Acknowledgments

It’s traditional in the acknowledgments section to make the point that writing a book is an enormous task and the author couldn’t have done it without the help and support of a cast of thousands, which generally turns the whole section into a kind of Oscar acceptance speech. Of course, this kind of acknowledgment means that the author gets all the credit if the book is a success but provides a convenient list of scapegoats to take the blame if it all goes horribly wrong. So, I’d like to make the point that writing a book is an enormous task and I couldn’t have done it without the help and support of a cast of thousands.

First of all, I’d like to thank my partner Rose, who, having patiently put up with my long working hours while I wrote the first edition, didn’t simply pack her bags and leave when I agreed to write a second edition only a year later! Instead, she took to keeping tropical fish Bob and Bob, and they’re doing very well thank you.

I also need to thank Alexander Vaschillo and the rest of the SQLXML team at Microsoft, who managed to take the time to answer my questions. Their guidance was particularly appreciated since their huge workload meant that they were frequently on line at the same time I was, despite an eight-hour time difference.

My colleagues at Content Master Ltd. have, as always, been a great help in reviewing material, making suggestions, and being generally supportive. I’m grateful to be working with such a great team of people. In particular, I want to mention Suzanne Carlino, who made sure I kept to the writing schedule without making me feel under the whip.

Finally, I want to thank Denise Bankaitis and her team at Microsoft Press for doing a great job of editing the manuscript and checking my sample code (although any errors are of course my fault, not theirs!). They’ve been great at correcting my grammar, spotting my typos (repeat one hundred times, XML is case sensitive, XML is case sensitive, …), and generally making sure the book says what I intended it to say.

I appreciate getting a chance to update this book, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Graeme Malcolm