The authors of this book work for Content Master Ltd., a technical authoring company in the United Kingdom specializing in the production of training and educational materials. For more information on Content Master, please see its Web site at www.contentmaster.com.
Martin Bond, B.Sc. M.Sc. C.Eng, M.B.C.S., was born near Manchester England in 1958. Martin left a budding academic career to develop parallel processing compilers for Inmos. Martin has designed and developed systems using C++, Java, and JavaScript and has developed training courses on Unix programming, Solaris security, Java programming, and XML. Martin has an honors degree and a masters degree in computer science from Aberystwyth, Wales, and is a European chartered engineer. Martin currently works as an IT trainer and consultant based in Cornwall, England.
Dan Haywood has been working on large and small software development projects for more than 12 years. These days, he fills his days with consulting, training and technical writing, specializing in OO design, Java and J2EE, Sybase technical consulting, and data modeling. Previously, Dan worked at Sybase Professional Services, performing a variety of roles, mostly in the financial industry, including architect, performance specialist, and project manager. Dan started his IT career at (what was then) Andersen Consulting, working as a developer on large-scale projects in government and in utilities. Dan is married and has a baby daughter.
Debbie Law B.Sc., was born in Romsey, England in 1959. Debbie started on compiler development for parallel processing systems, later working on the design and development of client server applications. As a technical manager for Siemens, she was one of a small group of select staff on an intensive learning program studying worldwide business practices, including several weeks at MIT and Harvard. Debbie has an honors degree in computer science from Southampton, England and currently works as an IT consultant based in Cornwall, England. Andy Longshaw is a consultant, writer, and educator specializing in J2EE, XML, and Web-based technologies and components, particularly the design and architecture decisions required to use these technologies successfully. Andy has been explaining technology for most of the last decade as a trainer and in conference sessions. A wild rumor suggests that some people have managed to stay awake in these sessions. Despite being well educated and otherwise fairly normal, Andy still subjects himself and his family to "trial by unpredictability" by watching Manchester City FC far more often than is healthy.
Peter Roxburgh graduated with a first class degree with honors in business, and has since followed a diverse career path. From his home in the medieval walled town of Conwy, North Wales, he authors a wide-variety of training courses, and books including Building .NET Applications for Mobile Devices (Microsoft Press, 2002). He has also written and contributed to a number of journals and Web sites on cutting-edge technologies.
Peter spends his spare time playing guitar and bouldering on nearby sea cliffs and mountain crags. When he is not strumming or risking life and limb, he enjoys spending relaxing and quality time with his daughter, Chloe.