Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Frank Pohlmann and Jessica Belanger at Apress, who were instrumental in getting this book off the ground and into the hands of the PHP community. Having written a few other PHP books for various publishers, I was initially reluctant to commence this additional writing task, but Frank twisted my arm and got me to commit. I thank him for the encouragement and opportunity; we have become good friends in the process as well, so there is more value in this project than just writing more about PHP.

The technical editor, Thomas Meyer, and the copy editor, Tracy Brown, also did a bang-up job, and I tip my hat to you all as well.

To my coauthors, thanks! This has been a great journey and I have grown and learned a lot from each of you. Working with authors with different backgrounds, nationalities, and expertise is always a pleasure and a growth exercise.

Peter MacIntyre

I would like to thank my companion, Tressa, for supporting and putting up with me while I hid away to work on this book. Thanks to my mom and dad, my brother, Robert, and sister, Karen, for always believing in me and what I do – even though they do not know what I do, exactly. I would also like to thank my coauthors, Peter and Mladen, and the entire Apress team.

Brian Danchilla

I have learned a great deal from those who have worked with me over the years, and I gratefully acknowledge my debt to them, especially my colleagues from Video Monitoring Services, Vinod Mummidi and Arik Itkis, with whom I engaged in endless discussions about the language concepts. My manager, Gerry Louw, was also very supportive and helpful. I would also like to express my thanks to our coordinating editor, Jessica Belanger of Apress, for her enthusiastic and expert guidance, without which this book wouldn't have happened, and to Peter MacIntyre and Brian Danchilla, my coauthors, for tirelessly proofreading the drafts and giving me suggestions that were crucial for the book. I am also truly grateful to Tom Welsh and Tim Hawkins for all their efforts and good ideas, many of which have found their rightful place in this book. Last, but certainly not least, I have to express my eternal gratitude to my wife, Beba, and son, Marko, for their love, support, and patience during the writing of this book.

Mladen Gogala