Packt Publishing special offers, news, and contributed articles by the technical community. https://www.packtpub.com In today's world of desktop applications, there is a great amount of incentive to be able to develop applications that can run in more than one environment. Currently, there are a handful of options available for cross-platform frameworks to develop desktop applications in Python. wxPython is one such cross-platform GUI toolkit for the Python programming language. It allows Python programmers to create programs with a complete, highly-functional graphical user interface, simply and easily. In this article by Cody Precord, author of the book wxPython 2.8 Application Development Cookbook, we will cover: Listing data with a ListCtrl Browsing files with the CustomTreeCtrl Creating a VListBox StyledTextCtrl using lexers Working with tray icons Adding tabs to a Notebook Using the FlatNotebook Scrolling with a ScrolledPanel Simplifying the FoldPanelBar http://www.packtpub.com/article/wxpython-28-advanced-building-blocks-user-interface%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:13:39 +0500 Scribus is an Open Source program that brings award-winning and inexpensive professional page layout to Linux/UNIX, Mac OS X and Windows desktops with a combination of press-ready output. It supports professional publishing features such as color separations, CMYK and Spot Color support, and can also create animated and interactive PDF presentations and forms. http://www.packtpub.com/news/create-optimum-page-layouts-documents-using-packts-new-scribus-book%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:50:15 +0500 In the programming world, duplicate code is considered evil. We should not have multiple copies of the same, or similar code in different places. There are many ways to merge similar pieces of code or objects with similar functionality. In this article by Dusty Phillips, author of Python 3 Object Oriented Programming, we'll be covering the most famous object-oriented principle: inheritance. Inheritance allows us to create "is a" relationships between two or more classes, abstracting common details into superclasses and storing specific ones in the subclass. In particular, we'll be covering the Python syntax and principles for: Basic inheritance Inheriting from built-ins Multiple inheritance http://www.packtpub.com/article/inheritance-python%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:36:13 +0500 Cocos2d for iPhone is a framework for building 2D games, applications, presentations, demos, and more. It was originally made for Python and then ported to IPhone by Ricardo Quesada as an open source project with the MIT license. In the previous articles by Pablo Ruiz, author of the book Cocos2d for iPhone 0.99 Beginner's Guide, we saw how to create new scenes and move through them, and build the base for an action game and how to handle accelerometer input and detect collisions. In this article, we will see how to add more layers to your scenes and make a simple pause screen. http://www.packtpub.com/article/cocos2d-iphone-adding-layers-making-simple-pause-screen%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:46:49 +0500 Cocos2d for iPhone is a framework for building 2D games, applications, presentations, demos, and more. It was originally made for Python and then ported to IPhone by Ricardo Quesada as an open source project with the MIT license. In the previous article by Pablo Ruiz, author of the book Cocos2d for iPhone 0.99 Beginner's Guide, we saw how to create new scenes and move through them, and build the base for an action game. In this article, we will see how to handle accelerometer input and detect collisions. http://www.packtpub.com/article/cocos2d-iphone-handling-accelerometer-input-detecting-collisions%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:34:11 +0500 In this article, we combine the Python libraries and geo-spatial data to accomplish a variety of tasks. These tasks have been chosen to demonstrate various techniques for working with geo-spatial data in your Python programs; while in some cases there are quicker and easier ways to achieve these results (for example, using command-line utilities), we will create these solutions in Python so you can learn how to work with geo-spatial data in your own Python programs. This article by Erik Westra, author of Python Geospatial Development, will cover: Reading and writing geo-spatial data in both vector and raster format Changing the datums and projections used by geo-spatial data Representing and storing geo-spatial data within your Python programs http://www.packtpub.com/article/working-geospatial-data-python%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:46:17 +0500 Natural Language Toolkit or NLTK is a suite of libraries and programs for symbolic and statistical natural language processing (NLP) for the Python programming language. NLTK includes graphical demonstrations and sample data. NLTK has been used successfully as a teaching tool, as an individual study tool, and as a platform for prototyping and building research systems. http://www.packtpub.com/news/master-nltk-natural-language-processing-using-packts-new-python-book%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:07:52 +0500 In the previous article, Working with Geo-Spatial Data in Python, we took a look at the various techniques for using OGR and GDAL within Python programs to solve real-world problems. In this article by Erik Westra, author of Python Geospatial Development, we will cover the following: Using Shapely to work with points, lines, and polygons Converting and standardizing units of geometry and distance http://www.packtpub.com/article/geospatial-data-python-geometry%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:52:06 +0500 Cocos2d for iPhone is a framework for building 2D games, applications, presentations, demos, and more. It was originally made for Python and then ported to IPhone by Ricardo Quesada as an open source project with the MIT license. Scenes are an essential part of any Cocos2d game. In this article by Pablo Ruiz, author of the book Cocos2d for iPhone 0.99 Beginner's Guide, we will look into the creation of many scenes to hold the different menus a game can have. Once we have a couple of scenes set up, you will learn how to go from one to another and with some nice transitions. http://www.packtpub.com/article/cocos2d-iphone-surfing-through-scenes%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:14:01 +0500 In this article, by Vijay Joshi, author of PHP jQuery Cookbook, we will cover: Sending cross-domain requests using server proxy Making cross-domain requests with jQuery Creating an endless scrolling page Creating a jQuery plugin Displaying RSS feeds with jQuery and PHP http://www.packtpub.com/article/enhancing-your-site%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:51:05 +0500 One needs to tell MySQL what kind of privileges to assign to it. MySQL supports a wide range of privileges. A user can only grant any privilege that they have themselves. In this article, by Albert Lukaszewski, PhD, author of MySQL for Python, we will cover: Granting access in Python Removing privileges in MySQL Using REVOKE in Python Project: Web-based user administration http://www.packtpub.com/article/granting-access-mysql-python%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:21:41 +0500 The OpenSceneGraph is an open source, high performance 3D graphics application programming interface, used by application developers in fields such as visual simulation, games, virtual reality, scientific visualization and modelling. This toolkit is written entirely in Standard C++ and OpenGL, and runs on a variety of operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, IRIX, Solaris and FreeBSD. http://www.packtpub.com/news/create-virtual-reality-applications-using-packt’s-new-openscenegraph-book%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:29:33 +0500 In this article by Daniel Arbuckle, author of Python Testing, we shall: Examine the ideas of mock objects in general Learn how to use Python Mocker Learn how to mock the "self" parameter of a method http://www.packtpub.com/article/python testing-mock-objects%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:50:49 +0500 The Google Web Toolkit is a great way for Java developers to create AJAX-based rich Internet applications without requiring in-depth knowledge of JavaScript or having to deal with the quirks of different browsers. In this article by Daniel Vaughan, author of the book Ext GWT 2.0: Beginner's Guide, we introduce Ext GWT and explain where it fits into GWT. We then move on to show you how to get up and running with Ext GWT by creating your first project. Specifically, we will cover: Installing Ext GWT Creating a new GWT project Preparing the GWT project to use Ext GWT Adapting the GWT example application to use Ext GWT components http://www.packtpub.com/article/getting-started-with-ext-gwt%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 28 Dec 2010 13:57:34 +0500 The Oracle E-Business Suite Supply Chain Management (R12) applications integrates and automates all key supply chain processes, from design, planning and procurement to manufacturing and fulfillment, providing a complete solution set to enable companies to power information-driven value chains. With this book readers will learn from scratch, what Oracle E-Business Suite is and how it works in the supply chain management's domain. It will explore the concepts of supply chain managemnet using Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning methods. Readers will be able to create, maintain sales orders and configuire purchase requisitions. http://www.packtpub.com/news/learn-use-oracle-applications-supply-chain-management-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:46:55 +0500 Selenium is a suite of tools to automate web application testing across many platforms. It runs in the Firefox browser and works well in many operating systems including Windows, OS X, Linux and Solaris. Furthermore, it can be controlled by many programming languages and testing frameworks. http://www.packtpub.com/news/test-your-web-applications-multiple-browsers-using-packts-new-selenium-book%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:27:35 +0500 There are, several ways to get MySQL for Python in a place such that your local Python installation can use it. Which one you use will depend as much on your familiarity with your operating system and with Python itself, as it will on which operating system and version of Python you are running. In this article, by Albert Lukaszewski, PhD, author of MySQL for Python, we will cover the following: Where you can get MySQL for Python Installing MySQL for Python Importing the module into your programs Accessing online help about the MySQL for Python API and its accompanying modules How to connect to a database How to create a MySQL cursor proxy within your Python program How to close the database connection from Python How to access multiple databases within one program http://www.packtpub.com/article/getting-up-running-mysql-python%3futm_medium=rss Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:07:58 +0500 In today's world of desktop applications, there is a great amount of incentive to be able to develop applications that can run in more than one environment. Currently, there are a handful of options available for cross-platform frameworks to develop desktop applications in Python. wxPython is one such cross-platform GUI toolkit for the Python programming language. It allows Python programmers to create programs with a complete, highly-functional graphical user interface, simply and easily. In this article by Cody Precord, author of the book wxPython 2.8 Application Development Cookbook, we will cover: Using a BoxSizer Understanding proportions, flags, and borders Laying out controls with the GridBagSizer Standard dialog button layout Using XML resources Making a custom resource handler Using the AuiFrameManager http://www.packtpub.com/article/wxpython-28-window-layout-design %3futm_medium=rss Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:38:35 +0500 Although object-oriented programming is the most popular kid on the block these days, the old paradigms still offer useful tools. Most of these tools are really syntactic sugar over an underlying object-oriented implementation; we can think of them as a further abstraction layer built on top of the (already abstracted) object-oriented paradigm. In this article by Dusty Phillips, author of Python 3 Object Oriented Programming, we'll be covering the built-in functions that take care of common tasks in one call. http://www.packtpub.com/article/python-built-in-functions%3futm_medium=rss Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:29:21 +0500 NNMi provides a list of URLs that can be used for accessing most NNMi console objects. This standardized list of URLs and their syntax helps us build the right URL, in order to get the right data object integrated in our selected third-party application. In this article by Marius Vilemaitis, author of HP Network Node Manager 9: Getting Started, we will cover: Generic URLs. Workspace-related URLs. Form-related URLs. Menu item-related URLs. http://www.packtpub.com/article/using-urls-access-nnmi-objects%3futm_medium=rss Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:11:37 +0500 Magento is an open source e-commerce web application that supports installation of modules through a web-based interface accessible through the administration area of a Magento installation. The modules are uploaded by the Magento community and installed by entering a module key into the web based interface. Magento 1.4 Development Cookbook eases the task of developing Modules and Extensions. It provides clear guidelines to develop a faster and captivating Magento store by writing powerful custom modules. It will also help users explore the different ways to customize the look and feel of a Magento store so as to offer their customers with a better user experience. http://www.packtpub.com/news/take-your-magento-store-next-level-developing-modules-and-widgets-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Fri, 24 Dec 2010 09:33:18 +0500 The power combo of PHP and jQuery helps in bridging the gap between desktop applications and web applications. It also brings about comprehensive solutions to problems that may occur while building web applications which will helps developers save hours of tedious manual debugging. PHP jQuery Cookbook covers the database integration which forms an important part of any dynamic web application. Developers can enhance their user experience and page interaction using AJAX. They would also be able to work with JSON and XML for efficient data exchange. With the help of this book, users will gain expertise in debugging JavaScript with the help of useful tools. They can debug and execute jQuery code on a live website as well as design interactive forms and menus. This book covers most of the essential issues faced while developing a web application and gives solutions to them. http://www.packtpub.com/news/combine-php-jquery-create-interactive-web-applications-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:04:53 +0500 A good software developer always keeps the DRY principle in mind. Whenever code is duplicated, maintainability problems are introduced and the code base becomes difficult to understand. Java developers often rely on the template method pattern to reuse code. Groovy's closure programming concept is an alternative way to solve similar problems. Closures provide a concise way to pass around code without the ceremony involved with design patterns. This article by Nirav Assar will demonstrate how closures are used to embrace the DRY principle. http://www.packtpub.com/article/using-groovy-closures-instead-template-method%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:53:45 +0500 Python is a dynamic programming language, which is completely enterprise ready, owing largely to the variety of support modules that are available to extend its capabilities. In order to build productive and feature-rich Python applications, we need to use MySQL for Python, a module that provides database support to our applications. In this article, we will have a look at the tips and tricks presented thru-ought on MySQL for Python. http://www.packtpub.com/article/tips-tricks-mysql-python%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:16:34 +0500 In this article, by Vijay Joshi, author of PHP jQuery Cookbook, we will cover: Loading XML from files and strings using SimpleXML Accessing elements and attributes using SimpleXML Searching elements using XPath Reading an XML using DOM extension Creating an XML using DOM extension Modifying an XML using DOM extension Parsing XML with jQuery http://www.packtpub.com/article/working-with-xml-documents%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:43:08 +0500 Multiple choice is one of the most common items found in tests today, and they have been a big part of small-scale and standardized tests since their inception. They are a common item type across a variety of subjects and fields, and from the sciences to the humanities, tests are filled with these types of questions. Moodle Quiz has them as well, and the majority of tests I've seen developed, for self-study, review, and assessment in Moodle are of this type exclusively, or contain a large number of them. In the previous article by Jason Myrick, author of the book Moodle 1.9 Testing and Assessment, we explored the Quiz module, developing multiple choice questions. In this article, we will: Use some of the more advanced options available in Quiz See a Multiple Choice test in Quiz http://www.packtpub.com/article/moodle-19-testing-assessment-advanced-options-in-quiz%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:30:50 +0500 Now available in RAW format: http://www.packtpub.com/blog/metastorm-provision%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:35:52 +0500 Multiple choice is one of the most common items found in tests today, and they have been a big part of small-scale and standardized tests since their inception. They are a common item type across a variety of subjects and fields, and from the sciences to the humanities, tests are filled with these types of questions. Moodle Quiz has them as well, and the majority of tests I've seen developed, for self-study, review, and assessment in Moodle are of this type exclusively, or contain a large number of them. In this article by Jason Myrick, author of the book Moodle 1.9 Testing and Assessment, we will take a look at: Categories and contexts Multiple Choice item creation page Making a multiple-answer item http://www.packtpub.com/article/moodle-19-testing-assessment-multiple-choice-quizzes%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:59:24 +0500 By the end of the previous article, Introduction to HLSL in 3D Graphics with XNA Game Studio 4.0, we had developed a system to draw a model with custom effects and we had created an effect that rendered a directional light shining onto a model. This is useful if we want a scene with only sunlight, for example, but what if we wanted to light up a specific area? To start with, we'd need a light type that more accurately models real world lights—the "point" light. We will start this article by implementing this type of light in HLSL. We will then look at a similar light type—the "spot" light. We will spend the rest of the article, by Sean James, author of 3D Graphics with XNA Game Studio 4.0, looking at two ways to draw multiple lights at the same time. http://www.packtpub.com/article/advanced-lighting%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:13:57 +0500 In this article by Rui Wang and Xuelei Qian, authors of OpenSceneGraph 3.0: Beginner's Guide, we will learn: How to create geometries as billboards in the scene? How to display 2D and 3D texts in the scene? How to design a particle system and animate it? How to cast shadows onto scene objects? The theory and implementation of special effects http://www.packtpub.com/article/openscenegraph-advanced-scene-graph-components%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:58:08 +0500 Cocos2d for iPhone is a robust but simple-to-use game framework for building 2D games, demos, and other graphical/interactive applications for the iPhone. Its API comes integrated with Box2D and Chipmunk physics engines. Being an open source platform, it is compatible both with closed and open source games. Over 1500 AppStore games have been built with cocos2d for iPhone. http://www.packtpub.com/news/make-captivating-games-iphone-using-packts-new-book-cocos2d%3futm_medium=rss Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:16:45 +0500 Most of the special effects that we will be discussing will rely in some way on what are called shaders. Shaders are pieces of code that are run on the graphics card in parts of what are called the programmable pipeline. These pieces of code are written in what is called HLSL or the High Level Shader Language. Shaders are loaded and executed on the graphics card, which allows them to run very quickly and in parallel, directly with the vertices, textures, and so on that have been loaded into the graphics card's memory. XNA concerns itself with two types of shaders—the vertex shader and the pixel shader. We will spend this article, by Sean James, author of 3D Graphics with XNA Game Studio 4.0, learning how to build effects and shaders, and then use that information to write some simple effects that will become the foundation of our work. http://www.packtpub.com/article/xna-hsl%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:01:19 +0500 JBoss AS is a free software/ open source Java EE based application server. An important distinction for this class of software is that it not only implements a server that runs on Java, but it actually implements the Java EE part of Java. Because it is Java based, the JBoss application server operates cross-platform: usable on any operating system that supports Java. http://www.packtpub.com/news/optimize-enterprise-java-applications-gain-competitive-edge-packts-new-jboss-book-0%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:20:41 +0500 JBoss AS is a free software/ open source Java EE based application server. An important distinction for this class of software is that it not only implements a server that runs on Java, but it actually implements the Java EE part of Java. Because it is Java based, the JBoss application server operates cross-platform: usable on any operating system that supports Java. http://www.packtpub.com/news/optimize-enterprise-java-applications-gain-competitive-edge-packts-new-jboss-book%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:17:04 +0500 TYPO3 is one of the world's leading free, open source content management systems as well as a Model–view–controller (MVC) Web Application Development framework written in PHP. It helps to customize websites and manage various types of multimedia files in content management systems for both editors and users on the frontend of the site. http://www.packtpub.com/news/build-dynamic-and-powerful-typo3-templates-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:57:28 +0500 Joomla! is one of the world’s most high-profile open source, award-winning content management system written in PHP that uses the MySQL database system store information. It enables developers to build professional websites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla! one of the most popular CMSes available. Joomla 1.5 Cookbook will help users to find straight and swift ways through their common problems, which can be easily avoided with a few tips and tricks. This book starts off with solutions to the most familiar queries that users might face during the installation and setup for Joomla! 1.5, and then goes on to guide users through Joomla! templates, modules and security. http://www.packtpub.com/news/learn-quick-solutions-common-joomla-problems-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:58:16 +0500 Koha is the first full-featured open source integrated library system (ILS that was created in 1999 by Katipo Communications for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand. It is widely used for efficiently managing libraries and includes features like modules for circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, reserves, patron management, branch relationships, various Web 2.0 facilities like tagging and RSS feeds and customizable search. http://www.packtpub.com/news/install-configure-and-maintain-your-koha-installation-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:27:09 +0500 Software testing is one of the most important phases of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The delivery of the end product is based on better design, better coding, better testing, and meeting the requirements. The quality of the product is measured by testing the product based on functional and non-functional requirements with the help of testing tools and techniques. The tools are useful in simulating a real life situation and the user load. For example, testing a web application with more than 1000 user load is a very time consuming and tedious task if we do it manually. But the performance testing tool that comes along with Visual Studio 2010 can simulate this scenario and test it in a very short period of time. Visual Studio 2010 provides additional tools for testing all type of applications and scenarios such as Unit testing, Load Testing, Web testing, Ordered testing, and generic testing. This article by Satheesh Kumar N and Subashni S, authors of Software Testing using Visual Studio Team System 2010, provides a high level overview on all the testing tools and techniques supported by Visual Studio 2010. This article covers the following topics: Testing as part of the software development life cycle Types of Testing Test Management in Visual Studio 2010 Testing Tools in Visual Studio 2010 http://www.packtpub.com/article/visual-studio-test-types%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:12:51 +0500 In this article, by Jeff McNeil, author of Python 2.6 Text Processing Beginner's Guide, we'll look at some advanced techniques for generating richer text formats. Up until now, we've largely concerned ourselves with plain text output. Here, we'll shift a little bit. Instead of outputting plain text, we'll look at a few commonly used rich formats. Specifically, we'll look at how to do the following: Build simple PDF output using the ReportLab Toolkit's high level PLATYPUS framework. Generation of true Microsoft Excel output using the xlwt module. Programmatically create and save OpenDocument files. This is the file format used by Open Office and quite a few other applications. Microsoft Word 2007 supports this format (though not by default). Open and edit existing OpenDocument files so that we can use them as templates sources. http://www.packtpub.com/article/advanced-output-formats%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:30:28 +0500 PHP is a widely used, general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages, whereas jquery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development. http://www.packtpub.com/news/enhance-your-house-php-cms-jquery-using-pack’ts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:04:43 +0500 This article will introduce us to the concept of a scene graph and how we can use its functions to create complex scenes. In this article, Felix Kerger, author of Ogre 3D 1.7, we shall: Learn the three basic operations in 3D space How a scene graph is organized The different 3D spaces we can operate in So let's get on with it. http://www.packtpub.com/article/ogre-scene-graph%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:51:11 +0500 Microsoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment, which currently encompass Microsoft's entire Game Development Section, including the standard Xbox Development Kit and XNA Game Studio. XNA attempts to free game developers from writing repetitive boilerplate code and brings different aspects of the game production into a single system. http://www.packtpub.com/news/add-3d-graphics-effects-and-visuals-your-xna-games-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:13:29 +0500   Ext GWT, also known as GXT, is a Java library for building rich internet applications with Google Web Toolkit (GWT). It provides features such as customizable UI widgets, full theming support with standard CSS, well designed and fully documented source code, full remote procedure support using GWT RPC, JSON and XML, and support for Java 1.5 features, including generics and enums. http://www.packtpub.com/news/build-powerful-rich-internet-applications-using-packts-new-book%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:07:13 +0500 In this article by Michael James Williams, author of Facebook Graph API Development with Flash Beginner's Guide, we will: Learn what the big deal is about Facebook, and why you should be interested in developing an application for it Get you set up with a web host, which you'll need for developing any online Facebook application Establish how much AS3 you need to know already, and what to do if you don't Find out how to deal with the debugging complications that arise when developing a "browser-only" application like this http://www.packtpub.com/article/introduction-developing-facebook-applications%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:02:57 +0500 In this article, by Vijay Joshi, author of PHP jQuery Cookbook, we will cover: Creating JSON in PHP Reading JSON in PHP Catching JSON parsing errors Accessing data from a JSON in jQuery http://www.packtpub.com/article/working-json-php-jquery%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:58:21 +0500 PostgreSQL has become an increasingly viable database platform to serve as storage for applications, from classic corporate database use to the latest web apps. But getting the best performance from it has not been an easy subject to learn. You need just the right combination of rules of thumb to get started, solid monitoring, and maintenance to keep your system running well, suggestions for troubleshooting, and hints for add-on tools to add the features the core database doesn't try to handle on its own. In this article we will look at some tips and tricks for high performance of PostgreSQL. The tips and tricks covered in this article might provide the right background trivia to make your use of the database simpler when dealing with the smaller problems. http://www.packtpub.com/article/postgresql-tips-tricks%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:51:57 +0500 This article by Daniel Arbuckle, author of Python Testing, introduces code coverage and continuous integration, and teaches how to tie automated testing into version control systems. In this article, we will Discuss code coverage, and learn about coverage.py Discuss continuous integration, and learn about buildbot Learn how to integrate automated testing into popular version control systems http://www.packtpub.com/article/testing-tools-techniques-python%3futm_medium=rss Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:34:25 +0500 Packt Enterprise's Book of the Moment Packt Enterprise's book of the moment has been named as... http://www.packtpub.com/article/documentum-ecm-book%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:44:13 +0500 Natural Language Processing is used everywhere—in search engines, spell checkers, mobile phones, computer games, and even in your washing machine. Python's Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) suite of libraries has rapidly emerged as one of the most efficient tools for Natural Language Processing. In this by Jacob Perkins, author of the book Python Text Processing with NLTK 2.0 Cookbook, we will cover: Filtering insignificant words Correcting verb forms Swapping verb phrases Swapping noun cardinals Swapping infinitive phrases Singularizing plural nouns Chaining chunk transformations Converting a chunk tree to text Flattening a deep tree Creating a shallow tree Converting tree nodes http://www.packtpub.com/article/python-text-processing-nltk-2-transforming-chunks-trees%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:10:06 +0500 In this article, by Kae Verens, author of CMS Design Using PHP and jQuery, we will complete the page-management section, and will build a simple navigation menu for the front-end. We will discuss the following topics: How to make human-readable dates Rich-text editing File management for images and files At the end of this article, we will have a completed page management system. http://www.packtpub.com/article/page-mgmt-part-two%3futm_medium=rss Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:59:15 +0500