acknowledgments

It takes an incredible amount of work to produce a book. I believe this is a great book—and hope you’ll agree—but it wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it is without the help of a few people along the way.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my wife, Courtney. You have been supportive and encouraging through the entire process. You have carried the burden of this book with me. You even provided editorial support in a number of key places. I could not have done this without you.

The excellent staff at Manning worked hard with me to make this the best book it can be. Thanks go to Manning’s publisher, Marjan Bace, who saw the potential in this idea and the need for an updated edition. I thank my editors Toni Arritola and Sarah Harter for their commitment to quality. This is a much better book because of their input. Thanks go to my technical editor, Chris Chinchilla, for his insight throughout the writing process, and to Doyle Turner for a meticulous technical proofread of the final manuscript and all the code listings.