Writing a book is always exciting, but along with it come long hours of hard work, straining to get things done accurately and correctly. To make a book possible, a lot of unsung heroes work tirelessly behind the scenes. For this, I would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of special people who made this book possible.

First, I want to thank my acquisitions editor Devon Lewis, who was my first point of contact for this book. Thank you, Devon, for giving me this opportunity and for your trust in me!

Next, a huge thanks to Gary Schwartz, my project editor, who was always a pleasure to work with. Gary is always contactable, even when he is at the airport! Gary has been very patient with me, even though I have missed several of my deadlines for the book. I know it threw a spanner into his plan, but he is always accommodating. Working with him, I know my book is in good hands. Thank you very much, Gary!

Equally important is my technical editor—Doug Mahugh. Doug has been very eager‐eyed editing and testing my code, and never fails to let me know if things do not work the way I intended. Thanks for catching my errors and making the book a better read, Doug! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my production editor—Barath Kumar Rajasekaran. Without his hard work, this book would not be even possible. Thanks, Barath!

Last, but not least, I want to thank my parents and my wife, Sze Wa, for all the support they have given me. They have selflessly adjusted their schedules to accommodate my busy schedule when I was working on this book. I love you all!