Java and XSLT

Colophon

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The animals on the cover of Java and XSLT are ermines, also known as stoats or short-tailed weasels. Mustela erminea are found around the world between the Arctic Circle and approximately 40 degrees north latitude. Their body length, not including tail, ranges from 7 to 12 inches, with proportionately sized tails from 3 to 6 inches long. They weigh between 1.5 and 11.5 ounces. Males are, on average, larger than females.

Ermines can both swim and climb trees, and though they live in such diverse habitats as grasslands, tundra, and deep forests, they tend to prefer rocky or brushy areas. They are carnivores and eat mostly rodents, but they also enjoy small rabbits and birds, fish, bugs, and eggs. (Whether they take their eggs sunny-side-up or over-easy is still a matter of great debate.)

Female ermines give birth to only one litter per year. The mating season is in the late spring, but after fertilization, the ermine embryos stop developing and do not implant in the uterus for several months. Once implantation occurs, gestation takes only about a month, and the babies are born in the spring of the year following fertilization.

Ermines can live up to eight years, but their lifespan in the wild tends to be only a year or less. Their main ...