The story of software engineering has been the story of increasing the level of abstraction at which we as programmers work, from logic encoded in hardware to toggle switches representing binary digits, through machine code, assembly language, low-level languages, and high-level languages both procedural and functional. More recently,...

Do you know why experienced Ruby programmers tend to reach for basic collections and hashes while programmers from other languages go for more specialized classes? Do you know the difference between strip, chop, and chomp, and why there are three such similar methods when apparently one might suffice? (Not to mention lstrip and...

We were early adopters of Extreme Programming (XP), testing on XP teams that weren’t at all sure where testers or their brand of testing fit in. At the time, there wasn’t much in the agile (which wasn’t called agile yet) literature about acceptance testing, or how professional testers might contribute. We learned not...

Bestselling author Jeff Carlson is back with a fully updated revision of the  iMovie Visual QuickStart Guide. Completely overhauled for iMovie HD and iDVD 5, this book uses step-by-step instructions and loads of illustrations to get readers up to speed quickly in the process of making movies with iMovie and creating Hollywood-quality...

SketchUp is both simple and intuitive; there is no doubt about that. It usually takes a couple of hours to get grips on it and to create your first 3D models. But when you are using it for a professional project – with all the attendant time and quality constraints – you have to get a few things straight first to avoid the...

Change: It’s what we expect from technology, from the PC to the web, through to HD TV. But nothing has been as disruptive as the change the iPhone and Android phones have brought. For the first time the power of a computer will fit in your hand, you are always connected to the Internet, and these devices are loaded with...

Former hacker Kevin Poulsen has, over the past decade, built a reputation as one of the top investigative reporters on the cybercrime beat. In Kingpin, he pours his unmatched access and expertise into book form for the first time, delivering a gripping cat-and-mouse narrative—and an unprecedented view into the twenty-first...

Joomla is an open source content management system (CMS) that anyone can download for free (see forge.joomla.org/sf/go/projects.joomla/frs). This makes it an ideal choice for small businesses. Don’t let the price tag fool you, though; Joomla is powerful and robust, and more big organizations are choosing to use open source software...

Java is the preferred language for meeting many...

Years ago, I was at a conference where one of the most...

IBM® WebSphere® DataPower® appliances can simplify SOA deployment, strengthen SOA security, enhance SOA performance, and dramatically improve SOA return on...

If you want to become a resourceful creative artist then look no further! This quick reference to After Effects will show you how to open, install and get up-and-running to a professional level with Adobe's motion graphics and visual effects software package. Curtis Sponsler guides you through some of the common stumbling blocks that...