UI, writing the Server Management Objects (SMO) code to support the UI, and writing the code in the database engine itself. One of the more common issues we faced was the orchestration of the three separate teams working on a particular feature. Each of the three teams didn’t necessarily put the same priority on the work, and this resulted in situations like having a UI that did nothing because either the SMO or database team didn’t write the code to support it at the time. In the end, when it came time to ship the product, there were some features that had no UI support in SQL Server Management Studio. For example, try to manage Service Broker in Management Studio in SQL Server 2005. I will save you the time— there isn’t much there.
Every C# programmer needs to learn about LINQ (Language–lIntegrated Query), Microsoft’s breakthrough technology for simplifying and unifying data access from any data source. With LINQ you can write more elegant and flexible code not just to access databases and files but to manipulate data structures and XML.
This book is a short yet comprehensive guide to the major features of LINQ and the significant enhancements introduced with .NET 3.5. There is no better source for getting a head–start on the future of these technologies than this book.
- A clear and comprehensive yet concise introduction to using LINQ in C#
- Covers LINQ to Objects, LINQ to SQL, LINQ to DataSet, and LINQ to XML
- Rich in working examples of LINQ in action
- Ideal for C# programmers at any level
About the Author
A prolific writer on cutting-edge technologies, Fabio Claudio Ferracchiati has contributed to over a dozen books on .NET, C#, Visual Basic, and ASP.NET. He is a .NET MCSD and lives in Milan, Italy. You can read his blog at www.ferracchiati.com.
