Justin Williams – författare

If you're a web designer or developer who thinks that the coding involved in developing dynamic web applications is too difficult, think again. This book, and the framework it covers, is the perfect solution to your needs. Ruby on Rails provides an easy-to-use method for quickly developing web applications, simplifying potentially complicated subjects such as web architecture, JavaScript, and SQL/database creation. The simplicity of Rails belies its power, though—this technology is used by major companies such as 37Signals and Google.The book provides an introduction to Ruby on Rails with the web designer in mind. Instead of focusing on the intricate syntax of each method, the book focuses on the tasks youll want to perform on your website and then walks you through how to implement that functionality with Rails. Design and usability are kept in mind throughout, ensuring that your site both looks and works great. The book begins by covering how to set up your computer as a Rails development environment (including the MySQL database) and then follows with an introduction to Ruby and the basics of the Rails framework. Next, you are taken through several practical examples that work together to build up a complete modern web application, covering essential and useful website features such as user login, adding and editing data, data validation, image uploading, and much more. The book even covers more-advanced Rails topics such as the Rails test suite, plug-ins and components, debugging techniques, and deploying your web applications using Capistrano.

This book offers a simple to read, fast way to discover all that's new in Mac OS X Leopard, and how to make the most of it, whether you are new to the Mac, or simply upgrading from a previous version of Mac OS X.New additions to the operating system are showcased, including the changes to the Dock and Finder, and new features such as Stacks, Cover Flow, and Quick View introduced, before the book moves on to give a basic guide to using the Mac—creating folders, moving files, installing applications, and burning CDs, for example.Communication and organization are covered with chapters on Mail and iChat, including information on how to get the most of the latest features such as creating to-do items, and reading RSS feeds in Mail, and sharing screens in iChat. There are chapters that cover Spaces and Time Machine, perhaps the most talked about feature in this release of Mac OS X.iLife is fully dealt with, with discrete chapters on iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD, and GarageBand, followed with a chapter on iWeb showing how to share your creations, and using Front Row to be entertained by them.The final chapters of the book give an overview of some more advanced areas of using a Mac, namely how Mac OS X itself works, and also how to develop for the Mac. These chapters are intended only to give a glimpse as to the possibilities—the book is primarily aimed at regular users.A number of appendices conclude the book, one providing a guide to those users who are switching from Windows, and another that contains a useful list of recommended Mac applications for a wide array of uses.In the authors own words, "This book isn't a bible or tome about how to do anything and everything with Mac OS X. Instead, its goal is to introduce the major features of Mac OS X so you can be up and running quickly."

The singer-songwriter, someone who writes and performs their own music, is an ever-present and increasingly complex figure in popular music worlds. The Singer-Songwriter Handbook provides a useful resource for student songwriters, active musicians, fans and scholars alike. This handbook is divided into four main sections: Songwriting (acoustic and digital), Performance, Music Industry and Case Studies. Section I focuses on the ‘how to’ elements of popular song composition, embracing a range of perspectives and methods, in addition to chapters on the teaching of songwriting to students. Section II deals with the nature of performance: stagecraft, open mic nights, and a number of case studies that engage with performing in a range of contexts. Section III is devoted to aspects of the music industry and the business of music including sales, contract negotiations, copyright, social media and marketing. Section IV provides specific examples of singer-songwriter personae and global open mic scenes. The Singer-Songwriter Handbook is a much-needed single resource for budding singer-songwriters as well as songwriting pedagogues.

The singer-songwriter, someone who writes and performs their own music, is an ever-present and increasingly complex figure in popular music worlds. The Singer-Songwriter Handbook provides a useful resource for student songwriters, active musicians, fans and scholars alike. This handbook is divided into four main sections: Songwriting (acoustic and digital), Performance, Music Industry and Case Studies. Section I focuses on the ‘how to’ elements of popular song composition, embracing a range of perspectives and methods, in addition to chapters on the teaching of songwriting to students. Section II deals with the nature of performance: stagecraft, open mic nights, and a number of case studies that engage with performing in a range of contexts. Section III is devoted to aspects of the music industry and the business of music including sales, contract negotiations, copyright, social media and marketing. Section IV provides specific examples of singer-songwriter personae and global open mic scenes. The Singer-Songwriter Handbook is a much-needed single resource for budding singer-songwriters as well as songwriting pedagogues.