Acknowledgments

Writing this book has been a daunting task at times. I've relied on several people throughout this project for everything from technical assistance to help with the logistics of writing a book to encouragement and support. In particular, I thank Jeff Richter for his help throughout the project. Not only did Jeff help me get started, but his technical expertise and writing experience have been absolutely invaluable.

In addition, the following individuals helped make sure this book is technically accurate and easily readable: Dennis Angeline, Mason Bendixen, Chris Brown, Christopher Brumme, Alessandro Catorcini, Suzanne Cook, Mike Downen, Patrick Dussud, Greg Fee, Brian Grunkemeyer, Jonathan Hawkins, Jim Hogg, Jonathan Keljo, Sonja Keserovic, Jim Kieley, Raja Krishnaswamy, Tim Kurtzman, Bryan Lamos, Sebastian Lange, WeiWen Liu, Rudi Martin, Frank Peschel-Gallee, Sonia Pignorel, Mahesh Prakriya, Michael Rayhelson, Beysim Sezgin, Alan Shi, Craig Sinclair, Tarik Soulami, Jan Stranik, Sean Trowbridge, Dino Viehland, Kimberly Wolk, and Junfeng Zhang.

The people at Microsoft Press put in untold numbers of hours making sure everything fits together just so. They do an incredible job. As a first-time author, I certainly needed extra help at times. Thanks so much to Kathleen Atkins, Ben Ryan, Christina Palaia, Sally Stickney, and Robin Van Steenburgh for guiding me through this project and producing my book.

Finally, I'm eternally grateful for the people in my personal life who continue to give me so much love and support. In addition to my daughters Erin and Katherine and my wife Maraye, I'd also like to thank Zo Van Eaton and my parents Joe and Audrey Pratschner. I wouldn't have been able to reach this goal without all of you there to help me.