About the Author

Muhammad Usama bin Aftab is a software engineer at one of the leading solar lighting manufacturers in North America. At Carmanah Technologies, he works closely with the product development and management teams to develop software for embryonic technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy. He also focuses on full-stack development using Angular 2 and Java. His main areas of interest range from mobile application development to information security. Mr. Aftab is an alumnus of the University of Victoria, Canada, where he received his master's degree in applied science in electrical and computer engineering. Mr. Aftab has experience in Android, iOS, and cross-platform gaming technologies (such as Unity 3D), which led him to coauthor Learning Android Intents for Packt in 2014.

I am using this opportunity to express thanks to my parents, to whom I owe all my gratitude. Not only in academia but in every walk of life, they supported me. Thank you, mom and dad, for everything you did for me. I would like to extend my thanks to Fanie Collardeau, who not only motivated me but guided me in tough times. She made me a better person and gave me a totally different yet wonderful perspective on life.I am grateful to Ronald Schouten, who provided me an open and flexible environment to work in. His persona brought a positive attitude in my professional life and I sincerely thank him for being such an amazing mentor.Thanks also to Darren Beckwith, who gave me the motivation to learn and adopt new technologies (including Bluetooth Low Energy). He understood the importance of my book and gave me encouragement to pursue writing.Last but not least, thank you Carmanah Technologies, who laid the foundation of my knowledge in the Internet of Things and provided me an incredible environment to work in.

Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows - then let your heart say in silence, "God rests in reason." And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky - then let your heart say in awe, "God moves in passion." And since you are a breath in God’s sphere and a leaf in God’s forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.                                                                                                               - Kahlil Gibran