Categories
Tips

10 books on computer vision and cryptocurrency you should read

In our latest Developer Nation Pulse report we shared data on the top five emerging areas of interest to developers.

Around half of developers say they are working on, learning about, or interested computer vision, according to the insights from our Q1 2021 global survey of over 17,000 developers. Similarly, 45% are interested in cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin).

Recommended computer vision and cryptocurrency books

However, of the developers engaged with computer vision, only 15% are currently working on the technology. Similarly, only 14% are currently working on cryptocurrencies. One in four developers are currently learning about computer vision, while 29% are learning about cryptocurrencies.

So if you belong to these group, the following book recommendations might be just the thing you’ve been looking. This post was created in partnership with our friends at Packt.

Computer Vision books

Modern Computer Vision with PyTorch

Explore deep learning concepts and implement over 50 real-world image applications.

What reviews say:

“I felt the book is very well structured and compiled. Unless you’re looking for something very very specific, you’d be able to find techniques/implementations for any and all types of problems you are working on. They cover algorithms and implementations of basic neural networks, all the way upto RNNs and reinforcement learning with PyTorch. The breadth covered by this book on the number of techniques and algorithms is really amazing.”

Mastering Computer Vision with TensorFlow 2.x

Build advanced computer vision applications using machine learning and deep learning techniques

What reviews say:

“There are many books out there / but this book stands out – very clear explanation of codes and contents, lots of detailed explanations for object detection, classification, visual search, matching and training in cloud.”

PyTorch Computer Vision Cookbook

Over 70 recipes to master the art of computer vision with deep learning and PyTorch 1.x

“This book is good for beginners to learn about writing deep learning model in PyTorch. Book goes from basic linear model to processing videos in PyTorch and covers variety of use cases e.g. use of GANs, Style transfer project.”

Applied Deep Learning and Computer Vision for Self-Driving Cars

Build autonomous vehicles using deep neural networks and behavior-cloning techniques

What reviews say:

“This book is about how to apply deep learning knowledge to solve self-driving car problems. The technologies mainly focus on computer vision areas. It gives readers lots of code samples, which can help readers to understand the concept in each chapter.”

TensorFlow 2.0 Computer Vision Cookbook

Implement machine learning solutions to overcome various computer vision challenges

What reviews say:

“By far, this is one of the best books to understand how to apply deep learning in the field of computer vision. The concepts have been clearly explained. It covers almost everything from image classification, image segmentation, object detection, etc”

Raspberry Pi Computer Vision Programming, Second Edition

Design and implement computer vision applications with Raspberry Pi, OpenCV, and Python 3

What reviews say:

“This book was very helpful for me because it covers a wide variety of computer vision topics and offers lots of well thought out code examples using Python, opencv, matplotlib, numpy and other computer vision software. I followed his examples on my RPi and found that they helped me get the format and arguments of opencv commands correctly to include little things like commas, parenthesis, brackets, optional arguments and the like.”

Hands-On Image Generation with TensorFlow

A practical guide to generating images and videos using deep learning

What reviews say:

“The book is a great quickstart into representation with neural networks. (I also read it more deeply at times and it is great for that as well. I myself have experience with high-throughput large scale autoencoders with TensorFlow and building Facial Recognition applications. I appreciated this book a lot.)”

Cryptocurrencies books for developers

Practical Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain

A guide to converging blockchain and AI to build smart applications for new economies

What reviews say:

“Addressing such large topics as artificial intelligence and blockchain at best is a very serious endeavor. Whereas blockchain after a decade plus of existence has developed a useful understanding within its marketplace, that is not at all true of artificial intelligence, better just AI. AI is now well beyond 6 decades of existence as a topic and yet remains in an evolving state with much debate and speculation worldwide, especially over ethical and scope issues. So given that the reader of this book may be either one-of or some combination of a professional scientist, a developer or simply someone wanting to learn, then yes, Ganesh Prasad Kumble’s Practical Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain book is both a good and useful read.”

Blockchain Development for Finance Projects

Building next-generation financial applications using Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric, and Stellar

What reviews say:

“This book is for developers who want to learn blocking technology by building financial applications. Kudos to the author on providing coding examples and following it with explanation. Overall it is a good book on Ethereum development and I would recommend it for anyone who wants to learn Ethereum blockchain by building fintech applications.”

Securing Blockchain Networks like Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric

Learn advanced security configurations and design principles to safeguard Blockchain networks

What reviews say:

“This book is for blockchain developers, security professionals, and Ethereum and Hyperledger developers who are looking to implement security in blockchain platforms and ensure secure data management using an example-driven approach. Basic knowledge of blockchain concepts will be beneficial.”

Is there a book or expert that you would recommend to others interested in cryptocurrency or computer vision? Do share in the comments.

Our latest developer survey is live. Let us know which emerging technology you’ll be exploring in 2021.

Categories
Tips

Eight must-read books for developers in 2021

What are the top books on your reading list this season? Whether you’re learning a new skill or adding depth to your existing knowledge in a particular development area, it’s always a good idea to get a few more recommendations to your list. We’ve teamed up with Packt to help you discover eight must-read books that you need to add to your collection in 2021.

All Packt eBooks and Videos are for $5! A key part of Packt’s mission is to unlock new opportunities for developers and help put software to work in new ways. They want this year’s $5 campaign to help developers unlock new opportunities.

Cloud and Admin

Azure DevOps Explained

Implement real-world DevOps and cloud deployment scenarios using Azure Repos, Azure Pipelines, and other Azure DevOps tools.

What reviews say:

“The book is very carefully walking the reader through everything you need to know to become an Azure DevOps expert. I use DevOps all the time to build and manage Business Central AL development and found the book very useful.”

Kubernetes and Docker – An Enterprise Guide

Apply Kubernetes beyond the basics of Kubernetes clusters by implementing IAM using OIDC and Active Directory, Layer 4 load balancing using MetalLB, advanced service integration, security, auditing, and CI/CD.

What reviews say:

“This book covers most of the topics when an enterprise would like to adopt Kubernetes. What’s more, you hardly can find coverage on these topics in the market!”

Coding and tools

Learning C# by Developing Games with Unity 2020

Get to grips with coding in C# and build simple 3D games with Unity from the ground up with this updated fifth edition of the bestselling guide.

What reviews say:

“If you’re serious about learning to build games in Unity your progress will be advanced rapidly if you first have a solid foundation of understanding of C#. This book explains the necessary information to start understanding and using C# to develop games in Unity. After reading this you’ll have enough context to begin tearing down other people’s code and repurposing it to build your own functionalities for your game.”

iOS 14 Programming for Beginners

Learn iOS app development and work with the latest Apple development tools. Explore the latest features of Xcode 12 and the Swift 5.3 programming language in this updated fifth edition.

What reviews say:

“The author does a good job to capture an effective, quick, and breezy reading/learning/code-along experience. The explanations are concise and easy to follow, although I would imagine a complete newbie to programming entirely might ask a lot of questions in the earlier chapters.”

Data

Learn Amazon SageMaker

Quickly build and deploy machine learning models without managing infrastructure, and improve productivity using Amazon SageMaker’s capabilities such as Amazon SageMaker Studio, Autopilot, Experiments, Debugger, and Model Monitor.

What reviews say:

“This is a comprehensive book for a data scientist looking to use the AWS ecosystem for machine learning with a focus on Sagemaker. I like the way it is organized which is practical and matches a typical life-cycle of a project.”

Data Engineering with Python 

Build, monitor, and manage real-time data pipelines to create data engineering infrastructure efficiently using open-source Apache projects.

What reviews say:

“Data Engineering With Python provides a solid overview of pipelining and database connections for those tasked with processing both batch and stream data flows. Not only for the data miners, this book will be useful as well in a CI/CD environment using Kafka and Spark. It’s very readable and contains lots of practical, illustrative examples.”

Programming

40 Algorithms Every Programmer Should Know: Hone your problem

Learn algorithms for solving classic computer science problems with this concise guide covering everything from fundamental algorithms, such as sorting and searching, to modern algorithms used in machine learning and cryptography.

What reviews say:

“Who the book is aimed at: if you self-identify as a data scientist, serious algorithms specialist, or even the quant type, then you won’t be disappointed! If you’re just starting in the field, the author has done the hard work of selecting some of the commonly used techniques & algorithms in the field today.”

Learn Quantum Computing with Python and IBM Quantum Experience

A step-by-step guide to learning the implementation and associated methodologies in quantum computing with the help of the IBM Quantum Experience, Qiskit, and Python that will have you up and running and productive in no time.

What reviews say:

“I really like this book. It takes a step-by-step approach to introduce the reader to the IBM Q Experience, to the basics underlying quantum computing, and to the reality of the noise involved in the current machines. This introduction is technical and shows the user how to use the IBM system either directly through the GUI on their website or by running Python code on one’s own machine.”

Have you read any of these already? Leave your impressions in the comments and don’t forget to share the list with other developers in your circle!


Be a guest writer on our blog
Have you got brilliant tips and resources that developers love to read? Then we want you on our blog! Find out more.