High Performance Python

Colophon

The animal on the cover of High Performance Python is a fer-de-lance. Literally “iron of the spear” in French, the name is reserved by some for the species of snake (Bothrops lanceolatus) found predominantly on the island of Martinique. It may also be used to refer to other lancehead species like the Saint Lucia lancehead (Bothrops caribbaeus), the common lancehead (Bothrops atrox), and the terciopelo (Bothrops asper). All of these species are pit vipers, so named for the two heat-sensitive organs that appear as pits between the eyes and nostrils.

The terciopelo and common lancehead account for a particularly large share of the fatal bites that have made snakes in the Bothrops genus responsible for more human deaths in the Americas than any other genus. Workers on coffee and banana plantations in South America fear bites from the common lanceheads hoping to catch a rodent snack. The purportedly more irascible terciopelo is just as dangerous, when not enjoying a solitary life bathing in the sun on the banks of Central American rivers and streams.

Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to animals.oreilly.com.

The cover image is from Wood’s Animate Creation. The cover fonts are URW Typewriter and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.