Customer Reviews

Controller Area Network

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

 

 

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...

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 (

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.

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...