A basic knowledge of the Scala programming language is required in order to understand the hands-on topics throughout this book. Basic knowledge of machine learning will also be helpful for a better understanding of the deep learning theory. Preliminary knowledge or experience with Apache Spark isn't necessary, as the first chapter covers all of the topics regarding the Spark ecosystem. A good knowledge of Python is required only in order to understand the Keras and TensorFlow models that can be imported in DL4J.
In order to build and execute the code examples in this book, Scala 2.11.x, Java 8, Apache Maven, and your IDE of choice are required.