Provides a rapid and thorough exposition of the JavaScript programming language, as well as an in-depth reference section covering each JavaScript function, object, method, and even handler. Experienced programmers will quickly find the information they need to start writing JavaScript programs.

With this up-to-date guide, you’ll find everything you need to know in order to develop interactive, robust, and personalized pages using JavaScript. It takes you step by step through this powerful scripting language so you can begin enhancing your site right away and increase visits. You’ll learn how to take advantage of native JavaScript objects, manipulate objects that are available to you in the latest browsers, use cookies, and jazz up your web pages with Dynamic HTML.

The era of seemingly unlimited growth in processor performance is over: single chip architectures can no longer overcome the performance limitations imposed by the power they consume and the heat they generate. Today, Intel and other semiconductor firms are abandoning the single fast processor model in favor of multi-core microprocessors–chips that combine two or more processors in a single package. In the fourth edition of Computer Architecture, the authors focus on this historic shift, increasing their coverage of multiprocessors and exploring the most effective ways of achieving parallelism as the key to unlocking the power of multiple processor architectures. Additionally, the new edition has expanded and updated coverage of design topics beyond processor performance, including power, reliability, availability, and dependability.

Data warehousing with MySQL, a free and popular database, has never been made easier with this step-by-step tutorial on building dimensional data warehouses. Topics include star-schema modeling, populating (Extract, Transform, and Load: ETL), testing, and dimensional querying. It comes complete with a hands-on case—scaled-down from a real project—as well as an electronic copy of all MySQL scripts and sample data available for download. Computer programmers who need to build a data warehouse will find relevant examples and information written in a thorough, easy-to-follow style.

Starting with the certification process itself and ending with the concept of isolation levels and locking, this guide covers everything needed to know to pass the DB2 9 Fundamentals Certification Exam (Exam 730). The prerequisite for all intermediate and follow-on DB2 certifications, XML usage, basic table creation, a rich set of sample questions, and detailed answers are all included, forming the foundation for understanding the newest version of IBM’s flagship database product. Regardless of what future certification path the reader is planning on pursuing, this study guide will chart a course for proficiency in DB2 9. 

Practical Ruby Gems is a comprehensive guide to utilizing and creating Ruby Gems–ready-made Ruby code modules that can be easily added to Ruby and Rails projects. This book is ideal for Ruby programmers as well as web developers who use Rails and wish to extend the functionality of their projects.

You'll get a prime selection of 34 of the best and most useful Gems, which makes up the core of this book. Each of these also comes complete with actual use cases and code examples that you can use immediately in your own projects. You'll learn how Ruby Gems can be used to

• Validate credit cards.
• Create graphical interfaces on multiple platforms.
• Speed up Rails applications.
• Develop lightweight web applications.
• Use ActiveRecord to make databases easy.
• Process RSS feeds.
• Prevent spam using CAPTCHA.
• Crop and scale images.
• Tap into the same caching system that runs LiveJournal.com.
• And much, much more!

Aimed at the reader with some previous programming experience, C# and the .NET Platform provides an enjoyable and well-paced tutorial for learning C# and Microsoft's new .NET Framework. This well-written guide is all you need to get onboard with the latest in Windows development.
Today, there are a growing number of titles available for C#. This text strikes an excellent balance between a basic language tutorial with an authoritative presentation of what's new and better in .NET with coverage of the some of the inner details of the platform, including deployment. The author's patient writing style is never dull or overly technical, which will mean this book is a good choice for a wide range of readers approaching C# from a variety of languages including C++, Java, and Visual Basic.

At certain points, the author looks at "intermediate language" (IL) bytecodes that underlie the C# language. This is particularly informative in chapters that look at assemblies and deployment. As a tour of the basics of the C# language, this book distinguishes itself with short, effective examples (many of which use a set of classes modeling cars). Coverage of programming Windows Forms is really good, as is the chapter on getting the older COM and .NET components to interoperate. The focus of this book is mostly on traditional client-side development, though it does cover the latest in Web development with sections on basic ASP.NET and Web services, which round out the book.

Beginning XML provides a complete course in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) with an unusually gradual learning curve. In fact, the introduction states that the book is "for people who know that it would be a pretty good idea to learn the language, but aren't 100 percent sure why." Despite its recognition of the fuzziness of readers' understanding of the technology, the book delivers a rather comprehensive study of XML.
Very little space is wasted detailing the history of XML and its relation to SGML, as is the case in many other titles. The argument for the importance of XML is made quickly, and the basics of well-formed syntax are tackled right off. One notable distinction of this book is its excellent coverage of related technologies, such as cascading style sheets (CSS) and relational databases.
In addition to discussing the crucial companion standards to the core XML language (DTDs, XSL, and XSLT), the book adds a nice perspective to the broad range of applications in which XML can play a role. One section, "Other Uses for XML," illustrates how XML can be used to serialize object models, creating stateless objects and utilizing the Resource Description Framework (RDF). Case studies on–among other things–how XML can be used to build discussion groups, and provide B2B data transfer, round out the text. This book is perfect for Web programmers who are turning their attention to XML for the first time. It imparts a solid understanding of the XML forest and XML trees. –Stephen W. Plain

Challenge and conflict aspects are enough for defining a game in an abstract sense. However, in order to be played, the game needs to be concretized into a representation. This representation can be a cardboard and plastic pieces as well as three-dimensional graphics rendered on a computer screen. The players themselves can be the representation, such as in the children’s game of tag. Regardless of the representation, there must exist a clear correspondence to the rules of the game.

Apart from these formal features, the game play also includes subjective elements such as immersion in the game world, a sense of purpose, and a sense of achievement from mastering the game. One could argue that the sense of purpose is essential for the immersion. What immerses us in a game (as well as in a book or a film) is the sense that there is a purpose or motive behind the surface. In a similar fashion, the sense of achievement is essential for the sense of purpose (i.e. the purpose of a game is to achieve goals, points, money, recognition etc.).

This book introduces the reader to methods of data mining on the web, including uncovering patterns in web content (classification, clustering, language processing), structure (graphs, hubs, metrics), and usage (modeling, sequence analysis, performance).