A book project is rarely a solo undertaking. The insights of many defined and enriched the material presented here. Writing a book is like running a marathon. And having a great team makes all the difference.

Many thanks to my editor Michael Stephens and Manning publisher Marjan Bace for defining the vision and making the project a reality.

Thanks to development editor Jeff Bleiel for making the chapters user-friendly. I am grateful to copyeditor Benjamin Berg and to technical proofreader Robert Horvick for catching errors and offering suggestions that made the content more readable and relevant. Thanks to project editor Mary Piergies for keeping the endeavor on track and to Karen Tegtmeyer for coordinating the reviews. Thanks to proofreader Katie Tennant for her extraordinary patience as we went back and forth on changes. The Manning team was a pleasure to work with and I’m grateful for their professional support.

My heartfelt thanks to reviewers Buck Hodges, Michael Ruminer, Benjamin Day, Steven Borg, Martin Woodward, Willy-Peter Schaub, Dave Corun, Eric Swanson, Christian Siegers, Derik Whittaker, David Barkol, Alpana Prasad, and many others for their input and feedback. Without their guidance and mentorship, the book would not be what it is today. Thanks to the technical team at Orion Informatics—Shafqat Ahmed, Zakir Hossain, Omar Raihan, Manojit Paul, Rabiul Islam, and Farzana Samad—for ensuring the accuracy of the code.

Finally, my love and gratitude to my dear wife Rokeya Khan for tolerating the late nights, mood swings, and abrogation of family responsibilities. How could I not also thank my young sons, Nasif and Zarif, for believing that someday I’ll tear myself from the computer and show them the magical place where the earth meets the sky!