Wow! eBook – Blog

Book Description

With this digital Early Release edition of HLSL and Pixel Shaders for XAML Developers, you get the entire book bundle in its earliest form – the author’s raw and unedited content – so you can take advantage of this content long before the book’s official release. You’ll also receive updates when significant changes are made, as well as the final ebook version.

Graphic Shaders are used throughout the game and movie industry to improve onscreen graphics. They are versatile, doing important tasks like making computer rendered aliens look realistic, providing the ripples on a background lake or growing fur on the latest Pixar monster. In the PC world, programmers are often delighted to find that shaders are nothing more than a miniature program that is optimized to run on the computers GPU. This happiness fades when they start exploring the strange programming model underlying shaders however. Because shaders are strung together in an unusual fashion and run on a massive parallel processer developers shouldn’t use their traditional OO or procedural approach to writing code. Writing effective shaders requires a mind shift regarding how to craft a useful algorithm. To top it off, shaders are written in a unfamiliar C-like language. In the Microsoft DirectX world the dominant language is High Level Shader Language or HLSL.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Shader 101
Chapter 2. Getting Started Download Now »

Book Description

Announcing an all-new Self-Paced Training Kit designed to help maximize your performance on 70-502, the required exam for the new Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5—Windows Presentation Foundation.

This 2-in-1 kit includes the official Microsoft study guide, plus practice tests on CD to help assess your skills. It comes packed with the tools and features exam candidates want most—including in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and customizable testing options. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for the skills and expertise you can apply to the job.

Focusing on the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), this official study guide covers creating, configuring, and deploying WPF applications; integrating Windows Forms controls; adding multimedia content; using triggers and animation; binding to data sources; and configuring security settings.

Work at your own pace through the lessons and lab exercises. Then assess yourself using 300+ practice questions on the CD, featuring multiple, customizable testing options. Choose timed or untimed testing mode, generate random tests, or focus on discrete objectives. You get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers—including pointers back to the book for further study. You also get an evaluation version of Microsoft Visual Studio® 2008 software and an exam discount voucher Download Now »

Book Description

With this digital Early Release edition of Programming C# 5.0, you get the entire book bundle in its earliest form – the author’s raw and unedited content – so you can take advantage of this content long before the book’s official release. You’ll also receive updates when significant changes are made, as well as the final ebook version.

With its support for dynamic programming, C# 5.0 continues to evolve as a versatile language on its own. But when C# is used with .NET Framework 4.5, the combination is incredibly powerful. This bestselling tutorial shows you how to build web, desktop, Metro and rich Internet applications using C# 5.0 with .NET’s database capabilities, UI framework (WPF), extensive communication services (WCF), and more.

In this seventh edition, .NET experts Ian Griffiths and Jesse Liberty cover the latest enhancements to C#, as well as the fundamentals of both the language and the framework. You’ll learn concurrent and asynchronous programming with C# 5.0 and how to use .NET tools such as the Entity Framework for easier data access.

• Learn C# fundamentals such as variables, flow control, loops, and methods
• Build complex programs with object-oriented and functional programming techniques
• Process large collections of data with the native query features in LINQ
• Learn all about asynchrony new to C# 5.0

Table of Contents Download Now »

Book Description

Beginning Kinect Programming with the Microsoft Kinect SDK gets you up and running developing Kinect applications for your PC using Microsoft tools and the official SDK. You will have a working Kinect program by the end of the first chapter! The following chapters will open up the secrets of three-dimensional vision, skeleton tracking, audio through the Kinect, and more. Examples illustrate the concepts in the form of simple games that react to your body movements. The result is a fun read that helps you learn one of the hottest technologies out there today.

Beginning Kinect Programming with the Microsoft Kinect SDKalso provides building blocks and ideas for mashing up the Kinect with other technologies to create art, interactive games, 3D models and enhanced office automation. You’ll learn the fundamental code basic to almost all Kinect applications. You’ll learn to integrate that code with other tools and manipulate data to create amazing Kinect applications. Beginning Kinect Programming with the Microsoft Kinect SDK is your gateway into the exciting world of three-dimensional, real-time computer interaction.

• Helps you create a proper development environment for Kinect applications.
• Covers the basics of three-dimensional vision, skeleton tracking, gesture recognition, and audio
• Provides fun examples that keep you engaged and learning

What you’ll learn

• Create a proper development environment Download Now »

Book Description

Pro Office 365 Development is a practical, hands-on guide to building cloud-based solutions using the Office 365 platform. This groundbreaking offering from Microsoft provides enterprise-class collaborative solutions at an affordable price, and this book shows you how to use the Office 365 platform to easily build amazing custom applications, including coding for Excel Services, Microsoft Access, and SharePoint Online.

This book provides everything you’ll need to start developing custom solutions. You’ll find step-by-step instructions for providing custom features using the cloud-based services, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online. There are lots of sample programs using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), JavaScript and Silverlight.

Whether you want to build desktop client applications or browser-only solutions with Microsoft’s new cloud-based productivity offering, this book will show you how to do it.

• Develop SharePoint solutions, including declarative workflows
• Use Access and Excel services to quickly build SharePoint sites
• Build content-sensitive collaborative solutions with instant messaging and video conferencing

What you’ll learn

• Configure and administer an enterprise Office 365 account Download Now »

Book Description

Silverlight 5 is the latest iteration of Microsoft’s cross-browser technology for creating rich user experiences on the Web. Like its predecessor, Silverlight 4, it rides atop the .NET Framework for maximum ease of use and coding efficiency. The new technology carries forward much of the work that has been done before and augments it in many important respects, including support for H.264 video, major improvements to the graphics engine (including true 3D rendering), and much richer data-binding options for interfacing with other applications.

Pro Silverlight 5 in VB is an invaluable reference for professional developers wanting to discover the new features of Silverlight. Author Matthew MacDonald‘s expert advice guides you through creating rich media applications using Silverlight in the environment you’re most productive in—no matter what the target platform. As you learn about the features that put Silverlight in direct competition with Adobe Flash, such as rich support for 2D and 3D drawing, animations, and media playback, you’ll experience the plumbing of .NET and the design model of WPF through Silverlight—all of the same .NET technology that developers use to design next-generation Windows applications.

MacDonald provides a comprehensive tutorial written from professional developer to professional developer.

What you’ll learn

• Develop rich media applications using Silverlight across browsers and platforms
• Create a project, set up a layout, and use controls Download Now »