Building Cocoa Applications: A Step by Step Guide

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 Building Cocoa Applications is a Mastiff (also known as an English or Old English Mastiff ). The Mastiff is a large-breed working dog with a long history-Mastiffs have been used as guard and fighting dogs in England for more than 2,000 years, and dogs of this type are found in European and Asian records dating back to 3000 BC. Shakespeare referred to Mastiffs as “the dogs of war,” and Henry VIII is known to have given King Charles V of Spain several hundred Mastiffs to use as fighting dogs on the battlefield. Trained fighting mastiffs were also used by the ancient Celts, by Kubla Khan, and by Hannibal when he crossed the Alps. Even as recently as the two World Wars, Mastiffs were used to pull munitions carts on the fronts.

Mastiff owners are often first attracted to the breed by its large size-Mastiffs are the heaviest dog breed, weighing in at an average of 180-220 pounds. Despite their history as fighting dogs, modern breeders have bred the Mastiff for gentleness and have created an excellent companion, large enough to deter intruders yet gentle enough to be dependable around children. Mastiffs are loyal, patient, affectionate, and protective, and they tend to bond strongly to their owners and become ...