This book would not exist without the help and support of the people in my life, who supported and encouraged this passion to grow and develop further. I'd like to thank my wife, Lena Kovalenko, for tolerating and putting up with my neediness and endless torrent of useless trivia. Without her support, and my constant desire to impress her, I would not have taken any rewarding risks in my career. I would also like to thank my parents Nikolay and Svetlana Kovalenko for letting my brother, Vadim, and me learn from our own mistakes and have ample computer time, that is, after the dishes were washed, naturally.

I'd like to thank my family and friends who were supportive in this project and helped me: Lil Kovalenko, Vadim Kovalenko, David Tolley, Steve Fournier II (Steve-o, formally known as "Scuba Steve"), Josiah Weaver, and Alfredo Velasquez.

This book would not be accurate without the help of Alex Kogon, Dave Haeffner, Dave Hunt, and Anuj Chaudhary. Thank you all for considering all of my insane ideas and theories and giving me good feedback.

I'd like to thank Seth Lochen, Andy Duncan, Shinji Kuwayama, and Virgil Bistriceanu for being incredible managers who encouraged me to learn new skills and grow to be a better person.

Finally, I'd like to also thank my coworkers, from whom I've learned more programming skills than any book could have ever taught me: Scott Muc, Isa Goksu, Jack Calzaretta, Surya Gaddipati, Michael Standley, Valdis Vitayaudom, Gregory Blike, Jason Lantz, and Greg Smith.