About the Authors
Barry Burd received an M.S. degree in Computer Science at Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Illinois. As a teaching assistant in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, he was elected five times to the university-wide List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students.
Since 1980, Dr. Burd has been a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He has lectured at conferences in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia. He is the author of several articles and books, including Java For Dummies, Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies, and Java Programming for Android Developers For Dummies, all from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Barry lives in Madison, New Jersey with his wife of 40 years. In his spare time, Barry enjoys eating chocolate and avoiding exercise. You can reach Barry at [email protected].
John Mueller is a freelance author and technical editor. He has writing in his blood, having produced 115 books and more than 600 articles to date. The topics range from networking to artificial intelligence and from database management to heads-down programming. Some of his current books include discussions of data science, machine learning, and algorithms. His technical editing skills have helped more than 70 authors refine the content of their manuscripts. John has provided technical editing services to various magazines, performed various kinds of consulting, and writes certification exams. Be sure to read John’s blog at http://blog.johnmuellerbooks.com/. You can reach John on the Internet at [email protected]. John also has a website at http://www.johnmuellerbooks.com/. Be sure to follow John on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/John-Mueller/.
Barry’s Dedication
For Harriet, Sam, and Jennie; Sam and Ruth; Abram and Katie; Benjamin and Jennie. And also for Basheva.
John’s Dedication
This book is dedicated to my long-time friend and technical editor Russ Mullen. The two of us have worked on so many projects together that it boggles the mind. I’ll miss him greatly and wish him well on his continued journey.
Barry’s Acknowledgments
I heartily and sincerely thank Katie Mohr for her hard work and support in so many ways. Thanks to Guy Hart-Davis and Susan Christophersen for their efforts in editing this book. Thanks to the staff at John Wiley & Sons, Inc. for helping to bring this book to bookshelves. Thanks to Jeanne Boyarsky, Frank Greco, Chandra Guntur, and Michael Redlich for their advice on technical matters. And a special thanks to Richard Bonacci, Peter Lubbers, and Cameron McKenzie for their long-term help and support.
John’s Acknowledgments
Thanks to my wife, Rebecca. Even though she is gone now, her spirit is in every book I write, in every word that appears on the page. She believed in me when no one else would.
Guy Hart-Davis deserves my thanks for his technical edit. I’m looking forward to continued work with him.
Matt Wagner, my agent, deserves credit for helping me get the contract in the first place and taking care of all the details that most authors don’t really consider. I always appreciate his assistance. It’s good to know that someone wants to help.
A number of people read all or part of this book to help me refine the approach, test application code, verify the extensive text, and generally provide input that all readers wish they could have. These unpaid volunteers helped in ways too numerous to mention here. I especially appreciate the efforts of Eva Beattie, who provided general input, read the entire book, and selflessly devoted herself to this project.
Finally, I would like to thank Katie Mohr, Susan Christophersen, and the rest of the editorial and production staff.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Acquisitions Editor: Katie Mohr
Project and Copy Editor: Susan Christophersen
Technical Editor: Guy Hart-Davis
Proofreader: Debbye Butler
Production Editor: Umar Saleem
Cover Image: © kirill_makarov/Shutterstock