Controller Area Network [Hardcover]

Konrad Etschberger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2001

Originally developed for use in automotive applications, CAN (Controller-Area-Network) has become the de-facto communication standard in vehicles and mobile systems, as well as in any kind of distributed embedded system.

With this book, the necessary basics for understanding, implementation and application of CAN-based data communication systems shall be provided. Therefore, a basic introduction into data communication in cars, machines and on the factory floor is given. A main focus of the book is the introductory description of the physical and data link layer of the CAN protocol. In addition, a description of the general architecture of CAN protocol controllers is provided together with the most important CAN chips available on the market. Another focus of the book is the introduction to the most important CAN-based higher layer protocols, especially CANopen and DeviceNet. Finally, general aspects for the design and implementation of CAN-based networks as well as hard- and software components and development tools are described.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Konrad Etschberger teaches real-time systems and industrial communication at the University of Applied Sciences in Weingarten, Germany. He has been involved in the design, development and application of CAN technology in industrial and automotive applications since the first CAN chip became available. In 1994 he published his first book about CAN, in 2000 a second, completely revised and extended edition followed.

In 1987 he founded stzp, a technology transfer company which was one of the first CAN pioneers. In 1980 the activities of stzp were transferred to IXXAT Automation GmbH, Weingarten, a leading provider of CAN- and TCP/IP-based products, system designs and solutions.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 430 pages
• Publisher: IXXAT Automation GmbH (August 22, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 3000073760
• ISBN-13: 978-3000073762
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great, but no other choices., November 13, 2003

By 

Grant Edwards (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Controller Area Network (Hardcover)

This book contains some good introductory information on CAN,
but it is hurt by poor readability. The book was originally
written in German, and the translation to English is lacking.
You can usually figure out what is meant, but some chapters are
tough going. [usage hints to editor: "e.g." should only be
used parenthetically]

The main reason I bought the book was for the chapter on
DeviceNet, and I was disappointed in the treatment of
DeviceNet. I found the descriptions of DeviceNet frames were
often confusing. If the book contained just _one_ example
message for each type, it would have answered so many questions
that I haven't been able to figure out after re-reading the
text several times.

What would have been wonderful would have been an example
"session" that included connection setup and data exchange
messages, but the DeviceNet chapter only contains examples of a
small subset of the message types.

After paying $80, I felt a little ripped-off, but it's the only
thing I could find that covered DeviceNet at all. The
introductory CAN info was OK, but it is available elsewhere in
better prose for much less money.

Sure, there are probably grammatical errors in this review, but
you didn't pay $80 for it...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor readability, April 1, 2005

By 

Sandpiper (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Controller Area Network (Hardcover)

This publication attempts, with good intentions, to provide a complete overview of Controller Area Network, but lacks the basics of good and comprehensible writing. The technical information on the CAN standard is mostly solid and provides some interesting details, but also contains a number of incosistencies and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Rather than concentrating on CAN alone, the author(s) decided to include sections on higher-layer protocols such as CANopen, DeviceNet and others, which are too detailed for a quick overview, yet by far not sufficient for someone who needs solid information. Also, the author(s) apparently did not invoke the process of proof-reading before publishing their work (

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exceptional Introduction to CAN, June 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Controller Area Network (Hardcover)

This book is a comprehensive textbook from which engineers can learn how to develop CAN networks and Higher Layer CAN Protocols. It is an essential part of any engineering library covering the physical, data link and higher layer protocols of CAN, including CANopen, DeviceNet, SAE J1939 and time-triggered CAN (TTCAN). It also included a review of several microcontroller brands that have integrated CAN controllers as well as a chapter devoted to planning and designing CAN networks that I, as a novice, found most useful.

Having had no previous detailed experience with CAN, I was able to set up a CAN network and begin exchanging messages after reading this book. I believe this is a must read for anyone who is contemplating using CAN networks.