DNS & BIND Cookbook

Colophon

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 DNS and BIND Cookbook is an opossum. Opossums are solitary, nocturnal mammals. They can be found in forests, fields, marshes, and farmlands, living in hollow trees, old buildings, and the abandoned dens of other animals. Opossums have clawless opposable toes on their hind feet that they can use like thumbs to grasp and hold onto branches. They can also hang by their tails for short periods of time. Opossums are the only North American marsupial: their young are born partially developed, and then carried by the female in a pouch called a marsupium for seven to ten weeks. The North American opossum is called the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

Opossums are not aggressive. The phrase “playing possum” comes from an involuntary behavior the opossum exhibits when frightened: it rolls over, closes its eyes, and lays still. As its heartbeat slows, the animal gives the appearance of death, causing many predators to lose interest. When the opossum recovers from its shock, it wakes up and walks away. Opossum predators include foxes, coyotes, owls, and cars.

Colleen Gorman was the production editor and the proofreader for DNS and BIND Cookbook. Linley Dolby and Jane Ellin provided quality control. Lucie Haskins ...