Writing Game Center Apps in iOSNow that Apple has introduced the GameKit framework to its iOS SDK, you can integrate Game Center features directly into your iPhone and iPad apps. This concise cookbook shows you how it's done, with 18 targeted recipes for adding leaderboards, user authentication, achievements, multiplayer games, and many other features.
How do you display players' scores and achievements? How do you create Game Center accounts and add friends? Each recipe in this book includes a simple code solution you can put to work immediately, along with a detailed discussion that offers insight into why and how the recipe works. ...
App InventorYes, you can create your own apps for Android phones-and it's easy to do. This extraordinary book introduces App Inventor for Android, a powerful visual tool that lets anyone build apps for Android-based devices. Learn the basics of App Inventor with step-by-step instructions for more than a dozen fun projects, such as creating location-aware apps, data storage, and apps that include decision-making logic.
The second half of the book features an Inventor's manual to help you understand the fundamentals of app building and computer science. App Inventor makes an excellent textbook for beginners and experienced developers alike. ...
Think StatsIf you know how to program, you have the skills to turn data into knowledge using the tools of probability and statistics. This concise introduction shows you how to perform statistical analysis computationally, rather than mathematically, with programs written in Python.
You'll work with a case study throughout the book to help you learn the entire data analysis process - from collecting data and generating statistics to identifying patterns and testing hypotheses. Along the way, you'll become familiar with distributions, the rules of probability, visualization, and many other tools and concepts. ...
Asterisk: The Definitive Guide, 3rd EditionDesign a complete VoIP or analog PBX with Asterisk, even if you have no previous Asterisk experience and only basic telecommunications knowledge. This bestselling guide makes it easy, with a detailed roadmap to installing, configuring, and integrating this open source software into your existing phone system.
Ideal for Linux administrators, developers, and power users, this book shows you how to write a basic dialplan step by step, and quickly brings you up to speed on the latest Asterisk features in version 1.8. ...
HTML5 CanvasNo matter what platform or tools you use, the HTML5 revolution will soon change the way you build web applications, if it hasn't already. HTML5 is jam-packed with features, and there's a lot to learn. This book gets you started with the Canvas element, perhaps HTML5's most exciting feature. Learn how to build interactive multimedia applications using this element to draw, render text, manipulate images, and create animation.
Whether you currently use Flash, Silverlight, or just HTML and JavaScript, you'll quickly pick up the basics. Practical examples show you how to create various games and entertainment applications with Canvas as you learn. Gain valuable experience with HTML5, and discover why leading application developers rave about this specification as the future of truly innovative web development. ...
Making Isometric Social Real-Time Games with HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScriptAnyone familiar with Zynga's Farmville understands how fun and addictive real-time social games can be. This hands-on guide shows you how to design and build one of these games from start to finish, with nothing but open source tools. You'll learn how to render graphics, animate with sprites, add sound, validate scores to prevent cheating, and more, using detailed examples and code samples.
By the end of the book, you'll complete a project called Tourist Resort that combines all of the techniques you've learned. You'll also learn how to integrate your game with Facebook. If you're familiar with JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3, you're ready to get started. ...
iPad 2: The Missing Manual, 2nd EditionThe iPad is an amazing media device, once you really know how to use it. In this entertaining book, New York Times tech columnist and iPad expert Jude Biersdorfer shows you how to get the most out of this sleek tablet to surf the Web, send and receive email, watch movies and TV shows, read eBooks, listen to music, play games, and even do a little iWork. It's the book that should have been in the box. ...
Games, Diversions & Perl CultureThe Perl Journal (TPJ) did something most print journals aspire to, but few succeed. Within a remarkable short time, TPJ acquired a cult-following and became the voice of the Perl community. Every serious Perl programmer subscribed to it, and every notable Perl guru jumped at the opportunity to write for it. Back issues were swapped like trading cards. No longer in print format, TPJ remains the quintessential spirit of Perl - a publication for and by Perl programmers who see fun and beauty in an admittedly quirky little language.
Games, Diversions, and Perl Culture is the third volume of The Best of the Perl Journal, compiled and re-edited by the original editor and publisher of The Perl Journal, Jon Orwant. In this series, we've taken the very best (and still relevant) articles published in TPJ over its 5 years of publication and immortalized them into three volumes. ...
Add Audio and Video to Your Site: The Mini Missing ManualNothing spices up websites like cool sound effects (think ker-thunk as visitors press a button) or embedded videos. Think you need a programmer to add sizzle to your site? Think again. This hands-on guide gives you the techniques you need to add video, music, animated GIFs, and sound effects to your site.
This Mini Missing Manual is excerpted from Creating a Web Site: The Missing Manual. ...
Attract Visitors to Your Site: The Mini Missing ManualTo be a success, a website has to attract-and keep visitors. This Mini Missing Manual shows you how to attract new and return visitors and use the power of keywords and Web search engines to rise up in the rankings of search results. You'll also learn how to use a powerful-and free service that tracks visitor activity on your site so you know which of your Web pages they love, and-just as important which pages don't work for them. Using this information, you can fine-tune your site to keep the visitors coming.
This Mini Missing Manual is excerpted from Creating a Web Site: The Missing Manual. ...
Developing Android Applications with Adobe AIRPut your ActionScript 3 skills to work building mobile apps. This book shows you how to develop native applications for Android-based smartphones and tablets from the ground up, using Adobe AIR. You learn the entire development process hands-on, from coding specific functions to options for getting your app published.
Start by building a sample app with step-by-step instructions, using either Flash Professional or Flash Builder. Then learn how to use ActionScript libraries for typical device features, such as the camera and the accelerometer. This book includes ready-to-run example code and a case study that demonstrates how to bring all of the elements together into a full-scale working app. ...