Laura Thomson is a lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Information Technology at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. She is also a partner in the award-winning web development firm Tangled Web Design. Laura has previously worked for Telstra and the Boston Consulting Group. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Science) degree and a Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Systems Engineering) degree with honors, and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Adaptive Web Sites. In her spare time, she enjoys sleeping. Laura can be reached via email at laura@tangledweb.com.au.
Luke Welling is a senior web developer at MySQL AB, the company behind the MySQL database. He has previously taught engineering and computer science at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia and worked as a computer programmer for many years. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Science) degree. In his spare time, he attempts to perfect his insomnia. Luke can be reached via email at luke@tangledweb.com.au.
Both authors have attained the MySQL Core Certification offered by MySQL AB and the Zend Certified PHP Engineer offered by Zend Technologies Ltd.