Writing a book is both an uphill and demanding task that cannot be accomplished by a single person without the support of several others, and this book is no different. I would like to thank everyone who has played a role in helping me write this book or helped me in my career. I am indebted and grateful to everyone; however, I would like to mention a few people who have been extremely important to me over these last few months.

First of all, I have to thank the team of editors, reviewers, and the entire team at Packt Publishing for this book. I especially want to thank Izzat Contractor, who initially suggested me as the author of this book, Rahul Nair, the acquisition editor for this project, and also Arshiya Ayaz, my content editor.

I also want to thank all my friends and colleagues who have unconditionally supported me throughout the writing of this book and have given me great inspiration. I especially want to thank Diego Frasson for everything that he has taught me and Marco Ippolito who always reminded me that impossible projects become possible if you believe in them. You guys have given me a great dose of motivation, and this book simply wouldn't have been possible without you!

I want to thank the creators of RethinkDB. I am extremely thankful to the RethinkDB team and its great community. I also have to thank the entire open source community that contributed to the technologies on which RethinkDB is based. Without these technologies, the database and, in turn, this book would not have been possible.

Last but not least, I want to thank my mum Claire for understanding me and supporting me during my long hours of work and writing.