Acknowledgments

I couldn't have written this book without some early influences in both writing and programming. So I have to thank to Dick Holland, Keith Hull, Janet Constantanides, Phil Schlump, and Pat LaFollett for my education (only three of those were my teachers – Phil and Pat are former co-workers who are natural mentors). More recently, I have to thank John Sederberg, Terry Dexter, and Daniel Padilla for taking a chance on a guy whose degrees were not in computer science. Finally, I have to thank Mary Jackson (good friend and fabulous software developer) for putting me in touch with Steve Anglin at Apress.

Ewan Buckingham and Adam Heath have put up with a lot from me, as I went from working on the book full-time to writing all day at work and having to write part-time at home, too. That made my response time slower than anyone liked at times. Also, Ewan and my technical reviewer, Massimo Nadone, have had a number of good ideas that have made the book better than I could have done on my own. They are intelligent and conscientious professionals, and I thank them for their efforts.

Jay Bryant