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 JXTA in a Nutshell is a prairie dog. Prairie dogs, named for the barking sound of their cries, are large, bushy rodents that can be found in the prairies and plateaus of the western United States and northern Mexico. They live in burrows that form colonies, or "towns". There are two main species of prairie dogs. The black-tailed variety (Cynomys ludovicianus) is more abundant, inhabiting the Great Plains and the Great Basin. This species digs burrows that can be many miles long and include thousands of individuals. The other variety, the white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus), occurs in higher altitudes than its black-tailed counterpart. While most species of prairie dog are less active in the wintertime, the white-tailed prairie dog hibernates for the entire season. It is also less colonial than C. ludovicianus.
Prairie dogs weigh 1 1/2-3 pounds. They are 11-13 inches long,with a tail of 3-4 inches. Their heads are round and wide, and their fur is varying shades of yellow, with darker ears and a whitish underside. They often raise themselves on their haunches and sit upright in rows (a behavior often referred to as "picket pins" in some areas), and can reach a speed of up to 35 miles per hour for short distances. When danger approaches, the prairie dog will let out a warning bark and retreat into their burrows. They eat mostly native plant life, which consists of grasses, roots, weeds, herbs, and blossoms, but will occasionally dine on insects. All of their water is supplied from the food they eat.
The warning calls that prairie dogs use make up one of the most intricate systems of natural animal languages known to scientists. Amazingly, prairie dogs seem to have particular barks that identify different predators, including hawks, owls, ravens, eagles, badgers, coyotes, ferrets, and snakes.
A female prairie dog will give birth to one litter a year, each consisting of 3-5 young. When born, a prairie dog is blind and hairless. At six weeks old, it ventures above ground and is ready for weening. Adult prairie dogs will often relocate and dig new burrows, leaving their young to fend for themselves. Once deprived of the warning system, young prairie dogs are easy prey for predators. Matt Hutchinson was the production editor and proofreader for JXTA in a Nutshell. Sarah Jane Shangraw copyedited the book. David Futato and Colleen Gorman provided quality control. Lucie Haskins wrote the index.
Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an original illustration created by Lorrie LeJeune. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font. David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted 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. This colophon was written by Matt Hutchinson.
