I had a lot of help throughout the writing and publishing process. First and foremost, I want to thank Helen Stergius at Manning, who gave me a lot of support during the development of the manuscript. She was always positive and cheerful, and she helped me get the book to the finish line. Other editors who helped along the way include Supriya Savkoor, Susie Pitzken, and Sean Dennis.
Jonathan Thoms and Karsten Strøbaek provided a detailed technical reading and proofing during the manuscript phase. They can take the credit when the code and examples work well.
Kevin Sullivan and his team took my drawings and made them much clearer. Sharon Wilkey copyedited the manuscript and made the words gleam. Mary Piergies, with Janet Vail, oversaw the production of the book through layout and printing.
Aleksandar Dragosavljevic managed the peer reviews for this book. Each reviewer weighed in on issues big and small, and in doing so, helped improve the book. Their names: Art Bergquist, Boris Vasile, Changgeng Li, Ernesto Cardenas Cangahuala, Harinath Mallepally, Kathleen Estrada, Keith Webster, Luciano Favaro, Michel Graciano, Miguel Biraud, Mohsen Mostafa Jokar, Nacho Ormeño, Nitin Gode, Patrick Dennis, Ralph Leibmann, Richard Butler, Scott King, Stuart Ellis, and Travis Nelson.
Ozren Harlovic, review editor, was the first person at Manning who noticed my interest in writing a book. Michael Stephens, Manning’s associate publisher, got me to sign on the dotted line.