Acknowledgments

There is no telling how many books never had a chance to be written because the potential authors had other family obligations to fulfill. I thank my wife, Kelly, and my children, Matthieu and Chloé, for allowing me to focus my time on this book for a few months and accomplish this challenge. Without their unconditional support and encouragement, I would not have been able to contribute to the creation of this book.

Working on this book with Rob Warner has been enlightening. I have learned a lot from him throughout this effort. His dedication to getting the job done correctly carried me when I was tired. His technical skills got me unstuck a few times when I was clueless. His gift for writing so elegantly and his patience have made my engineer jargon sound like nineteenth century prose.

I also thank the friendly and savvy Apress team who made the whole process work like a well-oiled machine. Jennifer Blackwell helped us through the entire project, guiding us through all the tasks that are required of authors. Douglas Pundick shared his editorial wisdom to keep this work readable, well organized and understandable; Steve Anglin, Matthew Moodie, Mary Behr, and the rest of the Apress folks were always around for us to lean on.

Robert Hamilton was once again a reliable watchdog to correct our technical mistakes. I'd also like to thank Brian Kohl for saving us from shaming ourselves at times with overly complicated code.

Finally, I thank the incredibly talented people of Availity who were supportive of this book from the very first day and make this company a great place to work at. Trent Gavazzi, Ben Van Maanen, Taryn Tresca, Herve Devos, and all the others offered friendship and encouragement. The last bit of thanks goes to Geoff Packwood for calling in regularly to check on the progress.

—Michael Privat

What a privilege it's been to write a second edition of Pro Core Data for iOS! I thank Apress for the opportunity, particularly Steve Anglin, Jennifer Blackwell, Douglas Pundick, Matthew Moodie, Mary Behr, and Robert Hamilton. It's good to get a second crack at an intriguing topic.

Thanks to everyone who read the first edition, provided feedback, posted reviews, e-mailed thanks and questions, and generally made us feel that all our efforts made a dent. We've tried to incorporate your feedback into this edition, and we welcome any praise, criticism, and questions.

I thank my wife, Sherry, and my children (Tyson, Jacob, Mallory, Camie, and Leila) for their support and encouragement. I promise to take some downtime now, at least for awhile.

Working with Michael both enlightened and humbled me. I learned so much, yet was reminded often of how much I have to learn. I thank Michael for his persistence and dedication.

Thanks also to my employer, Availity, for providing opportunities to keep my mind nimble and engaged. Naming names creates the dilemma of knowing where to stop, so I'll keep this purposely short: thanks to Trent for all the challenges, opportunities, and support. Thanks to Jon for letting me contribute to the Innovation Center. And thanks to Brian Kohl for the Code Jams! Finally, thanks to Mom, Dad, and my siblings and in-laws for asking, “How's the book coming?” and then listening to me describe all the details. Or at least pretending to.