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 Java Examples in a Nutshell, Third Edition, is an alligator. There are only two species of alligator: the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), found in the southeastern coastal plain of the United States, and the smaller Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis), found in the lower valley of the Yangtze River. Both alligators are related to the more widely distributed crocodile.

The alligator is a much-studied animal, so a great deal is known about its life cycle. Female alligators lay 30 to 80 eggs at a time. The mother allows the sun to incubate the eggs, but stays nearby. After about 60 days the eggs hatch, and the young call out for their mother. The mother then carries or leads them to the water, where they live with her for a year.

Alligators eat a varied diet of insects, fish, shellfish, frogs, water birds, and small mammals. Alligator attacks on humans are rare. Although normally slow-moving animals, alligators can charge quickly for short distances when they or their young are in danger.

Alligators have been hunted extensively for their skin. The American alligator was placed on the endangered species list in 1969, then declared to be out of danger in 1987. The Chinese alligator remains on the endangered list. Genevieve d'Entremont was the production editor and copyeditor for Java Examples in a Nutshell, Third Edition. Emily Quill, Reg Aubry, and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Jamie Peppard and Matt Hutchinson provided production assistance. Julie Hawks updated the index.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from Old Fashioned Animal Cuts. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. This book was converted by Joe Wizda 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 using Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Clairemarie Fisher O'Leary.