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 animal on the cover of MSCD in a Nutshell: The Visual Basic Exams is a purple-capped, or purple-naped, lory (Lorius domicellus). Lories constitute one third of all parrots, an order of birds characterized by their brilliantly colored feathers, zygodactylous feet (two toes pointing frontward, two pointing backward), and hooked beaks. Parrots dwell in tropical forests, where they feed on fruit, buds, seeds, and pollen, furthering forest propagation.

Each lory species' distinctive coloring provides its common name. The purple-capped lory sports a red body with a yellow breast, green wings, violet thighs, reddish-brown tail, orange bill, and an identifying purple streak on the back of its head. Purple-capped lories live nomadic lives-singly or in pairs-over the Indonesian Moluccan islands Seram and Ambon. Almost all parrot species are in danger of extinction due to habitat loss and trapping for trade as pets. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) helps to protect parrot species, but the purple-capped lory may already be extinct on Ambon Island. Only breeding programs can save the purple-capped lory now. Jeffrey Holcomb was the production editor for MSCD in a Nutshell: The Visual Basic Exams. Ann Houska was the copyeditor. Sarah Jane Shangraw proofread the text. Catherine Morris and Leanne Soylemez provided quality control. Molly Shangraw, Mary Sheehan, and Ann Schirmer provided production support. Pamela Murray wrote the index.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Alicia Cech and David Futato designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Mike Sierra implemented the design in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Rhon Porter using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Sarah Jane Shangraw.

Whenever possible, our books use a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. If the page count exceeds this binding's limit, perfect binding is used.