Java Web Services

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 Java™ Web Services is a European ibex. The European ibex, also called the Alpine ibex, is a wild goat that lives in the central and southern European Alps. The mammal used to be common in high altitudes of the Alps, but is now a rare and protected species. Male ibexes are distinguished by their long, semicircular horns, which can grow as long as 30 inches. When threatened, ibexes fight with their horns or hide in rocky areas.

The ibex has played a prominent role in Alpine life for thousands of years. Archeologists document 13,000-year-old paintings of ibexes in French caves that depict the animal as a hunting target. Alpine folklore, in which ibex body parts were considered powerful, also popularized hunting of the animal. Until the 18th century, the European ibex lived throughout the Austrian, French, Italian, and Swiss Alps and was hunted extensively. Within the next 200 years, the ibex’s habitat shrunk considerably, and herds were found only in northern Italy. Government protection and reintroduction efforts have expanded its habitat in recent decades. Ironically, hunting has also contributed to the recovery of the ibex population in Europe; the animal was reintroduced specifically as a trophy game animal ...