Data is at the center of many challenges in system design today. Difficult issues need to be figured out, such as scalability, consistency, reliability, efficiency, and maintainability. In addition, we have an overwhelming variety of tools, including relational databases, NoSQL datastores, stream or batch processors, and message brokers. What are the right choices for your application? How do you make sense of all these buzzwords?In this practical and comprehensive guide, author Martin Kleppmann helps you navigate this diverse landscape by examining the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data. Software keeps changing, but the fundamental principles remain the same. With this book, software engineers and architects will learn how to apply those ideas in practice, and how to make full use of data in modern applications.Peer under the hood of the systems you already use, and learn how to use and operate them more effectivelyMake informed decisions by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different toolsNavigate the trade-offs around consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and complexityUnderstand the distributed systems research upon which modern databases are builtPeek behind the scenes of major online services, and learn from their architectures Read more

**From BBC presenter and journalist Ros Atkins, creator of the viral 'Ros Atkins on...' explainer videos and host of the forthcoming BBC Radio 4 podcast 'Communicating with Ros Atkins'**'A great read for polishing your communication skills' FORBES 'For all those who want their audiences to listen and understand' JEREMY BOWEN 'Precision, deftness and a calming expertise' THE TIMES Do you worry about holding people's attention during presentations?Are you unsure where to start when faced with writing an essay or report?Are you preparing for an interview and wondering how to get all your points across?Explanation - identifying and communicating what we want to say - is an art. And the BBC presenter and journalist Ros Atkins, creator of the viral 'Ros Atkins on...' explainer videos, is something of a master of the form. In this book, Ros shares the secrets he has learned from years of working in high-pressure newsrooms, identifying the ten elements of a good explanation and the seven steps you need to take to express yourself with clarity and impact.Whether at work, school, university or home, we all benefit from being able to articulate ourselves clearly. Filled with practical examples, The Art of Explanation is a must-read for anyone who wants to sharpen their communication skills. Read more

Data engineering has grown rapidly in the past decade, leaving many software engineers, data scientists, and analysts looking for a comprehensive view of this practice. With this practical book, you'll learn how to plan and build systems to serve the needs of your organization and customers by evaluating the best technologies available through the framework of the data engineering lifecycle.Authors Joe Reis and Matt Housley walk you through the data engineering lifecycle and show you how to stitch together a variety of cloud technologies to serve the needs of downstream data consumers. You'll understand how to apply the concepts of data generation, ingestion, orchestration, transformation, storage, and governance that are critical in any data environment regardless of the underlying technology.This book will help you: Get a concise overview of the entire data engineering landscapeAssess data engineering problems using an end-to-end framework of best practicesCut through marketing hype when choosing data technologies, architecture, and processesUse the data engineering lifecycle to design and build a robust architectureIncorporate data governance and security across the data engineering lifecycle Read more

Get the definitive handbook for manipulating, processing, cleaning, and crunching datasets in Python. Updated for Python 3.9 and pandas 1.2, the third edition of this hands-on guide is packed with practical case studies that show you how to solve a broad set of data analysis problems effectively. You'll learn the latest versions of pandas, NumPy, and Jupyter in the process. It's ideal for analysts new to Python and for Python programmers new to data science and scientific computing. Read more

Join the millions of people already using Microsoft Access and become a database power-user in no time!In the newly revised edition of Microsoft Access For Dummies, professional database developer and Access extraordinaire Laurie Ulrich-Fuller walks you through the ins-and-outs of one of the world's most popular database platforms. This is the perfect beginner's guide to Microsoft Access, showing you how to create databases, extract data, create reports, and more. The author demonstrates a ton of tips, tricks, and best practices you can use immediately to create, maintain, and improve your databases. You'll also find: Updates outlining edge browser controls in formsStep-by-step guides explaining how to import, export, and edit dataEasy-to-follow query-writing tutorials to help you find the exact data you're looking for when you need itWhether you're a database novice or a data science whiz, Microsoft Access For Dummies has the info you need to supercharge your database skills. It's the perfect, how-to guide to get you up-to-speed on everything you need to know to get started with Microsoft's world-famous database app. Read more

Deep learning has revolutionized pattern recognition, introducing tools that power a wide range of technologies in such diverse fields as computer vision, natural language processing, and automatic speech recognition. Applying deep learning requires you to simultaneously understand how to cast a problem, the basic mathematics of modeling, the algorithms for fitting your models to data, and the engineering techniques to implement it all. This book is a comprehensive resource that makes deep learning approachable, while still providing sufficient technical depth to enable engineers, scientists, and students to use deep learning in their own work. No previous background in machine learning or deep learning is required―every concept is explained from scratch and the appendix provides a refresher on the mathematics needed. Runnable code is featured throughout, allowing you to develop your own intuition by putting key ideas into practice. Read more

Data Game: The Story of Liverpool FC's Analytics Revolution explores how Liverpool rose to greatness in the 21st century with the help of big data.Written by Josh Williams, sports podcaster and frequent contributor to Redmen TV and The Anfield Wrap.The Anfield institution is an industry leader in the field of data science, but little is known about how Liverpool's relationship with numbers began. Josh Williams explores this untold story and explores the historic club’s unique relationship with data and analytics.The book explores:The story behind Fenway Sports Group’s takeover of the club and the decade it took for their vision of a data-driven organisation to become a realityThe marriage of data and football and how it helped to deliver wins on the pitch by impacting tactics and recruitmentThe errors, suboptimal playstyles, and conflicting egos that were hurdles to the club’s ambition and eventual success under Jürgen KloppPerfect for fans who want to learn more about Liverpool’s success and the unique methods they employ to gain an edge over their wealthier rivals. Read more

Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2022Football has always measured success by what you win, but only in the last twenty years have clubs started to think about how you win. Data has now suffused almost every aspect of how football is played, coached, scouted and consumed. But it’s not the algorithms or new metrics that have made this change, it’s the people behind them.This is the story of modern football’s great data revolution and the group of curious, entrepreneurial personalities who zealously believed in its potential to transform the game. Central to this cast is Chris Anderson, an academic with no experience in football, who saw data as an opportunity to fundamentally change a sport that did not think it could be changed. His aim: to infiltrate the strange, insular world of professional football by establishing a club whose entire DNA could be built around data.Expected Goals charts his remarkable journey into the heart of the modern game and reveals how clubs across the world, from Liverpool to Leipzig and Brentford to Bayern Munich, began to see how data could help them unearth new players, define radical tactics and plot their path to glory. Read more

Learn to research, plan, design, and test the UX of AI-powered productsUnlock the future of design with UX for AI―your indispensable guide to not only surviving but thriving in a world powered by artificial intelligence. Whether you're a seasoned UX designer or a budding design student, this book offers a lifeline for navigating the new normal, ensuring you stay relevant, valuable, and indispensable to your organization. In UX for AI: A Framework for Designing AI-Driven Products, Greg Nudelman―a seasoned UX designer and AI strategist―delivers a battle-tested framework that helps you keep your edge, thrive in your design job, and seize the opportunities AI brings to the table. Drawing on insights from 35 real-world AI projects and acknowledging the hard truth that 85% of AI initiatives fail, this book equips you with the practical skills you need to reverse those odds. You'll gain powerful tools to research, plan, design, and test user experiences that seamlessly integrate human-AI interactions. From practical design techniques to proven user research methods, this is the essential guide for anyone determined to create AI products that not only succeed but set new standards of value and impact. Inside the book:Hands-on exercises: Build your confidence and skills with practice UX design tasks like Digital Twin and Value Matrix, which you can immediately apply to your own AI projects.Common AI patterns and best practices: Explore design strategies for LLMs (Large Language Models), search engines, copilots, and more.Proven user research strategies: Learn how to uncover user needs and behaviors in this brave new world of AI-powered design.Real-world case studies: See how simple, practical UX approaches have prevented multimillion-dollar failures and unlocked unprecedented value.Perfect for any UX designer working with AI-enabled and AI-driven products, UX for AI is also a must-read resource for designers-in-training and design students with an interest in artificial intelligence and contemporary design. Read more

Spatial statistics empowers you to go beyond visual analysis to answer questions confidently and make data-driven decisions.Thanks to the data and computational power now at our fingertips, data science is in every aspect of our lives. But with so many algorithms and buzzwords floating around, where do you start to solve complex problems or figure out where to go next?There has never been a more exciting time to learn about spatial statistics. Spatial statistics uses an aspect of geography that helps you quantify patterns and relationships so that you can feel confident in your analysis.Spatial Statistics Illustrated is an introductory book for learning the concepts behind the powerful spatial statistics tools in ArcGIS.With approachable explanations and uncomplicated drawings, Spatial Statistics Illustrated gives readers an accessible understanding of some of the most widely used spatial statistics methods, including how they work and when to use them. In a friendly, conversational tone, the authors share techniques that can help you explore your data in meaningful ways; quantify patterns and relationships; understand trends, and make informed, impactful decisions.This book has something for everyone analyzing data, including:seasoned data scientists looking to explore the value that spatial analysis offersGIS analysts looking to expand their spatial statistics skill setnew GIS users discovering the value of spatial statisticsSpatial Statistics Illustrated is a perfect complement to more traditional, technical statistics and spatial statistics texts and is also ideal as supplemental reading for academic courses.Based on the popular series of Spatial Statistics workshops presented by the authors at the annual Esri User Conference, Spatial Statistics Illustrated welcomes readers into the unparalleled world of spatial statistics. Read more

Learn how to get better answers in map analysis when you use spatial measurements and statistics. Spatial measurements and statistics give you a powerful way to analyze geospatial data, but you don't need to understand complex mathematical theories to apply statistical tools and get meaningful results in your projects. The Esri Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 2: Spatial Measurements and Statistics, second edition, builds on Volume 1 by taking you to the next step of GIS analysis. Learn to answer such questions as, how are features distributed? What is the pattern created by a set of features? Where can clusters be found?This book introduces readers to basic statistical concepts and some of the most common spatial statistics tasks: measuring distributions, identifying patterns and clusters, and analyzing relationships. Updated with the latest and most useful software tools and revised explanations, each chapter in The Esri Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 2 is organized to answer basic questions about the topic. Explore how spatial statistical tools can be applied in a range of disciplines, from public health to habitat conservation. Learn how to quantify patterns beyond visualizing them in maps. Examine spatial clusters through an updated chapter on identifying clusters.Use The Esri Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 2, second edition, to understand the statistical methods and tools that can move your work past mapping and visualization to more quantitative statistical assessment. Read more

The Esri Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 3: Modeling Suitability, Movement, and Interaction describes practical applications of modeling concepts in a geographic information system (GIS). This book shows readers how they can explore spatial interaction, site selection, routing, and scheduling, and explains how to best interpret the results of the analysis. With full-color maps and illustrations and sample applications, this book will help students studying GIS and professional GIS analysts better use models to evaluate locations and analyze movement. Read more

A WALL STREET JOURNAL AND GLOBE AND MAIL BESTSELLER An essential introduction and guide to navigating the next Internet revolution—everything from the metaverse and NFTs to DAOs, decentralized finance, and self-sovereign identity—from the co-author of the international bestseller Blockchain Revolution.The Web, and with it the Internet, are entering a new age. We’ve moved from the “Read-only Web,” which had little functionality for interacting with content, to the “Read-Write Web,” which offered seemingly endless collaborative opportunities, from sharing with our favorite people to shopping at our favorite brands. But the profusion of cyberattacks, data hacks, and online profiling have left many of us to view digital life as a Faustian bargain in need of a major rethink.That rethink is Web3, the “Read-Write-Own Web”—a decentralized Internet where individuals own their own identities and can securely trade assets like money, securities, intellectual property, and art peer to peer. Made possible by blockchains, the foundational technology of bitcoin, Web3 promises the biggest shake up of business since the invention of double-entry bookkeeping in the Middle Ages. It is the Internet’s new frontier.In Web3, award-winning author and technology investor Alex Tapscott provides a cutting-edge guide to the Internet’s next era. Covering everything from the metaverse and non-fungible tokens to DAOs, decentralized finance, and self-sovereign identity, this indispensable, forward-thinking book describes the building blocks and often hidden technologies that will be foundational to our cultural and economic progress. Read more

This comprehensive and authoritative guide will teach you the DAX language for business intelligence, data modeling, and analytics. Leading Microsoft BI consultants Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari help you master everything from table functions through advanced code and model optimization. You’ll learn exactly what happens under the hood when you run a DAX expression, how DAX behaves differently from other languages, and how to use this knowledge to write fast, robust code. If you want to leverage all of DAX’s remarkable power and flexibility, this no-compromise “deep dive” is exactly what you need. Perform powerful data analysis with DAX for Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services, Excel, and Power BI Master core DAX concepts, including calculated columns, measures, and error handlingUnderstand evaluation contexts and the CALCULATE and CALCULATETABLE functionsPerform time-based calculations: YTD, MTD, previous year, working days, and moreWork with expanded tables, complex functions, and elaborate DAX expressionsPerform calculations over hierarchies, including parent/child hierarchiesUse DAX to express diverse and unusual relationshipsMeasure DAX query performance with SQL Server Profiler and DAX Studio Read more

NFTs cause excitement and skepticism. How much value can a token hold? What drives this value?To properly appreciate NFTs we must first understand what they actually are, how they work and in what contexts they are used.The Everything Token is an essential primer on NFTs (non-fungible tokens), explaining their use, purpose, and how businesses can create and exploit them to develop new product lines, building customer loyalty and increased revenues at the same time.Together the authors have spent much of the past few years embedded in NFT communities and helping launch NFT products. As self-described beta testers of this brand-new technology, they’ve seen its power first-hand and aim to educate others on the importance, uses and purpose of NFT and surrounding, ever-evolving technologies.Demystifying the complexities, two experts in NFTs show why we should take NFTs much more seriously than their reputation as fun digital art collectibles suggest. They have a wider variety of uses than one may realise.Gripping and accessible, this book provides a guide and an insight into what can often be a hard-to-grasp area of technology. Read more

Let Python do the heavy lifting for you as you analyze large datasetsPython for Data Science For Dummies lets you get your hands dirty with data using one of the top programming languages. This beginner’s guide takes you step by step through getting started, performing data analysis, understanding datasets and example code, working with Google Colab, sampling data, and beyond. Coding your data analysis tasks will make your life easier, make you more in-demand as an employee, and open the door to valuable knowledge and insights. This new edition is updated for the latest version of Python and includes current, relevant data examples. Get a firm background in the basics of Python coding for data analysisLearn about data science careers you can pursue with Python coding skillsIntegrate data analysis with multimedia and graphics Manage and organize data with cloud-based relational databasesPython careers are on the rise. Grab this user-friendly Dummies guide and gain the programming skills you need to become a data pro. Read more

Install data analytics into your brain with this comprehensive introductionData Analytics & Visualization All-in-One For Dummies collects the essential information on mining, organizing, and communicating data, all in one place. Clocking in at around 850 pages, this tome of a reference delivers eight books in one, so you can build a solid foundation of knowledge in data wrangling. Data analytics professionals are highly sought after these days, and this book will put you on the path to becoming one. You’ll learn all about sources of data like data lakes, and you’ll discover how to extract data using tools like Microsoft Power BI, organize the data in Microsoft Excel, and visually present the data in a way that makes sense using a Tableau. You’ll even get an intro to the Python, R, and SQL coding needed to take your data skills to a new level. With this Dummies guide, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a priceless data jockey.Mine data from data sourcesOrganize and analyze data Use data to tell a story with TableauExpand your know-how with Python and RNew and novice data analysts will love this All-in-One reference on how to make sense of data. Get ready to watch as your career in data takes off. Read more

Useful business analysis requires you to effectively transform data into actionable information. This book helps you use SQL and Excel to extract business information from relational databases and use that data to define business dimensions, store transactions about customers, produce results, and more. Each chapter explains when and why to perform a particular type of business analysis in order to obtain useful results, how to design and perform the analysis using SQL and Excel, and what the results should look like. Read more

Observability is critical for building, changing, and understanding the software that powers complex modern systems. Teams that adopt observability are much better equipped to ship code swiftly and confidently, identify outliers and aberrant behaviors, and understand the experience of each and every user. This practical book explains the value of observable systems and shows you how to practice observability-driven development. Authors Charity Majors, Liz Fong-Jones, and George Miranda from Honeycomb explain what constitutes good observability, show you how to improve upon what you're doing today, and provide practical dos and don'ts for migrating from legacy tooling, such as metrics, monitoring, and log management. You'll also learn the impact observability has on organizational culture (and vice versa). You'll explore: How the concept of observability applies to managing software at scale The value of practicing observability when delivering complex cloud native applications and systems The impact observability has across the entire software development lifecycle How and why different functional teams use observability with service-level objectives How to instrument your code to help future engineers understand the code you wrote today How to produce quality code for context-aware system debugging and maintenance How data-rich analytics can help you debug elusive issues Read more

The Art of Systems Architecting, Fourth Edition, provides structured heuristics to improve the least structured, most art‑like elements of systems design. It offers unique techniques to bridge the difference between scientific engineering and qualitative design along with comprehensive methods for combining architectural design with digital engineering. This book illustrates how to go from model‑based systems architecture to model‑based systems engineering and includes case studies of good and bad architectural decision‑making in major systems.Changes to this edition include materials on architecture processes, architecture description frameworks, and integration with model‑based systems engineering (MBSE) and digital engineering. The publication of the ANSI/IEEE 1471 and ISO/IEC 42010 standards on architecture description has provided common vocabulary and organizing methods for documenting architectures. This edition provides a practical application of these standards in architecting and integrating their concepts with a simple process framework. The rise of MBSE and digital engineering tools is in the process of revolutionizing the development of complex systems. The emphasis has been on detailed design descriptions and powerful analysis methods (for example, digital twins). Architects can make effective use of these methods and tools as well, and this new edition provides an integrated set of heuristics and modeling methods to do so. There are many other improvements and additions included to bring this textbook up to date.This book can be used as a reference book for engineers and managers involved in creating new systems, people responsible for developing mandated architecture descriptions, software architects, system architects, and systems engineers, or as a textbook in graduate engineering courses.Exercises are interspersed throughout the text, with some designed for self‑testing and understanding and others intended to provide opportunities for long‑term study and further exploration of the subject. Read more