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 Oracle PL /SQL Developer s Workbook is a stag beetle (lucanus cervus). The stag beetle is a large, dark, tough beetle that is the largest insect in Britain. It gets its name from the male s elk-like antlers on its head, which can be as long as the body itself. These "antlers," which are actually part of the jaw and are called mandibles, are used to fight with other males, usually for a female and sometimes for food.

The stag beetle has thin, fragile wings that fold under the shell of its body. In order to fly, this shell lifts, the wings unfold, and the beetle flies awkwardly. It can also rub its wings together to make a sound that s intimidating to other insects.

Stag beetles feed on plant secretions, fruit, decaying wood, and wood sap, and thus prefer a habitat of trees and vegetation. The stag beetle is widespread in parts of England but is now far less common in Japan than it once was. This beetle s numbers are declining, and it is even on the endangered species list in some areas. Reasons for the diminishing numbers include loss of habitat, climate changes, collectors, and being killed by cars on the roads or by people stepping on them (whether accidentally or purposefully). Mary Anne Weeks Mayo was the copyeditor and production editor for Oracle PL/SQL Developer s Workbook. Maureen Dempsey and Emily Quill proofread the book. Mary Sheehan, Jeff Holcomb, Melanie Wang, and Jane Ellin provided quality control. Anna Snow and Judy Hoer provided production support.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book, using a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with Quark XPress 3.3 using Adobe s ITC Garamond font. The cover layout was produced with Quark XPress 3.32 using the ITC Garamond font. Whenever possible, our books use RepKover(TM), a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. If the page count exceeds RepKover's limit, perfect binding is used.

The interior layouts were designed by Alicia Cech and David Futato. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in this book were produced by Robert Romano and Rhon Porter using Macromedia Freehand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Nicole Arigo.