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 insect on the cover of Learning WML and WMLScript is a mosquito (Nematocera culicidae).
The mosquito is a flying, bloodsucking insect best known, and even feared, for its biting and spreading of disease. There are approximately 2,500 species of mosquitoes in the world, with over 150 species in North America.
Mosquitoes usually live close to a water source because the larva must develop in water, which can be anything from a running stream to stagnant water in a birdbath. Depending on the species, a mosquito's life span is between two weeks and a few months. Some can hibernate at temperatures below 50 degrees F, but others can't survive in temperatures that low.
Only female mosquitoes bite; males do not. Females must bite because they need blood to develop their eggs. They bite once per batch of eggs, and a female can lay several batches in her lifetime, which multiplies into many generations of mosquitoes per year. Both sexes feed primarily on nectar and other plant and fruit liquids.
Mosquitoes are attracted to humans, and other mammals, by the carbon dioxide exhaled when breathing. Other factors also contribute, such as body odor, body heat, and sweat, and sometimes perfumes, deodorants, and detergents.
Mosquito bites are more than just itchy and annoying, however. The real potential danger is that mosquitoes can be carriers and transmitters of many serious diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, and the West Nile virus in humans, heartworm in dogs, and Eastern equine encephalitis in horses. As a result, there are many efforts all over the world to control mosquito populations. Mary Anne Weeks Mayo was the production editor and copyeditor forLearning WML and WMLScript. Nicole Arigo proofread the book. Rachel Wheeler, Emily Quill, and Jane Ellin provided quality control. John Bickelhaupt wrote the index.
Ellie Volckhausen 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.
Alicia Cech and David Futato designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Mike Sierra implemented the design in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book; the code font is Constant Willison. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Nicole Arigo.
