This friendly beginner’s guide covers the basics of Scratch coding, one of the most popular programs used in UK primary schools on the National Curriculum. With step-by-step instructions showing children how to create games, animations and more, plus Scratch menu guides, a glossary and links to websites for free downloads and helpful tips.
This book is part of Packt's Beginner's Guide series. Written in a friendly tone, the book starts at the very beginning with a blank Moodle page and you are taken step by step through the most useful features of Moodle, helped with many illustrative screenshots. This book is for regular, non-technical teachers of pre-teen or early teenage children. It assumes no prior knowledge of Moodle and no particular expertise on the web. Classroom assistants may also find this book a very useful resource. We will assume that you have an installation of Moodle managed by somebody else, so you are responsible only for creating and delivering course content.
Discover how to build impressive 3D graphics with the next-generation graphics API—Vulkan About This Book Get started with the Vulkan API and its programming techniques using the easy-to-follow examples to create stunning 3D graphics Understand memory management in Vulkan and implement image and buffer resources Get hands-on with the drawing process and synchronization, and render a 3D graphics scene with the Vulkan graphics pipeline Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for graphic programmers who want to get up and running with Vulkan. It's also great for programmers who have experience with OpenGL and other graphic APIs who want to take advantage of next generation APIs. A good knowledge of C/C++ is expected. What You Will Learn Learn fundamentals of Vulkan programing model to harness the power of modern GPU devices. Implement device, command buffer and queues to get connected with the physical hardware. Explore various validation layers and learn how to use it for debugging Vulkan application. Get a grip on memory management to control host and device memory operations. Understand and implement buffer and image resource types in Vulkan. Define drawing operations in the Render pass and implement graphics pipeline. Manage GLSL shader using SPIR-V and update the shader resources with descriptor sets and push constants. Learn the drawing process, manage resources with synchronization objects and render 3D scene output on screen with Swapchain. Bring realism to your rendered 3D scene with textures, and implement linear and optimal textures In Detail Vulkan, the next generation graphics and compute API, is the latest offering by Khronos. This API is the successor of OpenGL and unlike OpenGL, it offers great flexibility and high performance capabilities to control modern GPU devices. With this book, you'll get great insights into the workings of Vulkan and how you can make stunning graphics run with minimum hardware requirements. We begin with a brief introduction to the Vulkan system and show you its distinct features with the successor to the OpenGL API. First, you will see how to establish a connection with hardware devices to query the available queues, memory types, and capabilities offered. Vulkan is verbose, so before diving deep into programing, you'll get to grips with debugging techniques so even first-timers can overcome error traps using Vulkan's layer and extension features. You'll get a grip on command buffers and acquire the knowledge to record various operation commands into command buffer and submit it to a proper queue for GPU processing. We'll take a detailed look at memory management and demonstrate the use of buffer and image resources to create drawing textures and image views for the presentation engine and vertex buffers to store geometry information. You'll get a brief overview of SPIR-V, the new way to manage shaders, and you'll define the drawing operations as a single unit of work in the Render pass with the help of attachments and subpasses. You'll also create frame buffers and build a solid graphics pipeline, as well as making use of the synchronizing mechanism to manage GPU and CPU hand-shaking. By the end, you'll know everything you need to know to get your hands dirty with the coolest Graphics API on the block. Style and approach This book takes a practical approach to guide you through the Vulkan API, and you will get to build an application throughout the course of the book. Since you are expected to be familiar with C/C++, there is not much hand-holding throughout the course of the book.
A Beginner's Guide to Circuits is the perfect first step for anyone ready to jump into the world of electronics and circuit design. After finishing the book's nine graded projects, readers will understand core electronics concepts which they can use to make their own electrifying creations! First, you'll learn to read circuit diagrams and use a breadboard, which allows you to connect electrical components without using a hot soldering iron! Next, you'll build nine simple projects using just a handful of readily available components, like resistors, transistors, capacitors, and other parts. As you build, you'll learn what each component does, how it works, and how to combine components to achieve new and interesting effects. By the end of the book, you'll be able to build your own electronic creations. With easy-to-follow directions, anyone can become an inventor with the help of A Beginner's Guide to Circuits! Build These 9 Simple Circuits! Steady-Hand Game: Test your nerves using a wire and a buzzer to create an Operation-style game! Touch-Enabled Light: Turn on a light with your finger! Cookie Jar Alarm: Catch cookie thieves red-handed with this contraption. Night-Light: Automatically turn on a light when it gets dark. Blinking LED: This classic circuit blinks an LED. Railroad Crossing Light: Danger! Don't cross the tracks if this circuit's pair of lights is flashing. Party Lights: Throw a party with these charming string lights. Digital Piano: Play a tune with this simple synthesizer and learn how speakers work. LED Marquee: Put on a light show and impress your friends with this flashy finale.
Far more than a word processor, Scrivener helps you organize and brainstorm even the most complex writing project, bring together your research, and write more efficiently and successfully than ever before. Long available for Mac, there's now a Windows version, too. Thousands of writers and aspiring writers are discovering this powerful, low-cost tool. Now, there's an up-to-the-minute, easy guide to the latest versions of Scrivener for both Mac and Windows: Scrivener Absolute Beginner's Guide . Written by working novelist and experienced computer book author Jennifer Kettell, this guide doesn't just present features and menus: it presents Scrivener in the context of your creative workflow, so you can make the most of this amazing software. Kettell draws on years of Scrivener experience and private tutoring to help you use Scrivener in both fiction and non-fiction projects, including screenwriting and academic writing. This book is as authoritative as it gets. Kettell not only wrote it in Scrivener: screen captures show her work in progress, and identify powerful ways to use Scrivener to improve productivity. Her book has been tech edited by the Literature & Latte software team member who serves as main liaison for the Scrivener Windows product to ensure that the Windows version is covered as thoroughly as the Mac version. You'll learn how to: · Integrate Scrivener into your own personal workflow · Get to know Scrivener's interface and customize it to your workstyle · Write, organize, storyboard, plot, and edit your document · Create custom templates to manage manuscripts, brainstorming, and research · Use keywords and metadata to keep track of complex projects · Track your progress and backing up your work · Generate a completed manuscript · Create an e-book from your manuscript · Discover new uses for Scrivener Throughout, Kettell clearly identifies differences between the Mac and Windows versions of Scrivener, so you're never frustrated by searching for a feature that isn't there. Scrivener Absolute Beginner's Guide is simple, clear, non-technical, and written from the viewpoint of a professional writer for other writers. It's the Scrivener guide thousands of writers have been waiting for.
Computer Graphics from Scratch demystifies the algorithms used in modern graphics software and guides beginners through building photorealistic 3D renders. Computer graphics programming books are often math-heavy and intimidating for newcomers. Not this one. Computer Graphics from Scratch takes a simpler approach by keeping the math to a minimum and focusing on only one aspect of computer graphics, 3D rendering. You’ll build two complete, fully functional renderers: a raytracer, which simulates rays of light as they bounce off objects, and a rasterizer, which converts 3D models into 2D pixels. As you progress you’ll learn how to create realistic reflections and shadows, and how to render a scene from any point of view. Pseudocode examples throughout make it easy to write your renderers in any language, and links to live JavaScript demos of each algorithm invite you to explore further on your own. Learn how to: Use perspective projection to draw 3D objects on a 2D plane Simulate the way rays of light interact with surfaces Add mirror-like reflections and cast shadows to objects Render a scene from any camera position using clipping planes Use flat, Gouraud, and Phong shading to mimic real surface lighting Paint texture details onto basic shapes to create realistic-looking objects Whether you’re an aspiring graphics engineer or a novice programmer curious about how graphics algorithms work, Gabriel Gambetta’s simple, clear explanations will quickly put computer graphics concepts and rendering techniques within your reach. All you need is basic coding knowledge and high school math. Computer Graphics from Scratch will cover the rest.
From the creative force who brought us the sci-fi tale Abakan 2288 comes Kallamity Sketchbook: Mech in Ink, the latest collection of drawings from world-renown artist and sculptor Luca Zampriolo. Discover his wondrous mech suits and vehicles and meet many fascinating characters, plus, learn about the treasured tools he uses--from specific fountain pens and inks to different types of paper--to bring his remarkable drawings to life.
