Your Python code may run correctly, but you need it to run faster. Updated for Python 3, this expanded edition shows you how to locate performance bottlenecks and significantly speed up your code in high-data-volume programs. By exploring the fundamental theory behind design choices, High Performance Python helps you gain a deeper understanding of Python’s implementation. How do you take advantage of multicore architectures or clusters? Or build a system that scales up and down without losing reliability? Experienced Python programmers will learn concrete solutions to many issues, along with war stories from companies that use high-performance Python for social media analytics, productionized machine learning, and more. Get a better grasp of NumPy, Cython, and profilers Learn how Python abstracts the underlying computer architecture Use profiling to find bottlenecks in CPU time and memory usage Write efficient programs by choosing appropriate data structures Speed up matrix and vector computations Use tools to compile Python down to machine code Manage multiple I/O and computational operations concurrently Convert multiprocessing code to run on local or remote clusters Deploy code faster using tools like Docker

The Oxford English Dictionary is the internationally recognized authority on the evolution of the English language from 1150 to the present day. The Dictionary defines over 500,000 words, making it an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, pronunciation, and history of the English language. This new upgrade version of The Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM offers unparalleled access to the world's most important reference work for the English language. The text of this version has been augmented with the inclusion of the Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series (Volumes 1-3), published in 1993 and 1997, the Bibliography to the Second Edition, and other ancillary material. System requirements: PC with minimum 200 MHz Pentium-class processor; 32 MB RAM (64 MB recommended); 16-speed CD-ROM drive (32-speed recommended); Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 200, or XP (Local administrator rights are required to install and open the OED for the first time on a PC running Windows NT 4 and to install and run the OED on Windows 2000 and XP); 1.1 GB hard disk space to run the OED from the CD-ROM and 1.7 GB to install the CD-ROM to the hard disk: SVGA monitor: 800 x 600 pixels: 16-bit (64k, high color) setting recommended. Please note: for the upgrade, installation requires the use of the OED CD-ROM v2.0.

This volume draws together highly detailed studies of how dictionaries are used by different types of users, from school students to senior professors, working with a foreign language with the help of different types of dictionaries, from monolingual dictionaries for native speakers of the foreign language, through bilingual dictionaries, to monolingual dictionaries in the language of the user. The tasks being carried out include L2-L1 translation, L1-L2 translation, L2 comprehension, self-expression in L2, and various project-specific linguistic exercises. The authors have tried to include enough detail to allow readers to replicate the tests, and adapt them to serve their own interests.

Until now, there has been very little research into the use of online dictionaries. In contrast, the market for online dictionaries is increasing both for academic lexicography and for commercial lexicography, with sales figures for printed reference works in continual decline. This has led to a demand for reliable empirical information on how online dictionaries are actually being used and how they could be made more user-friendly. The volume Using Online Dictionaries makes a substantial contribution to closing this research gap. It is divided into four parts: The first part contains articles on fundamental issues: a research review of the empirical studies on digital dictionaries which have already been carried out, and a brief methodological guideline for lexicographical researchers who are interested in conducting their own empirical research. The second part contains the results of two studies that focus on general questions about the use of online dictionaries. It presents empirical data on contexts of dictionary use, on expectations and demands regarding online dictionaries. Furthermore, innovative features, such as the use of multimedia elements or the option of a user-adaptive interface and questions of design were assessed empirically. The third part of this volume comprises more specific studies of online dictionaries: an eye-tracking study evaluating the new web design of the dictionary portal OWID and a log file study which tries to get to the bottom of the following question: Do dictionary users look up frequent words, or put differently, is there a connection between how often a word is looked up and how often it appears in a corpus? In the last chapter of this thematic section, the question of how users judge the combination of a written paraphrase and an additional illustration in illustrated online dictionaries is addressed. The last part focuses on the use of monolingual dictionaries, in particular the German online dictionary elexiko. In this context, two online questionnaire-based studies were carried out. The empirical studies were conducted in the form of online surveys combining questionnaires and experimental elements and in the form of laboratory studies using eye-tracking technology as well as using observational methods such as log file analyses. Regarding the comprehensive research framework, this volume can be relevant to lexicographers, metalexicographers and linguists who are interested in the use of (online) dictionaries and in the development and exploration of lexicographical data for the internet, as well as linguists interested in empirical methods. It addresses a broad expert audience by presenting an academic subject which is currently the focus of much discussion.

Mastering the American Accent is an easy-to-follow approach for reducing the accent of non-native speakers of English. Well-sequenced lessons in the book correspond over eight hours of audio files covering the entire text. The audio program provides clear models (both male and female) to help coach a standard American accent. The program is designed to help users speak Standard American English with clarity, confidence, and accuracy. The many exercises in the book concentrate on topics such as vowel sounds, problematic consonants such as V, W, TH, the American R and T and others. Correct lip and tongue positions for all sounds are discussed in detail. Beyond the production of sounds, the program provides detailed instruction in prosodic elements such as syllable stress, emphasis, intonation, linking words for smoother speech flow, common word contractions, and much more. Additional topics that often confuse ESL students are also discussed and explained. They include distinguishing between casual and formal speech, homophones (e.g., they're and there), recognizing words with silent letters (e.g., comb, receipt), and avoiding embarrassing pronunciation mistakes, such as mixing up "pull" and "pool." Students are familiarized with many irregular English spelling rules and exceptions, and are shown how such irregularities can contribute to pronunciation errors. A native language guide references problematic accent issues for 13 different language backgrounds. Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.

Until now, there has been very little research into the use of online dictionaries. In contrast, the market for online dictionaries is increasing both for academic lexicography and for commercial lexicography, with sales figures for printed reference works in continual decline. This has led to a demand for reliable empirical information on how online dictionaries are actually being used and how they could be made more user-friendly. The volume Using Online Dictionaries makes a substantial contribution to closing this research gap. It is divided into four parts: The first part contains articles on fundamental issues: a research review of the empirical studies on digital dictionaries which have already been carried out, and a brief methodological guideline for lexicographical researchers who are interested in conducting their own empirical research. The second part contains the results of two studies that focus on general questions about the use of online dictionaries. It presents empirical data on contexts of dictionary use, on expectations and demands regarding online dictionaries. Furthermore, innovative features, such as the use of multimedia elements or the option of a user-adaptive interface and questions of design were assessed empirically. The third part of this volume comprises more specific studies of online dictionaries: an eye-tracking study evaluating the new web design of the dictionary portal OWID and a log file study which tries to get to the bottom of the following question: Do dictionary users look up frequent words, or put differently, is there a connection between how often a word is looked up and how often it appears in a corpus? In the last chapter of this thematic section, the question of how users judge the combination of a written paraphrase and an additional illustration in illustrated online dictionaries is addressed. The last part focuses on the use of monolingual dictionaries, in particular the German online dictionary elexiko. In this context, two online questionnaire-based studies were carried out. The empirical studies were conducted in the form of online surveys combining questionnaires and experimental elements and in the form of laboratory studies using eye-tracking technology as well as using observational methods such as log file analyses. Regarding the comprehensive research framework, this volume can be relevant to lexicographers, metalexicographers and linguists who are interested in the use of (online) dictionaries and in the development and exploration of lexicographical data for the internet, as well as linguists interested in empirical methods. It addresses a broad expert audience by presenting an academic subject which is currently the focus of much discussion.

The book begins with a review of research into dictionary use. A number of experimental design problems are discussed, in particular the unreliability of questionnaire responses, and the need for detailed accounts of individual dictionary consultations whilst sampling in numbers sufficient to represent specified populations. The experiments reported in subsequent chapters investigate issues raised in the review. The first two studies find that dictionary use during a reading comprehension test affected completion speed but not test scores. The apparent failure of dictionary use to improve comprehension is attributed to the test itself, the dictionaries, and the users' choice of look-up words. The ability of users to interpret dictionary entries is investigated in three further studies which use computers to gather data on large numbers of individual consultations. The findings indicate that there is little difference between three major EFL dictionaries in terms of speed of consultation and overall productive success. They also indicate that Malaysian ESL subjects, who have higher vocabulary scores, are slower in their reading and less successfull in their interpretation of entries than Portuguese EFL subjects. Finally, the findings suggest that overall productive success is unaffected by the presence or absence of examples. The experimental findings lead to the conclusion that dictionary consultation is a process in which users match pre-existing beliefs about word meaning and behaviour against segments in the dictionary entry. Such segments are often selected because they are familiar-sounding and conceptually accessible, but may contain only incomplete or non-essential information. Where pre-existing beliefs and dictionary information conflict, dictionary information is sometimes overridden. Thus word knowledge acquired from a single consultation is often insufficient to ensure productive success. Although it is probably inevitable that word knowledge will be acquired slowly, through multiple encounters, modifications to the dictionary entry and the training of users might help to avoid serious misinterpretation of dictionary information.