TITLE : Building XNA 2.0 Games: A Practical Guide for Independent Game Development (Books for Professionals by Professionals)
AUTHOR : James Silva, John Sedlak
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430209798
EDITION : 1
PUB DATE : 2008-09-22

Building XNA 2.0 Games: A Practical Guide for Independent Game Development is written by James Silva, who recently won the prestigious Microsoft Dream Build Play game competition with his award–winning title, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai.

Building XNA 2.0 Games: A Practical Guide for Independent Game Development is an in–depth and exclusive look into the entire XNA game development process and includes the creation of a software game masterpiece. James Silva guides you through the process he took to build his award–winning title from concept to reality. He reveals tips and techniques for creating a polished, high–quality game with very few resources, while bridging the gap between coding and art.

This title shows software developers the following:

• The creation of a polished game from start to finish
• Design philosophies
• Next–gen 2D graphics, including shaders
• Techniques for fast, fluid game play
• XACT Audio and XInput
• Eye–catching particle effects for visual stimulation

The book is packed full of code, pictures, and valuable insights into XNA game development.

• If you are brand new to XNA, you’ll see basic concepts of game development through simple exercises.
• You’ll be able to follow along and see the steps taken to re–create the game that won the Microsoft Dream Build Play competition.
• You’ll learn and enhance artistic skills and artistic design capabilities.
• You’ll learn how to build software games that focus on the same artistic design, game play, and game flow/logic that are also found in commercial games.
• You’ll become more exposed to the exciting world of software games.

Who is this book for?

For anyone who has working knowledge of C# and .NET programming and either loves to build software games or is interested in seeing how to create an award–winning game.

The Apress Building series teaches application of existing technologies. The book content assumes the reader has fundamental working knowledge of a technology and demonstrates how to build solutions from the technology. The Building series books are characterized by visualizations of the end product and extensive use of examples to build that end product.

TITLE : Building XNA 2.0 Games: A Practical Guide for Independent Game Development (Books for Professionals by Professionals)
AUTHOR : James Silva, John Sedlak
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430209798
EDITION : 1
PUB DATE : 2008-09-22

Building XNA 2.0 Games: A Practical Guide for Independent Game Development is written by James Silva, who recently won the prestigious Microsoft Dream Build Play game competition with his award–winning title, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai.

Building XNA 2.0 Games: A Practical Guide for Independent Game Development is an in–depth and exclusive look into the entire XNA game development process and includes the creation of a software game masterpiece. James Silva guides you through the process he took to build his award–winning title from concept to reality. He reveals tips and techniques for creating a polished, high–quality game with very few resources, while bridging the gap between coding and art.

This title shows software developers the following:

• The creation of a polished game from start to finish
• Design philosophies
• Next–gen 2D graphics, including shaders
• Techniques for fast, fluid game play
• XACT Audio and XInput
• Eye–catching particle effects for visual stimulation

The book is packed full of code, pictures, and valuable insights into XNA game development.

• If you are brand new to XNA, you’ll see basic concepts of game development through simple exercises.
• You’ll be able to follow along and see the steps taken to re–create the game that won the Microsoft Dream Build Play competition.
• You’ll learn and enhance artistic skills and artistic design capabilities.
• You’ll learn how to build software games that focus on the same artistic design, game play, and game flow/logic that are also found in commercial games.
• You’ll become more exposed to the exciting world of software games.

Who is this book for?

For anyone who has working knowledge of C# and .NET programming and either loves to build software games or is interested in seeing how to create an award–winning game.

The Apress Building series teaches application of existing technologies. The book content assumes the reader has fundamental working knowledge of a technology and demonstrates how to build solutions from the technology. The Building series books are characterized by visualizations of the end product and extensive use of examples to build that end product.

TITLE : Practical Dojo Projects (Practical Projects)
AUTHOR : Frank Zammetti
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430210664
EDITION : 1
PUB DATE : 2008-09-19

The era of professional JavaScript development has arrived! Gone are the days when writing all the client–side code for your applications by hand yourself was the norm. Gone are the days when scrounging around the Internet to find a snippet of code to do something you need could lead to either decent code or utter garbage that you’d surely regret using later.

No, writing high–quality JavaScript these days is a whole lot easier with the advent of top–notch libraries that save you time and effort, and one that stands out from most others is Dojo.

Dojo is a library like few others: written by some of the best JavaScript coders around today, providing nearly everything you’ll need to write modern Rich Internet Applications, all in one place. From Ajax to widgets, to client–side persistence and language extensions, and many points in between, Dojo has it all.

In Practical Dojo Projects, you’ll learn all about what Dojo has to offer. You’ll see it in action in the form of five fully functional applications, which include

• A contact manager for storing info for all the important people in your life
• A code cabinet: a place to store, index, and get code snippets from
• A stock tracker to keep track of your stock portfolio
• A message forum for open discussions on topics you define
• Even a fun little game!

By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll have a firm grasp on what Dojo is all about, and you’ll have the preparation you need to begin to use it yourself in your own projects. See you inside!

• Uncover the fundamentals of Dojo, its core, Dojo Widgets, and DojoX.
• Build sophisticated JavaScript/Ajax–based applications starting with a Dojo contact manager.
• Create a code cabinet, a place to store snippets of code for later reuse using Dojo and Dojo Offline (based on Google Gears).
• See how to build an interactive and fun came application using Dojo.
• Build a stock watcher application, which allows you to enter ticker symbols and will show you real–time updates using some available web service; show net gain/loss over various time periods (hourly/daily/weekly/monthly/yearly) with various charts and graphs.
• Take Dojo into social networking by building a messaging forums application.

Who is this book for

Web application developers, senior projects leads, and application architects

The Practical series from Apress is your best choice for getting the job done, period. From professional to expert, this series lets you apply project–motivated templates (or frameworks) step by step in a very direct, practical, and efficient manner toward current real–world projects that may be sitting on your desk. So whatever your career goal, Apress can be your trusted guide to take you where you want to go on your IT career empowerment path.

TITLE : Practical Dojo Projects (Practical Projects)
AUTHOR : Frank Zammetti
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430210664
EDITION : 1
PUB DATE : 2008-09-19

The era of professional JavaScript development has arrived! Gone are the days when writing all the client–side code for your applications by hand yourself was the norm. Gone are the days when scrounging around the Internet to find a snippet of code to do something you need could lead to either decent code or utter garbage that you’d surely regret using later.

No, writing high–quality JavaScript these days is a whole lot easier with the advent of top–notch libraries that save you time and effort, and one that stands out from most others is Dojo.

Dojo is a library like few others: written by some of the best JavaScript coders around today, providing nearly everything you’ll need to write modern Rich Internet Applications, all in one place. From Ajax to widgets, to client–side persistence and language extensions, and many points in between, Dojo has it all.

In Practical Dojo Projects, you’ll learn all about what Dojo has to offer. You’ll see it in action in the form of five fully functional applications, which include

• A contact manager for storing info for all the important people in your life
• A code cabinet: a place to store, index, and get code snippets from
• A stock tracker to keep track of your stock portfolio
• A message forum for open discussions on topics you define
• Even a fun little game!

By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll have a firm grasp on what Dojo is all about, and you’ll have the preparation you need to begin to use it yourself in your own projects. See you inside!

• Uncover the fundamentals of Dojo, its core, Dojo Widgets, and DojoX.
• Build sophisticated JavaScript/Ajax–based applications starting with a Dojo contact manager.
• Create a code cabinet, a place to store snippets of code for later reuse using Dojo and Dojo Offline (based on Google Gears).
• See how to build an interactive and fun came application using Dojo.
• Build a stock watcher application, which allows you to enter ticker symbols and will show you real–time updates using some available web service; show net gain/loss over various time periods (hourly/daily/weekly/monthly/yearly) with various charts and graphs.
• Take Dojo into social networking by building a messaging forums application.

Who is this book for

Web application developers, senior projects leads, and application architects

The Practical series from Apress is your best choice for getting the job done, period. From professional to expert, this series lets you apply project–motivated templates (or frameworks) step by step in a very direct, practical, and efficient manner toward current real–world projects that may be sitting on your desk. So whatever your career goal, Apress can be your trusted guide to take you where you want to go on your IT career empowerment path.

TITLE : Practical Dojo Projects (Practical Projects)
AUTHOR : Frank Zammetti
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430210664
EDITION : 1
PUB DATE : 2008-09-19

The era of professional JavaScript development has arrived! Gone are the days when writing all the client–side code for your applications by hand yourself was the norm. Gone are the days when scrounging around the Internet to find a snippet of code to do something you need could lead to either decent code or utter garbage that you’d surely regret using later.

No, writing high–quality JavaScript these days is a whole lot easier with the advent of top–notch libraries that save you time and effort, and one that stands out from most others is Dojo.

Dojo is a library like few others: written by some of the best JavaScript coders around today, providing nearly everything you’ll need to write modern Rich Internet Applications, all in one place. From Ajax to widgets, to client–side persistence and language extensions, and many points in between, Dojo has it all.

In Practical Dojo Projects, you’ll learn all about what Dojo has to offer. You’ll see it in action in the form of five fully functional applications, which include

• A contact manager for storing info for all the important people in your life
• A code cabinet: a place to store, index, and get code snippets from
• A stock tracker to keep track of your stock portfolio
• A message forum for open discussions on topics you define
• Even a fun little game!

By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll have a firm grasp on what Dojo is all about, and you’ll have the preparation you need to begin to use it yourself in your own projects. See you inside!

• Uncover the fundamentals of Dojo, its core, Dojo Widgets, and DojoX.
• Build sophisticated JavaScript/Ajax–based applications starting with a Dojo contact manager.
• Create a code cabinet, a place to store snippets of code for later reuse using Dojo and Dojo Offline (based on Google Gears).
• See how to build an interactive and fun came application using Dojo.
• Build a stock watcher application, which allows you to enter ticker symbols and will show you real–time updates using some available web service; show net gain/loss over various time periods (hourly/daily/weekly/monthly/yearly) with various charts and graphs.
• Take Dojo into social networking by building a messaging forums application.

Who is this book for

Web application developers, senior projects leads, and application architects

The Practical series from Apress is your best choice for getting the job done, period. From professional to expert, this series lets you apply project–motivated templates (or frameworks) step by step in a very direct, practical, and efficient manner toward current real–world projects that may be sitting on your desk. So whatever your career goal, Apress can be your trusted guide to take you where you want to go on your IT career empowerment path.

TITLE : Practical Dojo Projects (Practical Projects)
AUTHOR : Frank Zammetti
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430210664
EDITION : 1
PUB DATE : 2008-09-19

The era of professional JavaScript development has arrived! Gone are the days when writing all the client–side code for your applications by hand yourself was the norm. Gone are the days when scrounging around the Internet to find a snippet of code to do something you need could lead to either decent code or utter garbage that you’d surely regret using later.

No, writing high–quality JavaScript these days is a whole lot easier with the advent of top–notch libraries that save you time and effort, and one that stands out from most others is Dojo.

Dojo is a library like few others: written by some of the best JavaScript coders around today, providing nearly everything you’ll need to write modern Rich Internet Applications, all in one place. From Ajax to widgets, to client–side persistence and language extensions, and many points in between, Dojo has it all.

In Practical Dojo Projects, you’ll learn all about what Dojo has to offer. You’ll see it in action in the form of five fully functional applications, which include

• A contact manager for storing info for all the important people in your life
• A code cabinet: a place to store, index, and get code snippets from
• A stock tracker to keep track of your stock portfolio
• A message forum for open discussions on topics you define
• Even a fun little game!

By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll have a firm grasp on what Dojo is all about, and you’ll have the preparation you need to begin to use it yourself in your own projects. See you inside!

• Uncover the fundamentals of Dojo, its core, Dojo Widgets, and DojoX.
• Build sophisticated JavaScript/Ajax–based applications starting with a Dojo contact manager.
• Create a code cabinet, a place to store snippets of code for later reuse using Dojo and Dojo Offline (based on Google Gears).
• See how to build an interactive and fun came application using Dojo.
• Build a stock watcher application, which allows you to enter ticker symbols and will show you real–time updates using some available web service; show net gain/loss over various time periods (hourly/daily/weekly/monthly/yearly) with various charts and graphs.
• Take Dojo into social networking by building a messaging forums application.

Who is this book for

Web application developers, senior projects leads, and application architects

The Practical series from Apress is your best choice for getting the job done, period. From professional to expert, this series lets you apply project–motivated templates (or frameworks) step by step in a very direct, practical, and efficient manner toward current real–world projects that may be sitting on your desk. So whatever your career goal, Apress can be your trusted guide to take you where you want to go on your IT career empowerment path.

TITLE : Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition (Beginning from Novice to Professional)
AUTHOR : Christian Gross
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430210338
EDITION : 2
PUB DATE : 2008-09-15

This book is for anyone who wants to write good C# code—even if you have never programmed before. Writing good code can be a challenge—there are so many options, especially in a .NET language like C#. If you want to really get the best from a programming language, you need to know which features work best in which situations and understand their strengths and weaknesses. It is this understanding that makes the difference between coding and coding well.

Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition has been written to teach you how to use the C# programming language to solve problems. From the earliest chapters, and from the first introductory concepts, you’ll be looking at real–world programming challenges and learning how C# can be used to overcome them. As you progress through the book, the problems become more involved and interesting, while the solutions become correspondingly more complex and powerful as C# features interact to achieve the results that you want.

This second edition has been revised and improved to now include the latest SQL Server 2008 release and explain how you can integrate SQL Server 2008 with your C# applications.

By the time you’ve finished reading this book and worked through the sample exercises, you’ll be a confident and very competent C# programmer. You will still have many explorations of the .NET Framework API to look forward to, but you will have a firm foundation to build from, and you will know exactly where to go to find the things that you need to progress confidently in your projects.

• Everything to get you started with C# 2008 from scratch—from installing the tools to writing your first applications.
• The core concepts of .NET 3.5 programming: from decision trees to data structures, from exceptions to lambda expressions, and from objects to components.
• Learn what LINQ is, why functional programming can be important, how generics make your life easier, and much, much, more!

Who is this book for

This book is for anyone who’s just starting out to learn about C#. It doesn’t assume any prior knowledge of object–oriented programming, of the .NET Framework, or of coding in general. It simply assumes that you’re an intelligent person who wants to learn and starts the journey from there.

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry–level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from “novice to professional.” You’ll start your journey by seeing what you need to know—but without needless theory and filler. You’ll build your skill set by learning how to put together real–world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you there—it is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!

TITLE : Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition (Beginning from Novice to Professional)
AUTHOR : Christian Gross
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430210338
EDITION : 2
PUB DATE : 2008-09-15

This book is for anyone who wants to write good C# code—even if you have never programmed before. Writing good code can be a challenge—there are so many options, especially in a .NET language like C#. If you want to really get the best from a programming language, you need to know which features work best in which situations and understand their strengths and weaknesses. It is this understanding that makes the difference between coding and coding well.

Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition has been written to teach you how to use the C# programming language to solve problems. From the earliest chapters, and from the first introductory concepts, you’ll be looking at real–world programming challenges and learning how C# can be used to overcome them. As you progress through the book, the problems become more involved and interesting, while the solutions become correspondingly more complex and powerful as C# features interact to achieve the results that you want.

This second edition has been revised and improved to now include the latest SQL Server 2008 release and explain how you can integrate SQL Server 2008 with your C# applications.

By the time you’ve finished reading this book and worked through the sample exercises, you’ll be a confident and very competent C# programmer. You will still have many explorations of the .NET Framework API to look forward to, but you will have a firm foundation to build from, and you will know exactly where to go to find the things that you need to progress confidently in your projects.

• Everything to get you started with C# 2008 from scratch—from installing the tools to writing your first applications.
• The core concepts of .NET 3.5 programming: from decision trees to data structures, from exceptions to lambda expressions, and from objects to components.
• Learn what LINQ is, why functional programming can be important, how generics make your life easier, and much, much, more!

Who is this book for

This book is for anyone who’s just starting out to learn about C#. It doesn’t assume any prior knowledge of object–oriented programming, of the .NET Framework, or of coding in general. It simply assumes that you’re an intelligent person who wants to learn and starts the journey from there.

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry–level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from “novice to professional.” You’ll start your journey by seeing what you need to know—but without needless theory and filler. You’ll build your skill set by learning how to put together real–world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you there—it is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!

TITLE : Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition (Beginning from Novice to Professional)
AUTHOR : Christian Gross
PUBLISHER : Apress
ISBN : 1430210338
EDITION : 2
PUB DATE : 2008-09-15

This book is for anyone who wants to write good C# code—even if you have never programmed before. Writing good code can be a challenge—there are so many options, especially in a .NET language like C#. If you want to really get the best from a programming language, you need to know which features work best in which situations and understand their strengths and weaknesses. It is this understanding that makes the difference between coding and coding well.

Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition has been written to teach you how to use the C# programming language to solve problems. From the earliest chapters, and from the first introductory concepts, you’ll be looking at real–world programming challenges and learning how C# can be used to overcome them. As you progress through the book, the problems become more involved and interesting, while the solutions become correspondingly more complex and powerful as C# features interact to achieve the results that you want.

This second edition has been revised and improved to now include the latest SQL Server 2008 release and explain how you can integrate SQL Server 2008 with your C# applications.

By the time you’ve finished reading this book and worked through the sample exercises, you’ll be a confident and very competent C# programmer. You will still have many explorations of the .NET Framework API to look forward to, but you will have a firm foundation to build from, and you will know exactly where to go to find the things that you need to progress confidently in your projects.

• Everything to get you started with C# 2008 from scratch—from installing the tools to writing your first applications.
• The core concepts of .NET 3.5 programming: from decision trees to data structures, from exceptions to lambda expressions, and from objects to components.
• Learn what LINQ is, why functional programming can be important, how generics make your life easier, and much, much, more!

Who is this book for

This book is for anyone who’s just starting out to learn about C#. It doesn’t assume any prior knowledge of object–oriented programming, of the .NET Framework, or of coding in general. It simply assumes that you’re an intelligent person who wants to learn and starts the journey from there.

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry–level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from “novice to professional.” You’ll start your journey by seeing what you need to know—but without needless theory and filler. You’ll build your skill set by learning how to put together real–world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you there—it is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!