George K. Thiruvathukal

Nintendo's hugely popular and influential video game console system considered as technological device and social phenomenon. The Nintendo Wii, introduced in 2006, helped usher in a moment of retro-reinvention in video game play. This hugely popular console system, codenamed Revolution during development, signaled a turn away from fully immersive, time-consuming MMORPGs or forty-hour FPS games and back toward family fun in the living room. Players using the wireless motion-sensitive controller (the Wii Remote, or "Wiimote") play with their whole bodies, waving, swinging, swaying. The mimetic interface shifts attention from what's on the screen to what's happening in physical space. This book describes the Wii's impact in technological, social, and cultural terms, examining the Wii as a system of interrelated hardware and software that was consciously designed to promote social play in physical space. Each chapter of Codename Revolution focuses on a major component of the Wii as a platform: the console itself, designed to be low-powered and nimble; the iconic Wii Remote; Wii Fit Plus, and its controller, the Wii Balance Board; the Wii Channels interface and Nintendo's distribution system; and the Wii as a social platform that not only affords multiplayer options but also encourages social interaction in shared physical space. Finally, the authors connect the Wii's revolution in mimetic interface gaming-which eventually led to the release of Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect-to some of the economic and technological conditions that influence the possibility of making something new in this arena of computing and culture.

Recursion: Mathematics and Python is designed to help readers develop a clear and systematic understanding of recursion as both a mathematical concept and a programming technique. Rather than presenting recursion as a collection of isolated examples, the book emphasizes recursive thinking: how complex problems can be expressed, analyzed, and solved by breaking them into simpler instances of similar structures. The book adopts a consistent pedagogical approach throughout. Each topic begins with a mathematical or conceptual formulation that highlights the recursive structure of the problem. Readers are guided to identify parameters, base cases, and recursive relationships before translating these ideas into Python programs. Examples are chosen to identify recurring patterns across domains, including integer partitions, Tower of Hanoi, parentheses counting, binary search, quick sort, Sudoku solving, maze traversal, tree structures, and data compression. Code examples are written for clarity. Readers can follow execution flow and understand how recursive calls interact with computer memory. This book also explains how to reduce the recursion time by identifying and removing redundant computation. This book is intended for undergraduate students in computer science and computer engineering who already have basic Python programming experience and some prior exposure to recursion. It is well suited for courses in programming, discrete mathematics, data structures, or algorithms. This book can also help instructors seek a resource that tightly integrates mathematical reasoning with executable code.

Nintendo's hugely popular and influential video game console system considered as technological device and social phenomenon. The Nintendo Wii, introduced in 2006, helped usher in a moment of retro-reinvention in video game play. This hugely popular console system, codenamed Revolution during development, signaled a turn away from fully immersive, time-consuming MMORPGs or forty-hour FPS games and back toward family fun in the living room. Players using the wireless motion-sensitive controller (the Wii Remote, or "Wiimote") play with their whole bodies, waving, swinging, swaying. The mimetic interface shifts attention from what's on the screen to what's happening in physical space. This book describes the Wii's impact in technological, social, and cultural terms, examining the Wii as a system of interrelated hardware and software that was consciously designed to promote social play in physical space. Each chapter of Codename Revolution focuses on a major component of the Wii as a platform: the console itself, designed to be low-powered and nimble; the iconic Wii Remote; Wii Fit Plus, and its controller, the Wii Balance Board; the Wii Channels interface and Nintendo's distribution system; and the Wii as a social platform that not only affords multiplayer options but also encourages social interaction in shared physical space. Finally, the authors connect the Wii's revolution in mimetic interface gaming--which eventually led to the release of Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect--to some of the economic and technological conditions that influence the possibility of making something new in this arena of computing and culture.

Revised for a new second edition, Intermediate C Programming provides a stepping-stone for intermediate-level students to go from writing short programs to writing real programs well. It shows students how to identify and eliminate bugs, write clean code, share code with others, and use standard Linux-based tools, such as ddd and valgrind. This second edition provides expanded coverage of these topics with new material focused on software engineering, including version control and unit testing. The text enhances their programming skills by explaining programming concepts and comparing common mistakes with correct programs. It also discusses how to use debuggers and the strategies for debugging as well as studies the connection between programming and discrete mathematics. Including additional student and instructor resources available online, this book is particularly appealing as a classroom resource.

Revised for a new second edition, Intermediate C Programming provides a stepping-stone for intermediate-level students to go from writing short programs to writing real programs well. It shows students how to identify and eliminate bugs, write clean code, share code with others, and use standard Linux-based tools, such as ddd and valgrind. This second edition provides expanded coverage of these topics with new material focused on software engineering, including version control and unit testing. The text enhances their programming skills by explaining programming concepts and comparing common mistakes with correct programs. It also discusses how to use debuggers and the strategies for debugging as well as studies the connection between programming and discrete mathematics. Including additional student and instructor resources available online, this book is particularly appealing as a classroom resource.