Acknowledgments


Second Edition Acknowledgments

Writing a new book from scratch is certainly a formidable task, especially for a first-time author. However, I found developing the second edition almost as challenging, although for different reasons. It would have been an impossible task if it were not for the support of colleagues, friends, and family. Further, the opportunity and motivation to write the second edition would certainly not have been there had it not been for the enthusiastic support, kind words, and well-intentioned criticisms I received from the readers of the first edition.

I must again thank my editor, Simon St.Laurent, for his seemingly infinite patience in the face of my many missed deadlines, as well as for his sage advice in numerous matters big and small.

The second edition of XSLT Cookbook would not have been possible without the Herculean efforts of Michael Kay in not only serving as editor of both the XPath 2.0 and XSLT 2.0 working drafts, but more importantly in providing a high-quality free implementation of both in Saxon 8.

I also must thank Evan Lenz and Mike Fitzgerald for their excellent and complementary efforts at technical editing. Should the reader find an explanation that is technically unclear, imprecise, or flat out wrong, it is most likely the fault of yours truly for stubbornly ignoring or misunderstanding their suggestions.

Much of my experience in XPath 2.0 and XSLT 2.0 came from my work on the SD Times web site (www.sdtimes.com). I would like to thank Ted Bahr and Alan Zeichick of BZ Media for giving me the opportunity to reengineer their site and thank them and Rebecca Pappas for their patience when competing with this book for my time. I also must thank my clients and friends at SIAC, especially Carol Spiewak, Frank Carrera, Bert Spielman, Amy Hui, and Diana Verkavits, for providing the many challenging assignments that have gone a long way to shaping my skills as a software developer.

Finally, I want to thank my wife, Wanda, and sons, Leonardo and Salvatore, for suffering through another book with me. I know it is no fun watching Daddy sit in front of his computer, especially when we could be having all kinds of fun outside and getting into all kinds of trouble at Mommy's expense! However, I hope you will eventually learn that hard work and dedication has it own special rewards as long as you take little breaks to goof off (and tell jokes about things that are broken and have cracks in them!).

First Edition Acknowledgments

Writing a book has always been a dream of mine, and I am very pleased that O'Reilly was the publisher that helped me realize this dream. However, this was far from a solo effort. Many people helped me achieve this goal, and I would like to take some time to acknowledge their contributions.

First, I want to thank Simon St.Laurent, my editor at O'Reilly. Simon was with me every step of the way, from the initial hastily written email proposal through the final stages of production. Simon was always there to reassure me and share in the joy and frustration that is inevitable in any creative endeavor.

Second, I want to thank Jeni Tennison, my primary technical editor. Jeni's technical expertise and attention to detail are unparalleled. Not only did Jeni correct both my boneheaded and less-obvious mistakes, but she graciously contributed code and ideas to this book as she so generously does each day in the many XML-related mail groups she belongs to. (Any mistakes that remain are most definitely the fault of my own latent boneheadedness.) Jeni is truly unique, and I am sure the XML community will join me in thanking her for all her contributions and unselfish help.

Third, I would like to thank all my colleagues at Morgan Stanley for providing encouragement and praise for this workespecially my boss, Farid Khalili, for being understanding when I had to rush or stay home to make a deadline, and his boss, John Reynolds, for promoting my book to the entire Fixed Income Development department that he heads. I would also like to thank my former client SIAC and especially Karen Halbert for allowing me to spearhead a project that first honed my XSLT skills.

Fourth, I would like to thank those who graciously contributed material to this book, including Steve Ball, John Breen, Jason Diamond, Nikita Ogievetsky, and Jeni Tennison. I also want to thank the later technical editors, Micah Dubinko and Jirka Kosek, whose comments and suggestions were extremely helpful, as well as the O'Reilly production staff who helped bring this work to fruition.

Finally, I want to thank my parents, family, and friends. As always, you have sustained and nourished me and helped me keep a balanced life. Most of all, I want to thank my wife, Wanda, and son, Leonardo, without whose moral support and numerous sacrifices this book would have not been possible. Thank you, Wanda, for all the things you did that should have rightly been mine to do as I slaved in the dungeon! Thank you, Leonardo, for saying, "Daddy, you work" when I know you really wanted to say, "Daddy, we play!" Both of you and our child to be will always be my greatest success story.




XSLT Cookbook
XSLT Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for XML and XSLT Developers, 2nd Edition
ISBN: 0596009747
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 208
Authors: Sal Mangano

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