PMML in Action


Book Description

The data mining community has derived a broad foundation of statistical algorithms and software solutions that has allowed predictive analytics to become a standard approach used in science and industry. For many years, much emphasis has been placed on the development of predictive models. As a consequence, the market place offers a range of powerful tools, many open-source, for effective model building. However, once we turn to the operational deployment and practical application of predictive solutions within an existing IT infrastructure, we face a much more limited choice of options. Often it takes months for models to be integrated and deployed via custom code or proprietary processes. The Predictive Model Markup Language (PMML) standard has reached a significant stage of maturity and has obtained broad industry support, allowing users to develop predictive solutions within one application and use another to execute them. Previously, this was very difficult, but with PMML, the exchange of predictive solutions between compliant applications is now straightforward. The aim of this book is to present PMML from a practical perspective. It contains a variety of code snippets so that concepts are made clear through the use of examples. Readers are assumed to have a basic knowledge of predictive analytics and its techniques and so the book is intended for data mining movers and shakers: anyone interested in moving predictive analytic solutions between applications, including students and scientists. PMML in Action is a great way to learn how to represent your predictive solutions through a mature and refined open standard. For the 2nd edition, the book has been completely revised for PMML 4.1, the latest version of PMML. It includes new chapters and an expanded description of how to represent multiple models in PMML, including model ensemble, segmentation, chaining, and composition. The book is divided into six parts, taking you in a PMML journey in which language elements and attributes are used to represent not only modeling techniques but also data pre- and post-processing. With PMML, users benefit from a single and concise standard to represent predictive models, thus avoiding the need for custom code and proprietary solutions. You too can join the PMML movement! Unleash the power of predictive analytics and data mining today




Collective Intelligence in Action


Book Description

There's a great deal of wisdom in a crowd, but how do you listen to a thousand people talking at once? Identifying the wants, needs, and knowledge of internet users can be like listening to a mob. In the Web 2.0 era, leveraging the collective power of user contributions, interactions, and feedback is the key to market dominance. A new category of powerful programming techniques lets you discover the patterns, inter-relationships, and individual profiles-the collective intelligence--locked in the data people leave behind as they surf websites, post blogs, and interact with other users. Collective Intelligence in Action is a hands-on guidebook for implementing collective intelligence concepts using Java. It is the first Java-based book to emphasize the underlying algorithms and technical implementation of vital data gathering and mining techniques like analyzing trends, discovering relationships, and making predictions. It provides a pragmatic approach to personalization by combining content-based analysis with collaborative approaches. This book is for Java developers implementing Collective Intelligence in real, high-use applications. Following a running example in which you harvest and use information from blogs, you learn to develop software that you can embed in your own applications. The code examples are immediately reusable and give the Java developer a working collective intelligence toolkit. Along the way, you work with, a number of APIs and open-source toolkits including text analysis and search using Lucene, web-crawling using Nutch, and applying machine learning algorithms using WEKA and the Java Data Mining (JDM) standard. Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.




Apache Pulsar in Action


Book Description

Deliver lightning fast and reliable messaging for your distributed applications with the flexible and resilient Apache Pulsar platform. In Apache Pulsar in Action you will learn how to: Publish from Apache Pulsar into third-party data repositories and platforms Design and develop Apache Pulsar functions Perform interactive SQL queries against data stored in Apache Pulsar Apache Pulsar in Action is a comprehensive and practical guide to building high-traffic applications with Pulsar. You’ll learn to use this mature and battle-tested platform to deliver extreme levels of speed and durability to your messaging. Apache Pulsar committer David Kjerrumgaard teaches you to apply Pulsar’s seamless scalability through hands-on case studies, including IOT analytics applications and a microservices app based on Pulsar functions. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the technology Reliable server-to-server messaging is the heart of a distributed application. Apache Pulsar is a flexible real-time messaging platform built to run on Kubernetes and deliver the scalability and resilience required for cloud-based systems. Pulsar supports both streaming and message queuing, and unlike other solutions, it can communicate over multiple protocols including MQTT, AMQP, and Kafka’s binary protocol. About the book Apache Pulsar in Action teaches you to build scalable streaming messaging systems using Pulsar. You’ll start with a rapid introduction to enterprise messaging and discover the unique benefits of Pulsar. Following crystal-clear explanations and engaging examples, you’ll use the Pulsar Functions framework to develop a microservices-based application. Real-world case studies illustrate how to implement the most important messaging design patterns. What's inside Publish from Pulsar into third-party data repositories and platforms Design and develop Apache Pulsar functions Create an event-driven food delivery application About the reader Written for experienced Java developers. No prior knowledge of Pulsar required. About the author David Kjerrumgaard is a committer on the Apache Pulsar project. He currently serves as a Developer Advocate for StreamNative, where he develops Pulsar best practices and solutions. Table of Contents PART 1 GETTING STARTED WITH APACHE PULSAR 1 Introduction to Apache Pulsar 2 Pulsar concepts and architecture 3 Interacting with Pulsar PART 2 APACHE PULSAR DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS 4 Pulsar functions 5 Pulsar IO connectors 6 Pulsar security 7 Schema registry PART 3 HANDS-ON APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT WITH APACHE PULSAR 8 Pulsar Functions patterns 9 Resiliency patterns 10 Data access 11 Machine learning in Pulsar 12 Edge analytics




Resilience


Book Description

A masterpiece of warrior wisdom: how to be resilient, how to overcome obstacles not by "positive thinking" or self-esteem, but by positive action. The bestselling author, Navy SEAL, and humanitarian Eric Greitens offers a self-help book unlike any other.




R: Predictive Analysis


Book Description

Master the art of predictive modeling About This Book Load, wrangle, and analyze your data using the world's most powerful statistical programming language Familiarize yourself with the most common data mining tools of R, such as k-means, hierarchical regression, linear regression, Naive Bayes, decision trees, text mining and so on. We emphasize important concepts, such as the bias-variance trade-off and over-fitting, which are pervasive in predictive modeling Who This Book Is For If you work with data and want to become an expert in predictive analysis and modeling, then this Learning Path will serve you well. It is intended for budding and seasoned practitioners of predictive modeling alike. You should have basic knowledge of the use of R, although it's not necessary to put this Learning Path to great use. What You Will Learn Get to know the basics of R's syntax and major data structures Write functions, load data, and install packages Use different data sources in R and know how to interface with databases, and request and load JSON and XML Identify the challenges and apply your knowledge about data analysis in R to imperfect real-world data Predict the future with reasonably simple algorithms Understand key data visualization and predictive analytic skills using R Understand the language of models and the predictive modeling process In Detail Predictive analytics is a field that uses data to build models that predict a future outcome of interest. It can be applied to a range of business strategies and has been a key player in search advertising and recommendation engines. The power and domain-specificity of R allows the user to express complex analytics easily, quickly, and succinctly. R offers a free and open source environment that is perfect for both learning and deploying predictive modeling solutions in the real world. This Learning Path will provide you with all the steps you need to master the art of predictive modeling with R. We start with an introduction to data analysis with R, and then gradually you'll get your feet wet with predictive modeling. You will get to grips with the fundamentals of applied statistics and build on this knowledge to perform sophisticated and powerful analytics. You will be able to solve the difficulties relating to performing data analysis in practice and find solutions to working with “messy data”, large data, communicating results, and facilitating reproducibility. You will then perform key predictive analytics tasks using R, such as train and test predictive models for classification and regression tasks, score new data sets and so on. By the end of this Learning Path, you will have explored and tested the most popular modeling techniques in use on real-world data sets and mastered a diverse range of techniques in predictive analytics. This Learning Path combines some of the best that Packt has to offer in one complete, curated package. It includes content from the following Packt products: Data Analysis with R, Tony Fischetti Learning Predictive Analytics with R, Eric Mayor Mastering Predictive Analytics with R, Rui Miguel Forte Style and approach Learn data analysis using engaging examples and fun exercises, and with a gentle and friendly but comprehensive "learn-by-doing" approach. This is a practical course, which analyzes compelling data about life, health, and death with the help of tutorials. It offers you a useful way of interpreting the data that's specific to this course, but that can also be applied to any other data. This course is designed to be both a guide and a reference for moving beyond the basics of predictive modeling.




A Covert Action: Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War Struggle in Poland


Book Description

“A tale of victory for peace, for freedom, and for the CIA— a trifecta rare enough to make for required reading.” —Steve Donoghue, Spectator USA In 1981, the Soviet-backed Polish government declared martial law to crush a budding democratic opposition movement. Moscow and Washington were on a collision course. It was the most significant crisis of Ronald Reagan’s fledgling presidency. Reagan authorized a covert CIA operation codenamed QRHELPFUL to support dissident groups, particularly the trade union Solidarity. The CIA provided money that helped Solidarity print newspapers, broadcast radio programs, and conduct an information campaign against the government. This gripping narrative reveals the little-known history of one of America’s most successful covert operations through its most important characters—spymaster Bill Casey, CIA officer Richard Malzahn, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, Pope John Paul II, and the Polish patriots who were instrumental to the success of the program. Based on in- depth interviews and recently declassified evidence, A Covert Action celebrates a decisive victory over tyranny for US intelligence behind the Iron Curtain, one that prefigured the Soviet collapse.




Rescued from the Reich


Book Description

When Hitler invaded Warsaw in the fall of 1939, hundreds of thousands of civilians—many of them Jewish—were trapped in the besieged city. The Rebbe Joseph Schneersohn, the leader of the ultra-orthodox Lubavitcher Jews, was among them. Followers throughout the world were filled with anguish, unable to confirm whether he was alive or dead. Working with officials in the United States government, a group of American Jews initiated what would ultimately become one of the strangest—and most miraculous—rescues of World War II. The escape of Rebbe Schneersohn from Warsaw has been the subject of speculation for decades. Historian Bryan Mark Rigg has now uncovered the true story of the rescue, which was propelled by a secret collaboration between American officials and leaders of German military intelligence. Amid the fog of war, a small group of dedicated German soldiers located the Rebbe and protected him from suspicious Nazis as they fled the city together. During the course of the mission, the Rebbe learned the shocking truth about the leader of the rescue operation, the decorated Wehrmacht soldier Ernst Bloch: he was himself half-Jewish, and a victim of the rising tide of German antisemitism. A harrowing story about identity and moral responsibility, Rescued from the Reich is also a riveting narrative history of one of the most extraordinary rescue missions of World War II.




Machine Learning Fundamentals in Action A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Machine Learning Solutions


Book Description

Master Machine Learning Fundamentals Whether you’re an aspiring data scientist, business professional, or curious learner, Machine Learning Fundamentals in Action is your essential guide to the world of machine learning. Packed with practical examples and real-world applications, this book helps you navigate key concepts and techniques transforming industries today. Unlock the Power of Machine Learning Discover every step, from data preparation to building and deploying models, with clear and actionable insights. Who Is This Book For? Aspiring Data Scientists: Build a solid foundation in ML concepts. Business Professionals: Use data-driven decisions to solve challenges. Developers and Engineers: Get hands-on experience with model-building techniques. Curious Learners: Understand ML with easy, step-by-step explanations. What You’ll Learn: Core ML principles and real-world applications Types of ML: Supervised, Unsupervised, and Reinforcement Learning Advanced topics: Neural networks, deep learning, and more How to deploy models and avoid common pitfalls Start your machine learning journey today!




Zero to Hero


Book Description

The author recounts his life experiences, from growing up on Chicago's South Side and living through several years of intense bullying, to his Army service in Vietnam and his acts that earned the Medal of Honor, to his life after military service and grappling with PTSD.




Tannenberg


Book Description

The battle of Tannenberg (August 27-30, 1914) opened World War I with a decisive German victory over Russia-indeed the Kaiser's only clear-cut victory in a non-attritional battle during four years of war. In this first paperback edition of the classic work, historian Dennis Showalter analyzes this battle's causes, effects, and implications for subsequent German military policy. The author carefully guides the reader through what actually happened on the battlefield, from its grand strategy down to the level of improvised squad actions. Examining the battle in the context of contemporary diplom.