Acknowledgments

First, thank you. You’re awesome. No, you really are, because you’ve picked up this book and made a commitment to improving your skills as a software developer. I wrote this book for people just like you, so thank you for reading.

Second, thank you, Dave Thomas, for believing in this idea and for your guidance over the years. It’s been an honor and a privilege to learn from you. Your encouragement on this book means a lot, and I appreciate your generosity with your time as you reviewed the exercises and offered suggestions. You and Andy continue to make the world better for programmers, and I’m grateful to be able to contribute to that in my small way.

A special thank you to Susannah Pfalzer. You always make my books better than they started out. You seem to catch all the right details, and you guide me to focus on what really matters. This is the sixth book you’ve helped me with, and I’m a better writer because of all your guidance over the years.

Next, thank you, Andy Hunt, Mike Reilly, Michael Swaine, Fahmida Rashid, and Bruce Tate, for your encouragement when I proposed this idea.

The programs in this book are ones I’ve been using to teach programming over the last ten years. Thank you to Zachary Baxter, Jordan Berg, Luke Chase, Dee Dee Dale, Jacob Donahoe, Alex Eckblad, Arrio Farugie, Emily Mikl, Aaron Miller, Eric Mohr, Zachary Solofra, Darren Sopiarz, Ashley Stevens, Miah Thalacker, Andrew Walley, and all the other students who’ve come through my classes and training sessions over the years. The feedback you’ve provided on my approach to teaching has helped me immensely. And thank you, Kyle Loewenhagen, Jon Cooley, and George Andrews, for helping me grow as a teacher with your feedback and insights.

Thank you, Deb Walsh, for your encouragement and incredible ideas on how to get the best out of students. We share core beliefs about teaching and learning, and I learn so much from our conversations. Thank you for sharing your experience and expertise with me and for your support of my teaching methods.

This book of exercises flows much better and is clarified by the fantastic feedback from a great mix of new and veteran software developers. Each reviewer put an incredible amount of time and effort into working through these problems in their favorite programming language, helping me identify things that didn’t make sense or needed improvement. Thank you, Chris C., Alex Henry, Jessica Janiuk, Chris Johnson, Aaron Kalair, Sean Lindsay, Matthew Oldham, Stephen Orr, Jason Pike, Jessica Stodola, Andrew Vahey, and Mitchell Volk, for donating your valuable time to test these exercises and provide suggestions and feedback.

Thank you to my business associates Mitch Bullard, Kevin Gisi, Chris Johnson, Jeff Holland, Erich Tesky, Myles Steinhauser, Chris Warren, and Mike Weber for your support.

Thank you, Carissa, my wonderful wife and best friend. Your love and support make this all possible. I am forever grateful for all you do for me and our girls.

Finally, thank you, Ana, for being awesome, and thank you, Lisa, for all the hugs and text messages while I was writing. And for keeping me company on the couch while I wrote this.