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Anaconda brings Python to Microsoft, machine learning in analytics catches fire and more in today’s data science news. Anaconda, Microsoft team up to deliver Python-Powered Machine Learning on MS products including Azure Python data science leader Anaconda has entered into a partnership with Microsoft to deliver “Anaconda for Microsoft”, a distribution that will be available on Windows, MacOS and Linux. With a range of support, Anaconda will be integrated into Azure Machine Learning, Visual Studio and SQL Server. Python codes will now be able to run inside SQL Server cutting down on the requirement to export data, thus improving Python data science performance. Under the partnership, Anaconda users who use R programming language with Anaconda’s R Essentials package can now also avail Microsoft R Open packages. “With Anaconda distributing Microsoft R and Microsoft including Anaconda distribution in Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Services and Microsoft Visual Studio, our data platform and cloud customers can do high performance analytics and machine learning with some of the best open source and proprietary frameworks available,” said Joseph Sirosh, Corporate Vice President, Data Group, Microsoft Corp. “By combining both R and Python in SQL Server, we are facilitating the expansion of data science across the enterprise.” ANALYTICS IN NEWS IBM unveils Integrated Analytics System for high-performance data science IBM has introduced a unified data system called the Integrated Analytics System that will support advanced analytics across public, private, or hybrid cloud platforms, including IBM BigSQL and IBM Db2 Warehouse On Cloud Hadoop. Built with IBM common SQL engine and embedded with IBM Data Science Experience and Apache Spark, the new data system simplifies machine learning processing as the data does not have to be moved now for analytics processing where the analytic will take its own time to respond. This gives the users faster and easier access to data science. Splunk boasts of machine learning capabilities across its platform Splunk has expanded its machine learning capabilities further, after deciding to start building in machine learning last year. Key new features include addition of a data cleaning tool, integration of necessary machine learning APIs, and added management support to import user permissions directly into machine learning platforms. Splunk ITSI 3.0 (the new version) can even identify and prioritize issues based on the criticality of the operation. The new advancements are in line with Splunk’s future plan to intelligently automate the task of data monitoring (alerting humans only when it is absolutely required) as customers will soon need tools to cope up with the increasing amount of data and alerts. MemSQL 6: Now developers can run Machine Learning algorithms in SQL environment Popular in-memory database MemSQL has gifted developers machine learning features in its newest version released yesterday. This further brings operational applications closer to data science. “As machine learning use expands within companies, a smarter database is needed to maximize learning,’ MemSQL CEO Nikita Shamgunov said in the announcement, “MemSQL 6 now has capabilities such as extensibility to enable more ML functions, so customers can meet the needs of their most ambitious challenges.”

A new quantum computing language, a self-learning chip called Loihi, and more in today's data science news. Microsoft gifts developers a programming language for quantum computing Considered the next wave of computing revolution, Quantum Computing became one step closer to reality. On day 1 of the ongoing Ignite conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the launch of a programming language toolkit for quantum computing. The programming language will be "deeply integrated into Visual Studio," the tech giant said. The system includes a number of tutorials and libraries to help developers experiment with this new paradigm.The programming language itself has elements of C#, Python, and F# along with new features specific to quantum computing. While developers can use this language on classical computers to try their hand at developing quantum apps, in future, they will be writing programs that actually run on topological quantum computers, Microsoft added. [box type="info" align="alignleft" class="" width=""]Fun Fact: Qubit, the binary bit equivalent for quantum computers, is basically a very small particle that exists in a state of uncertainty (1 and 0) until it exists in a state of certainty (1 or 0).[/box] DEEP LEARNING IN NEWS Intel launches a self-learning chip called Loihi In what could redefine artificial intelligence, Intel Labs has developed a self-learning neuromorphic chip codenamed “Loihi”. It imitates how the human brain operates based on the different types of feedback it receives from its environment. This energy-efficient chip has been developed adopting a first-of-its-kind approach to computing with asynchronous spiking, and it does not require traditional training to learn and make inferences. Just like the brain, Loihi uses the data to understand and then make its inference. What’s more, it also gets smarter over time based on the inferences, Intel said. [box type="info" align="alignleft" class="" width=""]Fun Fact: Loihi (meaning ‘long’ or ‘tall’ in Hawaiian) is an active submarine volcano in the Hawaiian chain.[/box] NVIDIA releases TensorRT 3 AI Inference Software NVIDIA developers can now avail TensorRT 3 release candidate. Claimed to be 40x faster than CPUs at one-tenth of the cost, TensorRT 3 comes with easy to use Python API with improved performance, the company said on its official website. It can deploy TensorFlow models 18 times faster than the TensorFlow framework inference on Tesla V100. DATABASES IN NEWS Microsoft launches SQL Server 2017 that supports Linux On day 1 of the ongoing Ignite conference, tech giant Microsoft announced the general availability of SQL Server 2017 which will run on both windows as well as Linux platforms. This is seems by many as a significant move by Microsoft towards open source. “SQL Server on Linux is an engineering feat,” Microsoft Principal Program Manager Travis Wright said, "The database engine binaries you install on Windows and Linux are literally the same exact files down to the byte. I can attest that even features like Active Directory authentication, backup, and restore all work just the same as on Windows.” The news comes only a year after Microsoft released SQL Server 2016, and the price and licensing model stay exactly the same. SQL Server 2017 will have several enhanced features such as automatic tuning and the much-needed graph databases. There is also an added support for Python programming language which is great news for data science professionals. Oracle makes available MySQL 8.0 first release candidate MySQL, the popular open-source RDBMS, may get a makeover. Oracle, which gained MySQL platform after acquiring Sun Microsystems in 2010, has been stressing on a “mobile-first” approach for modern applications. The new release candidate for MySQL 8.0 which has features like improved JSON support and Unicode 9.0 support among others has been built keeping in mind the requirements for most modern apps. Developers can test the MySQL 8.0 RC1 after downloading the source code from GitHub.

Our top priority at Packt has always been to meet the evolving needs of developers in the most practical way possible, while at the same time protecting the hard work of our authors. DRM-free content continues to be instrumental in making that happen, providing the flexibility and freedom that is essential for an efficient and enhanced learning experience. That’s why we’ve been DRM-free from the beginning – we’ll never put limits on the innovation of our users. Packt MD Dave Maclean Packt’s products have always been completely free of DRM. Right from our first book in 2004, when you buy and download a Packt eBook or video it’s yours to use as you like. We guarantee products bought from our site will be completely, totally, 100% free of any DRM. What is DRM? DRM is called Digital Rights Management by its defenders, and Digital Restrictions Management by its opponents. It is the imposing of technological restrictions on your digital media. In eBooks, it might mean restricting the number of times you can copy a pdf or the devices that you can read your content on. As the 'Defective by Design' campaign says, 'DRM creates a damaged good; it prevents you from doing what would be possible without it. This concentrates control over production and distribution of media, giving DRM peddlers the power to carry out massive digital book burnings and conduct large scale surveillance over people's media viewing habits.' Why are Packt products DRM free? We believe that developers should be free and flexible to access content they’ve paid for when they want, and how they want. Buy it once, and own it to read across multiple devices and multiple formats. That’s why we’re fundamentally opposed to DRM on Packt products. We know our customers want flexibility when they learn. They want to import an .epub to read in iBooks on the subway, access a high quality .pdf on their desktops, and have a .mobi for their Kindle to browse on the weekend. Day Against DRM Packt is a regular supporter of the Day Against DRM, a gathering of the global and internet community to show the world and media the need for a future free of DRM. This year is no exception. We’re showing our support with a discount sale. On July 9th, get 50% off every eBook and 80% off every Packt video. Every eBook and video you pick up will be yours to read and watch as you like - put it on any device, copy it as many times as you like. It's yours to own, forever.

So you want to get into web development - but where do you even start to begin? The world of web development has never been more important. Last year was the first time that the majority of purchases were made on the web rather than visiting a brick and mortar store. Web apps now offer fantastic ease of use for business clients or shoppers, and a poorly built or optimized app is often all it takes for your customers to choose to leave your ideas behind and go somewhere else. Luckily, we've got tons of free eBooks for you to get started with if you’re looking to enter this wide world of web development with as best a foot forward as possible. And beyond that, when you’ve got the basics down and are ready to start developing your skills in new and interesting ways with frameworks, coding paradigms, and optimization then we’ve got you covered too with our entire web development range of titles to buy too! Here are our current top free learning resources we think you'll find perfect to get started. With how important web development is right now starting here for free might just be the smartest investment you make today! All you need to do is click the links below, log in, and you’ll find the eBook in your account. You'll then be able to download the free machine learning guides as PDFs which you can keep forever. It's that simple. Thinking in HTML For anyone who wants to understand the web and how it works, HTML is an essential place to start. If you need somewhere to start your journey into HTML then this free eBook provides you with everything you need to know to get to grips with the code and to begin building your own web pages. Inside you’ll explore everything from how HTML code structures a web page, to formatting pages and including essential things like hyperlinks and images, to creating your own forms you’ll have the perfect foundation to build upon all your future work. Download and read Thinking in HTML for free now. Thinking in CSS CSS is intrinsic to the modern web, and if you want to become a true web developer it’s a must have to know inside and out. Thinking in CSS is your gateway to the ins and outs of the language. This title gives you the crash course on the ins and outs the structure of CSS, how to use selectors to locate elements to restyle your webpage, and shows you how CSS interacts with the web pages you see every day. With this book by your side you’ll be able to cut through CSS without breaking a sweat - letting you focus on simply making your web pages look great without getting lost in the language! Download and read Thinking in CSS for free now. What you need to know about JavaScript JavaScript and the web go hand in hand, and as a web developer you need to have a great handle on the language to ensure you're creating the best apps you can. From the absolute basics of JS syntax to combining ECMAScript 6 and Visual Studio Code this primer is the perfect resource for a JavaScript Master-in-the-Making! Download and read What you need to know about JavaScript for free now. What you need to know about Angular 2 Angular was one of the biggest development revolutions of the decade, and you owe it to yourself to see just why Angular 2 is going to be just as big - and this title will show you how. Giving you everything you need to build your first basic Angular app this is the ideal place to start for any Angular initiate looking to start their journey. Download and read What you need to know about Angular 2 for free now. Mastering JavaScript High Performance So, you’ve got the basics of web development down - where do you go from there? Why not try making sure your JS code's performance is as good as possible with this title! Inside this 208 page guide you’ll find a whole host of easy to copy tips, tricks, and best practices you can bring to your web dev world going forward. With a few simple tricks you can rest easy knowing your web or mobile apps run faster and better for both you and your customers; meaning your competitors don’t leave you in the dust. Download and read Mastering JavaScript High Performance for free now. There we go - 5 titles to give you the start (and a bit more when you’re ready to dig deeper too!) you need to start creating your very own web apps. So what are you waiting for? Get downloading, get reading, and then get creating!

So, you want to learn how to build machine learning algorithms? But where do you start? Becoming a data scientist is a really smart career move – it’s possibly one of the most valuable jobs out there. That’s just one of the reasons it was hailed by the Harvard Business Review as the ‘sexiest job of the twentieth century’ back in 2012. But learning the skills you need to become a truly great data scientist, capable of building powerful machine learning systems with languages like Python and R, isn’t easy. Where do you start? And once you have started, how do you stay up to date with the tools you need to continually deliver valuable data-driven insights? Luckily we’ve got a range of free data science eBooks and free machine learning tutorials to get you started. And once you have got started, we’ve got a wider range of content to help you to continually improve and develop your skills. We think we’ve got everything you need to become a data scientist that can make a real impact in any ambitious and forward thinking organization. Here are our top free data science and machine learning resources that we think you’ll find learning. When learning data science skills and data analysis skills could be so valuable, starting here for free might just be the smartest investment you make today! All you need to do is click the links below, log in, and you’ll find the eBook in your account. You’ll then be able to download the free machine learning guides as PDFs which you can keep forever. Simple.   Learn how to build machine learning systems with Python Python is frequently described as the leading language of data, closely rivalled by R. With this free eBook you’ll learn everything you need to build a range of powerful machine learning algorithms. But it’s not just packed with theory you might learn in a computer science lecture – instead, this free Python eBook focuses on practical examples that demonstrate how to apply machine learning to some interesting problems. From classifying the quality of StackOverflow questions to building an algorithm that can interpret sounds to classify the genre of a given music file, and even topic modelling Wikipedia, you’ll not only be learning the fundamental concepts of machine learning, but also be putting them into practice. Download and read Building Machine Learning Systems with Python for free now. Find out exactly what you need to know about Machine Learning If you’re looking for a shorter, faster introduction to machine learning, you could do worse than this free machine learning eBook. It does exactly what it says on the tin – it gets you up to speed with the core concepts behind machine learning, telling you exactly what you want to know. You’ll find out the three key types of machine learning (supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning), the basic tools you need and how to get started on a popular dataset that’s commonly used by anyone that’s just started learning machine learning. With a final Spam detection project, it’s got everything to take you from “where do I start?” to “what next?” Download and read What You Need to Know about Machine Learning for free now. Free Practical Data Analysis Projects We’re passionate believers that there’s no point in theory if you can’t put it into practice. That’s true of all the resources here, but this free data analysis eBook is the perfect way to expand your machine learning skills to become a smart data analyst. Yes, you’ll find more on machine learning, but you’ll also learn data scrubbing, handling multiple data formats, as well as useful data visualization techniques (with the help of D3.js). And when we say practical, we mean practical: Here are some of the practical data analysis projects you’ll find inside this free eBook: Find out how to simulate stock prices with machine learning Predict gold prices with predictive models Modeling infectious diseases with cellular automata Twitter sentiment analysis If you want to get your hands on some interesting datasets, get started with this free data analysis eBook. We think it’s one of the best places to begin your journey into machine learning and data. And if you’re already on that journey, it’s worth checking out – after all, who doesn’t love a personal project (it beats work, anyway). Download and read Practical Data Analysis for free now. With these free machine learning resources and eBooks, you should be well on your way to mastering modern data. So, if you were thinking “where do I start when it comes to machine learning?” you’ll soon be asking “what’s next?!”

Have you seen all the great new content that’s been added to the Skill Plan categories in Mapt this month? Continue to develop your skills with these new book and video courses released in November. Subscribe or start your free trial with Mapt to access everything in full. Data Science Here’s a toothsome selection of new titles for all you data scientists. We recommend Building Machine Learning Projects with TensorFlow for those looking to gain insight into complex data. You can also start Learning Jupyter to utilize interactive computing in a web-based environment – very handy when dealing with big data sets. More new data science releases... R for Data Science Solutions [Video] Mastering R Programming [Video] Bayesian Analysis with Python SQL Server 2016 Reporting Services Cookbook Odoo 10 Development Essentials Tableau 10 Business Intelligence Cookbook MDX with Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Analysis Services Cookbook OCP 12c Upgrade 1Z0-060 Exam Guide Introduction to QGIS Python Programming [Video] Front End Web Development We're excited about the second edition of Web Development with Bootstrap 4 and Angular 2 as the new versions of these frameworks really embrace emerging web technologies to help you build cutting-edge web applications. Our enthusiasm for Angular doesn’t end there – we also think you’ll like Angular 2 By Example which is full of practical advice for building flexible cross-platform applications. More new front end development courses... Learning React.js Data Visualization [Video] Phalcon Cookbook Angular 2 Components The Majesty Of Vue.js Game and Mobile Development There’s a smorgasbord of new titles here for you game and mobile developers. Looking to launch your next great app idea? Learning Xcode 8 will show you how to build and publish your first iOS application. More game and mobile development courses... Clip Studio Paint EX Fundamentals [Video] Gamification with Unity 5.x Ionic 2 Cookbook Swift Data Structure and Algorithms Getting Started with PhoneGap [Video] Swift 3 Protocol-Oriented Programming Programming Everything is coming up Python! Between our Python Projects video and the Modern Python Cookbook our list of side projects is going to be a mile long. More new programming courses Entity Framework Core Cookbook Go Projects [Video] R Data Structures and Algorithms Mastering F# F# 4.0 Design Patterns JIRA 7 Essentials System Administration We have a fantastic selection of new titles for those of you working with systems and infrastructures to choose from this month. For starters, you can change the way your organization deploys software at scale by Developing with Docker - this course will teach you how to build, ship, and run many distributed applications in real time. More new SysAdmin courses Linux Shell Scripting Solutions [Video] VMware vRealize Orchestrator Cookbook Mastering Puppet for Large Infrastructures [Video] Network Analysis using Wireshark 2 [Video] Windows Server 2016 Cookbook Learning Ansible 2 Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Cookbook Mastering SaltStack Docker Networking Cookbook Penetration Testing with Raspberry Pi

We’ve seen some great new content released last month in Mapt. Whatever field you’re working in and whatever skills you need to develop, we’re confident you’ll find something useful in our batch of October releases. Data Science We’ve got an exciting range of data science content. If you’re interested in Spark we’d highly recommend checking out Apache Spark 2 for Beginners and Fast Data Processing with Spark 2. We also know just how popular Python is with anyone working with data – our Python Machine Learning Solutions video course provides an engaging, immediate and visual way to put your analytics skills into practice for a huge range of problems. More new data science releases: R: Unleash Machine Learning Techniques Large Scale Machine Learning with Spark Learning R Programming Python Data Science Essentials Installing SharePoint 2013 Using PowerShell Ember.js Solutions (v) Front end web development We’ve got a short and sweet range of front end development courses in Mapt. Our pick is Learning ReactJS but if you want to become a front end developer that is flexible and adaptable, capable of working with a diverse set of tools, any of these will be valuable… More new front end development courses… Angular 2 Projects Learning ReactJS HTML5 and CSS3: Building Responsive Websites Learning React Reusable Components Bootstrap 4 Site Blueprints Full stack development When it comes to full stack development, there's plenty of exciting new courses. We think ASP.NET Core and Angular 2 will be particularly interesting - it offers a unique look at how to combine both tools in a way that will be valuable for developers used to working with a range of different stacks. More new full stack development courses... PHP 7 Programming Blueprints ASP.NET Core and Angular 2 Learn MeteorJS By Building 10 Real World Projects Web Application Development with MEAN Learning Full Stack React Drupal 8 Development Solutions (v) Magento 2 Theme Design Mastering JavaScript Single Page Application Development Node.js Projects Game and Mobile Development There's two key courses that we think will be particularly popular:Learning AWS Lumberyard Game Development and Building an RPG with Unity 5.x. Take a look for yourself now. More new game and mobile development courses... Python Machine Learning Solutions (V) Mastering Unity 2D Game Development Unreal Engine 4 Scripting with C++ Cookbook Cocos2d-x Solutions Swift 3 New Features Mastering Swift 3 Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift 3 Swift 3 - Learn to Code with Apple's New Language Programming For you programmers, we want to divert your attention towards two courses. Go Programming Blueprints, practical programming projects that will demonstrate Go's impressive capabilities and Mastering Python, Second Edition, an updated video course that provides an in depth and expert look at how you can push your Python programming skills forward. More new programming courses... Mastering JIRA 7 Mastering Akka A 15 Hour C# 6.0 Course – The Core Language OpenCV: Computer Vision Projects with Python Git: Mastering Version Control Learning Go Programming Scala Test-Driven Development Building RESTful Python Web Services Clojure Programming Cookbook Raspberry Pi for Python Programmers Cookbook Raspberry Pi Robotic Projects Building Smart Homes with Raspberry Pi Zero System Administration There's a great selection of titles available for anyone dealing with systems and infrastructures. But there's one product that we think might make a particularly big impact on how developers work. It's DevOps for Web Development. We urge you to check it out! More new system administration courses... CentOS 7 Server Deployment Cookbook Python: Penetration Testing for Developers Mastering Windows Server 2016 Mastering Modern Web Penetration Testing DevOps for Networking Learning VMware vSphere Mastering VMware Horizon 7 Learning vSphere 6 (v) Learning IBM Bluemix Ansible for AWS Getting started with System Center Operations Manager 2016 Mastering ServiceNow Hyper-V 2016 Best Practices Disaster Recovery Using VMware vSphere Replication and vCenter Site Recovery Manager Software-Defined Networking (SDN) with OpenStack Learning VMware vRealize Operations Manager

Find our top Learning Paths here - save 50% until November 21st. With courses on everything from Linux to DevOps, and from Python to responsive web design, discover some of the most comprehensive and completist products in our library. Developers are a pragmatic lot. It comes with the territory. Sometimes you just need a course that shows you how to do something very specific in a focused and practical manner, so that you can get the job done on time and under budget. That’s what Packt products have largely aimed to do for the last thirteen years. This just-in-time ‘reactive’ approach to learning isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s one of the key coverage goals of our subscription service, Mapt. We want to be there with content that’s immediately relevant to you, when you need it, every single time. We see the value in that, and after hundreds of customer calls we know that you do too. At the other end of the learning spectrum, we also know that a lot of you are interested in higher-level technology trends and longer-term skills progression. Unlike just-in-time learning, it’s not always clear what skills you should develop for that next promotion or career move. Sure, you might have heard about some of the latest tools and technologies from your colleagues, Hacker News or the workshops and conferences you attend, but from our perspective it’s like asking you to research what you should type into the search box on our website. If we’re being honest, it’s not really the greatest customer acquisition strategy. Today we’re (officially) launching Packt Learning Paths. They’re our take on a digital-first ‘just-in-case’ product, designed to help provide you with all the content you need to build a wider skill set around a particular technical topic or trend. We’ve done all the hard work of curating focused sets of titles that work wonderfully together from start to finish, so that you don’t have to. You might have already seen some Learning Paths available on our store as part of our soft launch, or indeed on Amazon. For those of you who are working on the front lines of modern software development, we hope that you’ll find them an engaging, pragmatic and highly effective form of learning. Our goal at Packt is to help you be successful, in whatever it is you choose to do. That’s why you’ll also find our latest Learning Paths on Mapt, alongside our expertly curated Skill Plans, and every single piece of content we’ve ever published since 2004.  

​​​​​At Packt, everything we create - from textbooks and videos to online learning platforms- is designed to help professional developers learn and achieve success in their tech career. We're seeking 10-15 engaged, industry tech experts to become part of our Customer Advisory Board from January until December 2017 to help us shape and develop our new developer skills platform, Mapt, designed for professional developers to develop their tech skills and chart their learning journey towards their professional goals. We're looking for tech professionals who are passionate about online learning to develop tech skills in order to remain relevant in the industry. The Customer Advisory Board will work with us as we develop Mapt and help us shape it in terms of design, development and content experience. You could be working in a B2C or B2B organisation in any industry, all we ask is that you are excited about learning and are happy to take part in regular calls, focus groups and online surveys and collaborate with us and your peers. What's involved? Advisors will have the opportunity to: Attend monthly conference calls, quarterly focus groups (in person or virtual) and participate in ad hoc online surveys throughout the year. Preview, test drive, and/or have early access to new product features and functionality, providing feedback. Be product insiders by feeding into future plans and developments in progress. Special inclusion or representation of specific application or use cases in the QA process. Network and collaborate with other members of the board as well as sharing and learning from them to make a positive difference to online learning for developers. Have direct communication with Packt executives and advise on the needs of developers. What's the incentive? 1 year subscription of Mapt if not already a subscriber. £350 payment for the year or prorated based on project involvement. How to apply If you're interested in becoming a Customer Advisory Board member from January- December 2017, please send a CV or LinkedIn profile and a summary outlining your suitability for becoming an Advisor to Kerry George, Product Manager (Content Experience) via email to kerryg@packtpub.com. The deadline for applications is Monday 5th December 2016.

New Features Easy access to the last section you viewed To make it easier than ever to get back to what you were last looking at, we've added the ability for users to access the last section they viewed on the dashboard screen. This will ensure that you never lose your place and that you can jump back into your learning effortlessly. Manage your account inside Mapt You can now manage your Mapt subscription and account directly within Mapt without having to navigate to the Packt store. From these new pages you will be able to update your password, mailing preferences, user information and manage your subscription seamlessly. See all content from course pages We've had a lot of requests to make the Table of Contents viewable from an eBook or video course title page. This makes perfect sense, so we've now added tab so you can see the complete breakdown of content on any course page without going into the content itself. You will also be able to see whether or not you have completed a section. This will make it much easier for you to find the content you want. Simple bookmark management Removing bookmarks from the bookmark screen has always been too cumbersome in Mapt, so we've made it easier. From the new Bookmarks screen you can now remove the bookmarks against multiple titles with the click of a button. See the sections you've completed Being able to see how much of a specific course you have seen - whether it's text or video - is really useful. No one wants to have to trawl through sections of content they've seen to find what they want. That's why we've augmented this feature so that if all subsections of a chapter have been completed it will now show as being completed. Courses' section has been renamed 'Library' In our last survey we noticed that a lot of subscribers were having difficulty accessing their library of content. We think some of this confusion was due to how we organized the sidebar items. As a result, we've now renamed 'Courses' to 'Library' so that users always know where to go to access their library of content. Bug fixes Nightmode breaking eBook content We noticed that nightmode sometimes broke ordered lists in eBook content. We've made a change to the reading interface to make sure nightmode doesn't break your reading experience. Empty Code Files A number of Courses in Mapt don't have code files attached to them, but the user interface would still allow you to download empty .zip files - rather than indicating that no Code Files were available. We've now addressed this issue so that the 'Code Files' button is disabled for titles where there are no 'Code Files' attached. Sort on Saved Page A number of users highlighted how the sort functionality on the saved page was broken. We've made the fix, and the sort function should now behave as expected, helping you sort our titles by a variety of dimensions. We've fixed a bug which made search on Android devices impossible due to accidentally closing the sidebar when the user pressed the search input.

We published a lot of new content in September. Here’s what’s new in Mapt across our job roles. Read or watch the first two sections for free with a Mapt account. Subscribe to access everything in full. Data Science and analysis We’ve been particularly busy when it comes to data science. With so much happening in the field, and new trends and patterns emerging rapidly, it’s an exciting time to find your own way through it. (from programmers to researchers to marketers). One of the most exciting new titles is the latest edition of Practical Data Analysis. Published 2 years since our popular first edition, it provides you with a hands-on look at using a diverse range of tools and techniques. From effective visualization to simulating and predicting stock prices, this new collection of tutorials gets you beyond buzzwords so you can put the principles into practice. When it comes to Big Data there are two key challenges facing engineers and analysts – speed and meaningful insight. In Big Data Analytics and Spark for Data Science, we’ve got both bases covered. Packed with everything Big Data Engineers and analysts will need to unlock more value from data, we urge you to dive in! More great new content… Taming Big Data with MapReduce and Hadoop - Hands On! (Video) Apache Spark with Scala (Video) Splunk Best Practices Data Science and Machine Learning with Python - Hands On! (Video) PostgreSQL Development Essentials Learn MongoDB by Building Ten Projects (Video) Taming Big Data with Apache Spark and Python - Hands On! (Video) Taming Big Data with Spark Streaming and Scala – Hands On! (Video) Mastering Tableau 10 (Video) Hadoop Blueprints Julia Cookbook Splunk Essentials Julia for Data Science Mastering QGIS Learning Tableau 10 Programming The pick of this month’s programming titles take in 3 languages built for performance. But they’re also accessible enough for any developer that wants to expand their skillset and become more fluent. In Learn Scala Programming Language from Scratch, you’ll find a direct and accessible route into Scala. Featuring more than 5 hours of content, there’s plenty to get your programming teeth into. Meanwhile, if you want to become an expert in Google’s increasingly popular language Go, take a look at The Go Programming Language Guide – Code Like a Pro - it's an essential video course for anyone curious about the language and eager to add it to their arsenal of skills. Finally, Haskell High Performance Programming takes you deeper into this really powerful language, guiding you as you investigate the language in detail, and demonstrating how to wring ever last drop of performance from your code. More great new content… Learning Python Application Development C++ Windows Programming First Careful Steps Towards Success In C# (Video) Jira Development Cookbook (Third Edition) Front end and full stack development We’ve got plenty for developers to get stuck into. Our Angular 2 courses and tutorials are all proving to be immensely popular with the developer community – this month, we’ve released Angular 2 Fundamentals for Web Developers, an accessible video course that will make adoption (and migration as painless as possible). For designers, Mastering Bootstrap 4 is a great way to get more from Bootstrap, dispelling any myths that Bootstrap is restrictive and boring – with plenty on customization and optimization, this course will help you become a more creative yet controlled developer. We’ve also started seeing even more interest in Node.js in recent months – is there a chance that it could supersede the hype of Angular 2 and React and become the key tool for modern development over the next 12 months. If you think it might, The Complete Guide to Node.js is an accessible yet comprehensive route into this hugely important developer tool. More great new content… Service Worker Development Cookbook HTML5 Specialist Designation (Video) CSS Specialist Designation (Video) Teaching with Google Classroom Modular Programming with PHP 7 Laravel 5.x Cookbook Mastering PHP Design Patterns PHP Projects (Video) Practical XMPP ASP.NET Core Essentials Bootstrap for ASP.NET MVC (Second Edition) Mobile & Game development September has seen some nice new additions of mobile and game development content. The newest edition of Learning iOS Forensics is a practical look at how to delve deeper into an Apple device and uncover data, while Xamarin Blueprints is a useful collection of projects designed to help you utilise Xamarin’s cross-platform capabilities to greatest effect. Finally, in Mastering Unity Shaders and Effects, you have an advanced guide, designed to help you give your Unity games the edge. When it comes to high quality gaming, the devil is so often in the details – we think this product will really sharpen your game development skills so you can create games that are competitive in a tough and growing market. More great new content… Unity 5.x 2D Game Development Blueprints Buildbox 2.x Game Development Unity 5 Fundamentals (Video) Security, System Administration & Hardware We’ve got content to keep you at the content edge. Explore DevOps at its most advanced and get to grips with the tools helping to define – and redefine – the way in which it’s practiced today with our Mastering DevOps video course. Meanwhile, if you’re a security professional, Kali Linux 2 – Assuring Security by Penetration Testing is a really valuable resource packed with some of the most effective techniques being used in security today. For creative types, Smart Internet of Things Projects shows you how to bridge the gap between hardware and analytics, demonstrating how to bring data science thinking and statistical models into your projects. We think it’s a fun way to get ahead of the IoT trend curve as it forces Big Data to bloat and get even bigger. More great new content… Learning IoT with Particle Photon and Electron OpenStack: Building a Cloud Environment Learning OpenStack (Video) Configuring SharePoint 2013 Server for App Development (Video) SharePoint 2013 Development Using C# - Part 1: The Essentials of Application Development (Video) SharePoint 2013 Development Using C# - Part 2: Advanced Application Development (Video) Learning Windows Server Hyper-V 2016 (Video) Mastering Windows PowerShell 5 Administration (Video) VMware NSX Network Essentials Mastering Identity and Access Management with Microsoft Azure Internet of Things with Arduino Cookbook Mobile Forensics – Advanced Investigative Strategies Mastering Metasploit (Second Edition)

Mapt v.0.2.0 – Release Notes We’ve been working hard to improve the Mapt experience over the past month. Here’s what we’ve been working on recently.  Skills assessments We know how important assessments are when it comes to understanding your skillset and how it relates to the wider world – from both a professional and personal perspective. If we’re to really help you stay relevant in your field, we know you need a way to assess where you are currently, what you know already and what you can do. That’s why we’ve begun adding assessments. They’ll help you understand your skillset, benchmarking you against others who have taken them, and help you focus on the content most relevant to you. We’re a long way from finalizing our assessments and the full scope of our coverage but now we’ve started we’re confident that it’s going to add a really useful dimension to Mapt. You can try out our very first assessments in our AngularJS Developer Skill Plan. New and improved UI When Mapt launched there were two navigation bars. This caused a lot of confusion. We've now consolidated these navigations in to one side bar that persists across every screen. This should make navigating Mapt much easier. When you're in the zone and reading a book or watching a video, the navigation changes to become the Table of Contents to help you move between sections quickly. The new UI isn’t finished yet; watch this space for more updates in the future. Mobile optimization We’ve heard from a lot of people who tell us how much they’d like to use Mapt on their mobile devices. That’s why we’ve made to how Mapt is displayed on mobile. Starting with the UI consolidation, we've also made tweaks to the product listings to give them more room on your mobile view and have fixed padding issues when reading content on mobile. Keep giving us feedback! As with the launch of any new product or platform, we've been hard at work making improvements and squashing bugs – many of which we wouldn’t know about if it wasn’t for you. If you have any feedback about your experience with Mapt, or any suggestions for improvement, let us know at maptsupport@packtpub.com. We’ve got an exciting roadmap of new features and improvements for the rest of the year and into 2017 – we’re looking forward to sharing more of our work with you and we hope you like it! Thanks, The Mapt Team @ Packt

DrupalCon is coming to Dublin – and we’re proud to be Media Partner for the event. From 26th to 30th September, Drupal fans will come together to celebrate some of the exciting projects and innovations coming out of an enthusiastic development community. It’s also an opportunity to discuss Drupal’s future, and to think carefully about how it can continue to respond to new challenges and changing user needs. Drupal founder Dries Buytaert will be delivering the headline talk on the 27th September, but there will be a huge range of talks and discussions taking place throughout the week. From project management and delivery to mobile development and UX, there’s plenty going on, whether you’re a developer, project manager, or even a content strategist. But there’s a few reasons why we’re particularly excited about this event here at Packt. Well, five actually – five of our Drupal authors will be attending the event and available for book signing and a chat. You can meet: Gregg Marshall (@greggmarshall), author of Mastering Drupal 8 Views Matt Glaman (@nmdmatt), author of Drupal 8 Development Cookbook Nick Abbott (@SirClickALot) and Richard Jones (@richardjones), authors of Learning Drupal 8 Tassos Koutlas (@akoutlas), one of the authors of Drupal 8 Development: Beginner's Guide - 2nd Edition If you haven’t yet registered for DrupalCon there’s still time. You can also save €50 on the full price by using a special discount code: Packt_dr2EoDg7 See you in Dublin!

We all love a winner. That's why we've ranked developers' top programming languages and web frameworks from our massive Skill Up survey. So, what languages do developers still love and use the most? What frameworks rule the roost of modern web development? We took to our data to find out. The Top Four Programming Languages What did our respondents say were their top programming languages? We've got the choices that have made the most impact in 2016. Python Surprising nobody - Python ranks highly in the top four most popular programming languages! From it's humble origins almost thirty years ago, Python has risen to become the defacto language of the modern age. Whether you're a data scientist, a games developer, a pentester, a web developer - there's always a reason to learn Python. Want guidance on how to further your Python developer career? The Mapt platform's Python Developer Skill Plan guides you through what you need to know to succeed. JavaScript The language of the web stands as one of the most vital languages to know according to our Skill Up survey. But it's important for more than just those building websites. As Enterprise and business applications move more and more to becoming browser based web-apps, every developer is going to need to know how to build for the web. Need guidance on the right path for JavaScript career success? Mapt's Frontend and Fullstack JavaScript Developer Skill Plans guide you through everything you need to know to succeed in a JS career. Java Skill Up found that Java's a powerhouse, and an exceptional tool for both app dev and data alike. But what really helps keeps Java relevant is how it's an essential tool for Android. With more and more necessity to build for mobile, Java is popular with both Enterprise and indie devs alike. Fancy getting into Android? Mapt's Android Developer Skill Plan takes you through all you need to track your mobile dev learning career. PHP Proving that there's nothing quite like a classic, our Skill Up report showed that PHP is still a serious contender in modern programming. Many popular web CRMs such as Drupal still rely heavily on PHP, and powerful web frameworks such as Laravel have ensured it can keep competing with the likes of JavaScript. The Top Four Web Frameworks What tools did developers say were the most vital when building for the web? We've got the best. Angular Remember a world before AngularJS, back when Backbone and Knockout still had a stake in the world of JS frameworks? The days of a dozen JS frameworks are gone, and it's all thanks to Angular. Since the bursting of the 'framework bubble', there's been one clear victor that's changed the way we think about JavaScript Frameworks. Angular's been such a revolution that's it's even overturned itself, with the all new Angular 2 not being afraid of abandoning backwards compatibility in favor of being a better product. Our Skill Up respondents love Angular - whatever its form. ReactJS If there's any real contender to challenge Angular, its React. React has stormed onto the stage in 2015 and 2016, and quickly established itself as one of the most beloved and most useful web frameworks being used today. Favored by many for its JavaScipt-centric approach, React is unique in its simplicity. NodeJS When you need to build for your backend, NodeJS remains the go-to for developers. Exceptional for building fast and scalable backends, Node is popular for the ease with which it lets you create big apps with JS. Whilst we've seen some of the MEAN Stack being outpaced in 2016, Node is still one of the top four web tools being used today. Docker Wait, Docker? We know it's not a framework, but we were amazed by the numbers of developers who said it had become vital to their process. A real game-changer to virtualization, Docker has lead the containers revolution that has shaken up all of the development world - and the web is no exception. 

Packt Early Access puts eBooks and videos into your hands whilst they’re still being written, so you don’t have to wait to take advantage of new tech and new ideas. Released on a raw and rapid basis, Early Access products are delivered to you chapter-by-chapter. You get new content as it’s created - as well as the completed eBooks and videos when they’re published. Right now, purchasing an Early Access product gets you: Immediate access to all chapters and video segments that are already available Access to new chapters and content as it’s written and uploaded from your My Books dashboard The final digital product as soon as it’s finished, and the chance to upgrade to print In the future, you’ll also be able to find all Early Access content available to read online for free with a Mapt subscription.