AND101 - Fundamentals of Android Programming

The AND101 course now comes with a Mi A1 Android device. Check out the schedule here: http://calendar.learn2develop.net

IOT300 – Fundamentals of Cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin and Ether

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed using cryptography to work as a medium of exchange for a transaction. By now, you should have heard of Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency that is widely in use today. And in addition to Bitcoin, there exist a number of alternative cryptocurrencies, one of which is known as Ether. Ether is a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, except that it runs on its own network called Ethereum.

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies and how to get started started in mining Bitcoin and Ether. 

Course comes with a mining rig!

Topics

What is a cryptocurrency?

How cryptocurrencies work?
  Blockchain
  Decentralization

Popular cryptocurrencies
  Bitcoin
  Ether

Advantages of cryptocurrencies

Buying and Storing Bitcoin and Ether
  Exchanges
  Wallets

Mining Cryptocurrencies
  Starting your own mine
  Cloud Mining

Building your own mining rig
  Hardware requirements

  Cost Estimations

Understanding Blockchain - Building your own Blockchain Implementation

IOT301 – Building Blockchain- Based Decentralized Applications using Ethereum

One of the hottest technologies of late is no doubt Blockchain. But what is Blockchain? A blockchain is a digital transaction of records that’s arranged in chunks of data called blocks. These blocks then link with one another through a cryptographic validation known as a hashing function. Linked together, these blocks form an unbroken chain — a blockchain. A Blockchain is programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of Blockchain, as well as learn how to implement Smart Contracts using Ethereum. You will create your own Ethereum private network and learn how to deploy smart contracts onto them. 

Topics

·         What is a Blockchain?

o    Attributes of a Blockchain

o    Bitcoin and Ethereum

§  Bitcoin and Ethereum Blockchains

o    Crypto-fuel for the Ethereum network - Ether

·       Getting Started with Ethereum

o    Using Geth - CLI for running Ethereum node

o    Using Mist and Ethereum Wallet

o    Performing Mining

o    Joining the networks – mainnet vs testnet(s)

o    Creating your own private Ethereum network

§  Creating nodes

§  Creating accounts

§  Performing mining and sending Ether to another node

·       Smart Contracts and Decentralized Application (DApp)

o    Use cases for Smart Contracts   

o    How to implement Smart Contracts

o    Learning Solidity - a Smart Contract Programming Language

o    Deploying Smart Contracts

·       Business case

o    Case Studies

Internet of Things (IoT) Roadmap

Internet of Things (IoT) changes the way businesses collect data. With so many gadgets in the market, which one fits your needs? Come and join us in the upcoming series of courses on IoT programming. There is something for everyone. 

Machine Learning Roadmap

With the vast amount of data collected, machine learning is poised to change the way companies do business. Join us in the upcoming series of courses on machine learning and see how it can help improve your business operations. 

Announcing two new Fintech courses - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain, and Smart Contract

I am happy to introduce two new Fintech courses added to our curriculum. 

With the rapid adoption and interest of cryptocurrencies, it is now clear that you have to get acquainted with the technologies behind cryptocurrencies, and how to adopt them to build future applications and systems. 

IOT300 – Fundamentals of Cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin and Ether

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed using cryptography to work as a medium of exchange for a transaction. By now, you should have heard of Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency that is widely in use today. And in addition to Bitcoin, there exist a number of alternative cryptocurrencies, one of which is known as Ether. Ether is a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, except that it runs on its own network called Ethereum.

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies and how to get started started in mining Bitcoin and Ether.

IOT301 – Building Blockchain-Based Decentralized Applications using Ethereum

One of the hottest technologies of late is no doubt Blockchain. But what is Blockchain? A blockchain is a digital transaction of records that’s arranged in chunks of data called blocks. These blocks then link with one another through a cryptographic validation known as a hashing function. Linked together, these blocks form an unbroken chain — a blockchain. A Blockchain is programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of Blockchain, as well as learn how to implement Smart Contracts using Ethereum.

NDC Sydney 2017 App

The #ndcsydney is finally over. This year it has been a little unique for me. Not only am I speaking at the event, the conference organizer has also adopted my app that I developed for the conference (using React Native). It was a good experience to see how well the framework works for cross platform development, and to be honest it went really well. Also, given the tight deadlines and limited testing, I really need to make sure the app runs smoothly without hiccups for the entire conference. And it went well!

Courses for August and September 2017 - IoT, Python, Raspberry Pi, Machine Learning, and Bluetooth LE

 WEB106 – 1-Day Programming Web Apps using Node.js

Node.js is an open source, cross-platform runtime environment for creating Web apps and Web services. Node.js apps are written using JavaScript, and it provides an event-driven architecture and a non-blocking I/O API that enhances an application’s throughput and scalability. Using Node.js, you can even write your own Web server! 

In this course, you will learn how to get started with Node.js and how to use it to write some cool Web applications and REST services. 

 AND303 – 1-Day Advanced Android – Bluetooth Low Energy Programming 

In recent years, we have seen a proliferation of Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) devices. Bluetooth LE, as its name implies, uses low energy for transmitting data. This is very useful for devices that require long-battery life, such as heart rate monitor, temperature sensors, etc. In Android, Bluetooth LE functionalities weren’t supported at the platform level until Android 4.3. 

Beginning with Android 4.3, you can now write applications that use Bluetooth LE. Your application can now connect to heart monitors, as well as temperature sensors using Bluetooth LE. 

 IOT201 – Applied Python Programming 

Python is a high-level programming language that is widely in use. Python code is readable, and its syntax ensures programmers write code that is well-indented and clear. Python is supported on most platforms and is well suited for a wide variety of tasks – ranging from automating your daily platform tasks, to running as a standalone Web Server. 

In this course, you will learn about the Python language, as well as explore the different types of projects that you can develop with it. 

 IOT203 – Machine Learning using Azure Machine Learning Studio and R 

In this 2-day workshop, you will be introduced to Machine Learning using the Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio. You will learn what is machine learning, and how it can be useful to your organization. You will also learn the various machine learning algorithms and work through some real-life examples. 

 IOT205 – Introduction to Machine Learning using Python 

In this 2-day workshop, you will be introduced to Machine Learning using Python. You will learn about the various libraries used in Python for machine learning, as well as the fundamental principles of some common machine learning algorithms. 

 MOB105 – 2-Day Cross Platform Mobile Apps Development using React Native 

In this 2-day workshop, you will learn the fundamentals of building cross-platform mobile apps targeting iOS and Android devices using React Native. React Native lets you build mobile apps using only JavaScript, without the need to use languages like Objective-C, Swift, or Java. Although you write JavaScript with React Native, the components you define will end up rendering as native widgets on the respective platforms. Hence, React Native allows you to write truly native applications, with the ease and speed of development and debugging using JavaScript. 

 HRD101 – 1-Day Getting Started with Raspberry Pi 

The Raspberry Pi 2 is a low-cost (US$35) credit-sized computer that connects to your TV and keyboard. Running Linux as the operating system, it can be used for many purposes such as word-processing, games, spreadsheets, web browsing, and more; almost everything that you can do with a regular computer. What’s more, using the Raspberry you can connect the general purpose input and output (GPIO) pins right on the board to drive external hardware such as LEDs, motors, and relays. 

DevTeach app developed using React Native now available on Google Play and Apple App Store

Developing cross platform mobile apps is currently one of the most important topics for developers - no one wants to maintain multiple code bases unnecessarily, and code reuse is super important. Hence, I wanted to see for my myself how React Native can help in this. 

And so I went out to develop an app for the DevTeach (http://www.devteach.com) conference (in which I am speaking and running a workshop next month). And here I created quite a simple app in a couple of days. And it runs on both Android and iOS. 

Overall, I am quite pleasantly surprised by the versatility of React Native and I saved quite a lot of time in testing my UI as I don't have to redeploy the app every time I have an UI change - pressing Cmd-R reloads your app. 

You can now download the DevTeach app from Google Play as well as from Apple's App Store. 

Running Xamarin.Forms application on an iPhone without using a Mac

By now, you should probably have heard of the latest news from Microsoft about the latest preview edition of Xamarin that allows you to test your Xamarin application on your iPhone without using a Mac. Note that this is only applicable for Xamarin.Forms application, not the Xamarin.iOS application, which still requires you to connect to a remote Mac in order to edit your Storyboard files. 

Getting the Preview Bits

First, you need to download Visual Studio 2017 Preview from https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/preview/

Once Visual Studio 2017 Preview is installed, install the Xamarin Updates Extension (https://developer.xamarin.com/recipes/cross-platform/ide/change_updates_channel/extension-gallery/).

Once this is done, let’s create a new Cross Platform App (Xamarin.Forms) and name it as HelloWorld:

Select the Blank App template and click OK.

At the toolbar of Visual Studio 2017 Preview, click on the Live Player button:

You should now see a QR Code:

On your iPhone, download and install the Xamarin Live Player (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/xamarin-live-player/id1228841832?ls=1&mt=8). Launch it and you should see the following:

Tap on the Pair to Visual Studio button and scan the QR code on your screen. It will now try to connect to Visual Studio:

Back in the original window that showed the QR code you will see the name of your iPhone connected:

When you ready to run the application on the iPhone, select the HelloWorld.iOS project in the toolbar of Visual Studio 2017. Click the Live Player button. At this moment, you will be asked to connect to a remote Mac. Ignore it. Instead, you should now see the name of your iPhone:

Click on the name of your iPhone and your application should now appear on your iPhone: