Customer Reviews

Computer Arithmetic Algorithms: Second Edition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As stated in the authors' introduction, this book derives from a series of lectures, and as such the subject area is developed in a clear and linear fashion. A number of number systems are covered in the text as well as a good treatment of the usual topics such as addition and multiplication as well as other algorithms such as division, square-root and logarithmic number systems which are not so well covered in other texts (Hwang). I would rate the book as being good rather than excellent for the following reasons: - Overall the book is a little too compact and my copy has a PAPER cover ... not what I would expect for a reference. - The amateur finish lets down a good performance in terms of content - Addition section short ... does not cover BLC or Brent-Kung adders - Multiplication section and others very "thin" on references.

Although I found this book very challenging to read at times, the author gave enough examples for each algorithm to help steer me in the right direction. To succeed in reading and understanding the book's content one has to carefully work through the examples and practice with self-created ones to help get the needed insight. Many of the terse explanations and equations require careful thought and analysis from the reader. Often I found myself working out the deatails of some equation to convince myself of the author's assertion. In other words, one has to be actively engaged when working throug the book. The reward for doing seems very profound: namely one gains an understanding of how arithmetic is efficiently performed, and how transcendental functions are realized on a computer. The ability to reduce the foundations of mathematics to a Boolean structural level will no doubt find many applications that go far beyond hardware arithmetic component design. With that said, from basic addition to cosh and sinh, the author delivers as advertised. Dr. Koren has an impressive mastery of this subject.

On a first reading, this book looked horrible. Little explanation is given. Well, the author gives you just a clue for you to do a lot of brainstorming to understand the concepts. While this helps to put you right in the mood for the material, since most of it are highly intellectual, but I think some more explanation and insight would have helped anyway. And actually it would have helped a lot. Instead of relying on each reader's understanding, giving more clues and more explanation means more insight for the reader and more getting the big picture. The big picture here is so important since many of the concepts in this book are highly interrelated.
On a second reading, this book was a very good reference. A good collection of well made, highly intellectual algorithms.
I recommend this book for every computer arithmetic enthusiast, but I suggest it to be read sequentially, and be prepared to a lot of brain storming.

This book is a fantastic book on digital computer arithmetic that covers the basic algorithms. It covers basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in an easy-to-follow manner. A must-have for those concentrating on digital computer arithmetic.

Note: the reviewer who noted that this book doesn't cover Brent-Kung is wrong. It covers things the way it should!

There are very few books in market that are as packed in content. I like the author's lucid style of emphasizing his points while still maintaining the rigor of the subject. Digital hardware engineers have used and will continue using this book for sound design practices and optimized designs.

I am a graduate student. This book is a first horrible textbook I have had. It is very difficult to grasp the basic concepts from the book. And the content jumps all over the place. The author seems to have the ability to make simple things complicated.