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 animals on the cover of COM and .NET Component Services are moray and conger eels. Eels make up the 10 families of fish belonging to the order Arguilliformes. Known for their snakelike body with no hind fins, eels can move through water, mud, and rocky crevices. Most eels are less than three feet long, but freshwater conger eels can grow as large as nine feet. Until the 20th century, little was known about the life cycle and migration of eels. Scientists now know that American and European eels travel long distances during their reproductive cycles. The female eels generally mature in freshwater lakes and travel to the nearest ocean, often slithering over wet grass and mud during the journey. Then they swim or drift from Europe or North America to the Sargasso Sea. There, the females lay up to 20 million eggs and then die. The egg-larvae then drift either to North America (after one year) or back to Europe (after three years). After reaching their home continent, the eels complete their cycle by gathering at the mouths of rivers and swimming upstream. Eels are also known fortheir oily meat, cherished by some as a culinary delicacy. Ann Schirmer was the production editor for COM and .NET ComponentServices. Paulette Miley and Ann Schirmer were the copyeditors for the book. Ann Schirmer and Leanne Soylemez were the proofreaders. Claire Cloutier, Mary Brady, and Rachel Wheeler provided quality control. Kimo Carter, Ann Schirmer, and Sarah Sherman did interiorcomposition. Judy Hoer wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. Neil Walls converted the files from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker 5.5.6 using tools created by Mike Sierra. 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 written by Ann Schirmer.

Whenever possible, our books use a durable and flexible lay-flat binding.