Microprocessor Design Books

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition)

Frederick P. Brooks

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Computer Science -> Software Engineering -> General AAS
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 128 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Software Development 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering is a book on software project management by Fred Brooks, whose central theme is that "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." This idea is known as Brooks's law, and is presented along with the second-system effect and advocacy of prototyping. The work was first published in 1975, and republished as an anniversary edition in 1995 (ISBN 0-201-83595-9) with the essay "No Silver Bullet" and commentary by the author.

Brooks's observations are based on his experiences at IBM while managing the development of OS/360. He had mistakenly added more workers to a project falling behind schedule. He also made the mistake of asserting that one project -- writing an Algol compiler -- would require six months--regardless of the number of workers involved (it required longer). The tendency for managers to repeat such errors in project development led Brooks to quip that his book is called "The Bible of Software Engineering" because "everybody reads it but nobody does anything about it!"

Editorial Review:

The classic book on the human elements of software engineering. Software tools and development environments may have changed in the 21 years since the first edition of this book, but the peculiarly nonlinear economies of scale in collaborative work and the nature of individuals and groups has not changed an epsilon. If you write code or depend upon those who do, get this book as soon as possible -- from Amazon.com Books, your library, or anyone else. You (and/or your colleagues) will be forever grateful. Very Highest Recommendation.

USB Mass Storage: Designing and Programming Devices and Embedded Hosts

Jan Axelson

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hardware and Software in One Book 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

This is a very well done book on a very topical subject. USB mass storage has gotten so inexpensive that its use in dedicated embedded systems has become almost a given. And here is one book that talks about all aspects of putting such a system together.

The book basically covers three subjects:

First there is a general discussion of mass storage in general. This includes hard drives which may be the most economical for your application, and it includes various types of flash memory devices.

Second the book covers the hardware interface down to the level of giving a sample circuit.

Finally there is a description of the software that will be needed to get the devices to operate. This goes from the simple structure of the commands down to the definition of file systems.

In short, here is a complete guide to USB Mass Storage in one, fairly small, book. This is all the engineer/programmer needs. Ms. Axelson has written a number of books on USB in general and clearly knows whereof she speaks.

Editorial Review:

This developer’s guide for designers and programmers of mass-storage devices that use the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface provides developers with information on how to choose storage media, interface the media to a microcontroller or other CPU, and write device firmware to access the media and perform USB communications. Comparisons of popular storage-media options to help users choose a media type for a project are included, and the types described cover hard drives and flash-memory cards such as the MultiMediaCard (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) card, and CompactFlash card. Helpful tips on developing an embedded host that can access USB mass-storage devices are also covered.

Building the Perfect PC, Second Edition

Robert Thompson, Barbara Fritchman Thompson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 72 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This popular Build-It-Yourself (BIY) PC book covers everything you want to know about building your own system: Planning and picking out the right components, step-by-step instructions for assembling your perfect PC, and an insightful discussion of why you'd want to do it in the first place. Most big brand computers from HP, Dell and others use lower-quality components so they can meet their aggressive pricing targets. But component manufacturers also make high-quality parts that you can either purchase directly, or obtain through distributors and resellers. Consumers and corporations alike are opting to build rather than buy PCs to ensure high quality and compatibility.

The new edition of Building the Perfect PC shows you how to construct a variety of top-flight systems with the latest technology, including AMD Socket AM-2 and Intel Core 2 processors, that are Vista- and Linux-ready. The book includes several new options, including:

• A Budget PC you can build for approximately $350 that offers performance and reliability similar to that of mainstream systems
• A full-blown media-center system that runs Linux and MythTV or Windows MCE with multiple tuners and HDTV support
• A fire-breathing high-performance gaming system
• A fast, low-power, low-heat, low-noise, Small Form Factor system (the size of a shoe box)
• A low-cost SOHO (small office, home office) server system with a 2 terabyte (2,000 GB) disk subsystem that's suitable for a residential environment rather than a server closet

Regardless of your technical experience, Building the Perfect PC will guide you through the entire process of building or upgrading your own computer. You'll use the latest top-quality components, including Intel's Core 2 Duo and AMD's Athlon X2 CPUs. And you'll know exactly what's under the hood and how to fix or upgrade your PC, should that become necessary. Not only is the process fun, but the result is often less expensive and always better quality and far more satisfying than anything you could buy off the shelf.

ARM System Developer's Guide: Designing and Optimizing System Software (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design)

Andrew Sloss, Dominic Symes, Chris Wright

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Over the last ten years, the ARM architecture has become one of the most pervasive architectures in the world, with more than 2 billion ARM-based processors embedded in products ranging from cell phones to automotive braking systems. A world-wide community of ARM developers in semiconductor and product design companies includes software developers, system designers and hardware engineers. To date no book has directly addressed their need to develop the system and software for an ARM-based system. This text fills that gap.

This book provides a comprehensive description of the operation of the ARM core from a developer's perspective with a clear emphasis on software. It demonstrates not only how to write efficient ARM software in C and assembly but also how to optimize code. Example code throughout the book can be integrated into commercial products or used as templates to enable quick creation of productive software.

The book covers both the ARM and Thumb instruction sets, covers Intel's XScale Processors, outlines distinctions among the versions of the ARM architecture, demonstrates how to implement DSP algorithms, explains exception and interrupt handling, describes the cache technologies that surround the ARM cores as well as the most efficient memory management techniques. A final chapter looks forward to the future of the ARM architecture considering ARMv6, the latest change to the instruction set, which has been designed to improve the DSP and media processing capabilities of the architecture.

* No other book describes the ARM core from a system and software perspective.
* Author team combines extensive ARM software engineering experience with an in-depth knowledge of ARM developer needs.
* Practical, executable code is fully explained in the book and available on the publisher's Website.
* Includes a simple embedded operating system.

Building a PC For Dummies (Building a PC for Dummies)

Mark L. Chambers

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

By buying components and assembling them yourself, you can save a little money and gain a lifetime of free technical support. Building a PC for Dummies removes the intimidation factor from building your own Intel-based personal computer, explains what you need, and shows you how to put everything together. It's a fine place to start if you've never assembled your own machine before and want to give the process a try.

Author Mark L. Chambers describes what to look for when shopping for components, but he refrains from recommending any specific models or manufacturers. Building a PC for Dummies would be stronger if he had made such recommendations, the way Tom's Hardware Guide does. Even without a specific shopping list, this book makes it possible for a novice computer builder to make informed decisions about motherboards, processors, storage devices, expansion cards, and input devices.

Chambers presents the assembly process logically, explaining how to install a component or two at a time while performing incremental testing. He includes troubleshooting information in each component's section, but it's odd that he puts his discussion of operating systems in an appendix--most system builders will want to see their creations run as soon as possible. --David Wall

Topics covered: Buying and building a PC; selecting motherboards, processors, storage devices, expansion cards, and input devices.

PCI Express System Architecture (PC System Architecture Series)

Mindshare Inc., Ravi Budruk, Don Anderson, Tom Shanley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"We have always recommended these books to our customers and even our own engineers for developing a better understanding of technologies and specifications. We find the latest PCI Express book from MindShare to have the same content and high quality as all the others." --Nader Saleh, CEO/President, Catalyst Enterprises, Inc. PCI Express is the third-generation Peripheral Component Inter-connect technology for a wide range of systems and peripheral devices. Incorporating recent advances in high-speed, point-to-point interconnects, PCI Express provides significantly higher performance, reliability, and enhanced capabilities--at a lower cost--than the previous PCI and PCI-X standards. Therefore, anyone working on next-generation PC systems, BIOS and device driver development, and peripheral device design will need to have a thorough understanding of PCI Express. PCI Express System Architecture provides an in-depth description and comprehensive reference to the PCI Express standard. The book contains information needed for design, verification, and test, as well as background information essential for writing low-level BIOS and device drivers.In addition, it offers valuable insight into the technology's evolution and cutting-edge features. Following an overview of the PCI Express architecture, the book moves on to cover transaction protocols, the physical/electrical layer, power management, configuration, and more. Specific topics covered include: *Split transaction protocol *Packet format and definition, including use of each field *ACK/NAK protocol *Traffic Class and Virtual Channel applications and use *Flow control initialization and operation *Error checking mechanisms and reporting options *Switch design issues *Advanced Power Management mechanisms and use *Active State Link power management *Hot Plug design and operation *Message transactions *Physical layer functions *Electrical signaling characteristics and issues *PCI Express enumeration procedures *Configuration register definitions Thoughtfully organized, featuring a plethora of illustrations, and comprehensive in scope, PCI Express System Architecture is an essential resource for anyone working with this important technology.MindShare's PC System Architecture Series is a crisply written and comprehensive set of guides to the most important PC hardware standards. Books in the series are intended for use by hardware and software designers, programmers, and support personnel. 0321156307B08262003

Designing Embedded Systems with PIC Microcontrollers: Principles and Applications

Tim Wilmshurst

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This book is a hands-on introduction to the principles and practice of embedded system design using the PIC microcontroller. Packed with helpful examples and illustrations, it gives an in-depth treatment of microcontroller design, programming in both assembly language and C, and features advanced topics such as networking and real-time operating systems. It is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing copies of all programs and software tools used in the text and a 'student' version of the C complier.

Designing Embedded Systems with PIC Microcontrollers: Principles and Applications is ideal for students of electronics, mechatronics and computer engineering. Engineers in industry and informed hobbyists will also find this book a valuable resource when designing and implementing both simple and sophisticated embedded systems using the PIC Microcontroller.

Support material, including new and supporting information, links to useful sites, and errata, is available from the book's companion site.

*Gain the knowledge and skills required for developing today's embedded systems, through use of the PIC microcontroller.

*Explore in detail the 16F84A, 16F873A and 18F242 microcontrollers as examples of the wider PIC family.

*Learn how to program in Assembler and C.

*Work through sample designs and design ideas, including a robot in the form of an autonomous guided vehicle.

*Accompanied by a CD-ROM containing copies of all programs and software tools used in the text and a 'student' version of the C complier.

Build the Ultimate Custom PC

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Kathie Kingsley-Hughes

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

time/technology marches on 2 out of 5 stars.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.

It's nearly impossible to write a book like this that isn't dated a few months after it's published, and this book is no exception. This would be fine if the book were a little more technical or specific, but it's really just a broad overview of the basics of building a computer in 2005. I would have rated it higher back then. Perhaps a new edition with an inclusion of more up to date technology, speculation on impending technology's impact, or treatment of more advanced concepts such as overclocking/temperature management/bios tinkering is in order.

Editorial Review:

Take control of your PC!

Why do they load up a PC with stuff you don't need and leave off the things you really want? Don't take it anymore! Grab a screwdriver and let these two experts show you how to build the PC of your dreams, even if you've never cracked a case before. You'll learn to choose the right components, install them safely, test your system, find the best prices on parts, and even trick out your new machine with some cool tweaks and mods. Plenty of illustrations and step-by-step directions make it easy, and you just might make your wallet happy, too.

How to build what you want

Oh, the things you'll learn!
* Safety first--it's Chapter 1
* Choose your tools
* Powering this puppy
* Motherboard knows best
* RAM it into drive(s)
* Video and sound are in the cards
* Bringing your PC to life
* Testing! Testing!
* Operate on Windows? XP
* Warranties--in English

Building a PC in Easy Steps (In Easy Steps)

Stuart Yarnold

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Prebuilt computer systems are often a compromise between what manufacturers want to sell and what consumers want to buy. For those who are looking for something more than the standard PC, one solution is to build it from the ground up — a solution that, with the help of this book, is surprisingly simple. Written in concise, jargon-free English, Building a PC in Easy Steps walks the reader through every stage of building and setting up a computer: buying parts and avoiding sales scams; mastering and installing the CPU, memory, video, and other components; altering default settings in the BIOS for optimum performance; and installing and configuring device drivers. Graphics clearly illustrate every step in the process, and an invaluable troubleshooting chapter helps pinpoint any problems that may crop up. In the end, the reader has a computer system tailored to their exact requirements, built from components specifically chosen for reliability, price, and performance.

ARM Architecture Reference Manual (2nd Edition)

David Seal

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Reference, but way to general and out of date 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

THis was one of the more expensive books I bought for info on the ARM architectures, but I'm disappointed, the book covers just the core ARM architecture and is a few years out of date now too. Its a tough book to write, no doubt, there are so many variations on ARM that its unrealistic to expect them all to be coevered, but I'd like to have seen some more specifics. Most ARM imlementations by the multiple vendors ot there put in a bunch of peripherals, I'd like to have seen some attemtp to address those features better.

If you wanted a detailed ARM core reference, it might be the book for you, but bear in mind it doesn;t addres the newer products...

Editorial Review:

Produced by the architects that are actively working on the ARM specification, this book contains detailed information about all versions of the ARM and ThumbTM instruction sets, the memory management and cache functions, and optimized code examples. Both an architectural overview and programmer's model are presented. Coverage also includes 26-bit architectures and the System Control Coprocessor.