XSLT Cookbook, 2nd Edition

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 animals on the cover of XSLT Cookbook, Second Edition are red mullet fish. These colorful striped fish are native to warm European seas. They are bottom dwellers that feed on small invertebrates such as crustaceans, worms, and mollusks, along with the occasional small fish. Red mullet are also called goatfish, as they have two flexible whisker-like appendages that hang from their chins. These organs, called barbels, are covered with taste buds to help red mullet locate their food and dig into ocean sand. The fish usually weigh one-half to two pounds and can grow as long as two feet, but most are much smaller. They have a deeply forked tail fin, two dorsal fins, and corresponding pectoral and anal fins. Red mullet are indeed pink to bright red in color, with three or four yellow stripes running lengthwise along their sides. Considerable changes in color occur depending on the time of day, stress factors, and age.

Seafood chefs have always prized the red mullet for its firm, lean flesh, subtle flavor, and intense color. The fish is found on menus throughout Europe, but is rarely available in the United States. Red mullet is sometimes called the woodcock of the sea because, like the woodcock, it can be eaten with its innards intact. ...