Acknowledgments

Writing a book is a time-consuming effort that takes a lot of time away from the family. It’s a sacrifice that my wife, Kelly, and my two children, Matthieu and Chloé, allowed me to make with the promise to catch up once the project is complete. I am very grateful for their patience and for allowing me to finish this project. I am now realizing that the catching up time has come and I am very excited about that.

With every edition we get new readers who don’t hesitate to let us know what they liked or disliked, and what they would like to see in the next edition. I am grateful for all the passion some exhibit when talking about this book, and I am also grateful for all those who bring their ideas to help us improve with each edition.

A project like this often seems overwhelming at first. The more we think through the chapters, decide how to organize them, and conjecture about everything that needs to be said, the more we get the feeling we’ve stretched ourselves very thin. But the amazing Apress team has been there for us the whole way. They really took a lot of the weight off our shoulders by providing guidance, by helping organize our work, and by providing the collaborative tools we needed. They are truly a next-generation publishing company.

This book would not exist without the support of Availity, the company I work for. Everyone from leadership, including Trent Gavazzi, Mary Anne Orenchuk, Jack Hunt, and Steve Vaughn, often came to check on how the book was going. Some of our engineers also liked offering suggestions and voicing their support: Rob McGuinness, Ed McNeil, Herve Devos, Kelly Burton. They are all great to work with and I thank them all for their support.

Finally, I would like to dedicate a paragraph to the coauthor of this book, who refuses to admit, publicly at least, that he’s awesome. Rob Warner loves producing quality work. He is infatuated with the beauty of software designs and languages and can even turn code into prose. I thank him for the opportunity to work with him once again.

—Michael Priva

My daughter Leila has reminded me several times that she merits more of a starring role in this book than I’ve given her in past books, so this is my opportunity to show her and the rest of my family what stars they are in my life. I love my beautiful wife, Sherry, and my wonderful children, Tyson, Jacob, Mallory, Camie, and Leila. I’m grateful for their encouragement and support—even when said encouragement takes the form of calling me a nerd. I’m so blessed y’all are in my life.

I’m also thankful to my parents, who bought us our first computer (an Atari 400), encouraged our learning, and buy copies of every book I write even though they never read them. My siblings and in-laws always do a great job of asking how the book is coming and politely feigning interest in the subject matter. I have a great family.

This has been another great writing experience with the incredible folks at Apress, and I thank them for their patience and insight. The army of folks required to bring a book to fruition has never been more apparent, so I’m clearer now than I’ve ever been that many people have invested thankless time and effort into this book’s publication. Special thanks to Steve Anglin, Jill Balzano, Anamika Panchoo, Matthew Moodie, Douglas Pundick, Ron Natalie, and anyone else who had a hand in publishing this book.

Thanks as well to all our readers for their questions, feedback, praise, and criticism. We pour our minds and hearts into making this the best information we can, and we are always seeking for ways to improve the material or make it more accessible.

Working with Michael on yet another project is an amazing privilege. I continue to hope he doesn’t tire of me, as I learn so much every time I work with him. I thank him for his patience, dedication, persistence, and expertise.

I work for an amazing company. Availity gives me the opportunity to produce and make a difference every day. Working with an array of such bright people keeps me on my toes! I don’t have space to name them all, of course, but I’ll add a particular thanks to the folks in leadership (Trent Gavazzi, Jack Hunt, Mary Anne Orenchuk, Taryn Tresca, and Steve Vaughn) for their support. Thanks as well to Geoff Packwood for periodically checking in to make sure we’re moving the pile forward. I also get to work every day with an awesome team—Lori Creel, Mary Horn, Robert McGuinness, Robert Ventrone, and Ambur Wilson—as we try to build greatness.

—Rob Warner