Anybody following the discussions around “Web Services” in recent years is aware of the fuzzy definition of the term, and a little bit of history can quite easily explain some of the confusions around current terminology (or use of terminology). The general idea of using Web technologies to not only deliver Web pages (HTML...

Is there a rational way to measure coder skills and contributions and the way that software teams fit together? Could metrics help you improve coder self-awareness, teamwork, mentoring, and goal-setting? Could more detailed data help you make better hiring decisions, help make performance reviews fairer, and help your software teams...

Welcome to LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0: The King’s Treasure. Yes, it’s the sequel to LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: The Mayan Adventure, but no previous experience with that book is required to use or enjoy this book. Please be aware that The Mayan Adventure used the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 1.0 kit which was released in 2006. The LEGO...

This book is about writing real-world applications for the Android platform primarily using the Python language and a little bit of JavaScript. While there is nothing wrong with Java, it really is overkill when all you need to do is turn on or off a handful of settings on your Android device. The Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A)...

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the next version of the protocol that is used for communications on the Internet. IPv6 is a protocol that has been in existence for many years, but it has not yet replaced IPv4. IPv4 has some limitations that were not anticipated when it was first created. Because IPv6 overcomes many of these...

It is a great pleasure for me to write this foreword about a book that comes out of one of the first research projects funded by ANR, the French National Research Agency. ANR was established by the French government in 2005 to fund research projects, based on competitive schemes giving researchers the best opportunities to realize...

It teaches risk-driven architecting. There is no need for meticulous designs when risks are small, nor any excuse for sloppy designs when risks threaten your success. This book describes a way to do just...

An API presents a...

Every new version of SQL Server brings with it new tools and features for database administrators (DBAs), developers, and architects, for them to be able to provide an effective solution for the end users in a simpler and more efficient manner. The terms effective and efficiency can be measured in a technical perspective as High Availability...

Parallel hardware has been ubiquitous for some time now. It’s difficult to find a laptop, desktop, or server that doesn’t use a multicore processor. Beowulf clusters are nearly as common today as high-powered workstations were during the 1990s, and cloud computing could make distributed-memory systems as accessible as...

You may already be aware that the Java virtual machine runs on everything from the largest mainframe to the smallest microchip and supports almost every conceivable application. What you may not realize is that to develop software in some of these scenarios requires a targeted, single purpose language, a Domain Specific Language. The popular...