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 ADO.NET in a Nutshell is an African spoonbill (Platalea alba). The African spoonbill a long-legged wading bird distinguished by a bare red face and legs, all-white plumage, and a long spatulate bill, the inside of which reacts to touch, causing the bill to snap shut on its prey. It feeds by fishing in shallow water, swinging its open bill from side to side.

The African spoonbill's habitat includes the lakes, marshes, rivers, and estuaries of southern Africa. A shy and alert bird, it's usually found singly but can also be encountered in pairs or in groups. It is usually silent except for an occasional grunt when alarmed. It flies with its neck and legs extended, flapping its wings steadily in the air.

At birth, this bird's beak is short; it gradually develops into its spoon-like shape. Following a spring courtship, eggs are laid in a nest platform of sticks or reeds in a tree near water; however, nests can also be found in swamp reeds, among rocks, marsh plants, or on cliffs. Males and females share incubation and feeding the young for about 20 to 30 days. Young birds begin to fly after another four weeks.

Mary Anne Weeks Mayo was the production editor and copyeditor for ADO.NET in a Nutshell. Ann Schirmer proofread the book. Matt Hutchinson and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Reg Aubry, Sue Willing, Genevieve d'Entremont, and Judy Hoer provided production assistance. Brenda Miller wrote the index.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an illustration from the 1898 edition of Animate Creation Illustrated. Bret Kerr produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font. David Futato designed and produced the CD label with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Bret Kerr designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. This book was converted by Mike Sierra 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 and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was compiled by Mary Anne Weeks Mayo.

The online edition of this book was created by the Safari production group (John Chodacki, Becki Maisch, and Madeleine Newell) using a set of Frame-to-XML conversion and cleanup tools written and maintained by Erik Ray, Benn Salter, John Chodacki, and Jeff Liggett.