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 appearing on the cover of Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell is a Florida panther (Felis concolor coryi), one of the rarest mammals on the globe. These large cats feature a long slender tail, and are anywhere from pale to dark brown on the top of their bodies, and white to tan on the underside. Their ears, nose, and tip of their tail are almost black. Males range from 100­150 pounds and are seven feet long, while females range from 50­100 pounds and are six feet long. A female can produce one to four kittens every two years, and they become fertile just over the age of two. Florida panthers used to be found in several southeastern states in the U.S., but urbanization and agriculture have caused their habitat to drastically shrink to the point where these animals can now be found only in Florida. They require some forestation and underbrush, for hunting and nesting, though they can be found in swamplands, as well. They prey primarily on deer, wild hogs, raccoons, and birds. Florida panthers are highly endangered, with reports of only fifty remaining in the world. The biggest threat is loss of habitat. A few organizations are working to keep this animal from becoming extinct. There is a Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in the Big Cypress Watershed on which some female panthers have given birth to and raised their kittens. Nicole Arigo was the production editor for Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell. Nancy Crumpton provided production services and wrote the index. Nicole Arigo and Jane Ellin provided quality control. Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book, using an original drawing by Lorrie LeJeune. Kathleen Wilson produced the cover layout with Quark XPress 3.3 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font. Alicia Cech designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. The text was written in DocBook SGML with extensions developed by Chris Maden and David Flanagan for Java code; the design was implemented in gtroff by Lenny Muellner. Interior fonts are Adobe ITC Garamond and Adobe ITC Franklin Gothic. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Rhon Porter using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Nicole Arigo.