Colophon

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects.

The animal on the cover of ASP.NET 2.0 Cookbook, Second Edition, is a thorny woodcock (Murex pecten). This carnivorous marine snail is indigenous to the IndoPacific region of the world and is commonly found in the shallow waters off the coast of Japan's sandy beaches. Averaging 13 centimeters in length, the woodcock's elongated shell contains a stunning spine of thorns, and at first glance might be mistaken for the skeleton of a fish. While scientists are uncertain of the evolutionary advantages of this shell structure, some theorize that it serves to help ward off fish and other predators. They also believe the woodcock's needles may prevent the creature from being lodged in the soft sand and mud of its habitat.

The thorny woodcock has been immortalized in Western folklore, in which it is commonly referred to as the Venus comb or mermaid's comb. The animal's shell of needles is mythically purported to be the definitive fine-toothed comb, ideally suited for brushing even the delicate hair of a goddess.

Shell collectors are also drawn to the unique beauty of the thorny woodcock. Although its shell is not particularly rare, it is quite fragile, and a woodcock with a fully intact skeleton of thorns is a highly prized specimen for the distinguished conchologist.

Matt Hutchinson was the production editor for ASP.NET 2.0 Cookbook, Second Edition. GEX, Inc. provided production services. Abby Fox, Genevieve d'Entremont, and Colleen Gorman provided quality control.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from Animate Creation. Karen Montgomery produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Keith Fahlgren to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano, Jessamyn Read, and Lesley Borash using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Sanders Kleinfeld.