Linux Journal May 2012

by Dave Taylor, Kyle Rankin (Editor), Jill Franklin (Editor)

A quick overview of what's in this special Programming Lua for Object-Oriented Programming* How App Inventor for Android* Intro to Parallel Programming with C and Python* Pd--the Modern and Flexible Language for Audio* ZaReason's Valta X79Detailed Rubies, Pythons and Perls!It may sound like a new Indiana Jones movie or possibly a cheesy platform-style video game from the 1990s, but the title of this column actually refers to our focus this month—programming! Not that there's anything wrong with daring adventures in remote locations, it's just that all the red tape can be overwhelming. You know that somewhere there was a college intern filing environmental impact study reports, negotiating work visas for multi-country searches and adding venomous predator riders on the insurance policies. Dr Jones just grabbed his hat and found the treasure!Here in the real world, we prefer to create our own treasures. That's wherethis issue comes into play. Reuven M. Lerner is actually a bit of a rebel thismonth, and in an ironic twist, he focuses on Web design frameworks. The worlds of Web design and programming certainly overlap, so we'll give him a pass. Dave Taylor wraps up his Words With Friends series by demonstrating how to calculate word point values. Dave's articles always are fun for me, because scripting is the only sort of programming I ever do (usually out of sysadmin need), and watching him create stuff that I understand is fun.Kyle and I are system administrators by trade, so it's not a surprise thatour columns this month show it. Kyle describes how to use iftop, which is likethe monitoring tool top, except for bandwidth usage. If you are strugglingto find where all your bandwidth is going, iftop can be invaluable, and in hisarticle, you'll learn how to use it. For my column, it's quite clear where thebandwidth is going—to the thin clients! This month, I finish my three-partseries on LTSP and discuss how to scale your thin-client environment. As withmost complex problems, there isn't a single solution to LTSP scaling. I talkabout a handful of methods and help you choose the best option for yourenvironment.I'm sure you're thinking, "I thought this was the programmingissue!" Rest assured, it is. Alejandro Segovia explores Lua, a multiparadigm programming language. No, he doesn't take us to a Luau, with grass skirts and coconuts, but in his words, he "presents a reusable mechanism through which you can implement an object-oriented model using Lua's built-in constructs." On his heels, Amit Saha follows with a great article on using App Inventor to program for Android. With its drag-and-drop interface, App Inventor nips at thelearning curve a bit for Android programming. Whether you want to create afancy GUI application or a service that runs in the background, Amit's article will be very useful.Dave Phillips introduces Pure Data (Pd), which is a graphic patching environment for audio production. If that sounds confusing, it's a bit like an old modular patching synthesizer on steroids. If even that sounds confusing, you should read the article. Dave discusses using Pd to program audio. It'spretty cool stuff, and you won't want to miss it. We also have the full gamut of Linux Journal goodies this month. I review theZaReason Valta X79, we have a slew of new product announcements, and we have more tips and tricks than you can shake a stick at. So put on your leather fedora, grab a whip and start on your programming adventure! We'll sit back and worry about all the red tape.

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2012

About the author

Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since it was the ARPAnet and is recognized globally as an expert on technical and business topics. He has been published over a thousand times, launched four Internet-related startups, written more than twenty business and technical books and has an MBA and MS Ed.

He runs the popular YouTube consumer electronics review channel AskDaveTaylor, is a columnist for the Boulder Daily Camera and appears in other publications both online and in print. Dave teaches undergrad and graduate courses on marketing, public speaking, film, and media & society at the University of Denver, where he's also a recognized Leader in Teaching Excellence.

Based in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, Dave is an award-winning speaker, sought-after conference and workshop participant, and frequent guest on radio and podcast programs, an active member of his community and father to three young adults who are themselves also avid readers.

You can find Dave online at AskDaveTaylor.com and catch up on his latest film, game, and car reviews at PlanetDave.com.