Customer Reviews

Embedded C Programming and the Atmel AVR

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The first chapter of this book is the most concise, articulate tutorial on embedded C that I have yet found. The second chapter is an equally well written description of the AVR architecture including examples (with code) of how to use peripherals such as timers, serial communication (UART and SPI), analog to digital conversion, etc. These two chapters alone made this book a good value for me and it is organized well enough to make an invaluable reference for the future.

The third and fourth chapters are specific to the Codevision compiler. The evaluation version of Codevision on the included CD has a limited code size and cannot be used to compile the final project in chapter 5, and this is the source of my only complaint. For the price of this book, it would be even more attractive if it included a coupon for a discount on the complete version of the Codevision compiler/IDE (at least one of the authors is from the company that offers Codevision).

That said, Codevision appears to be a very good package. All C compilers for the AVR target have differences so it was necessary to focus on one. But for my purposes and budget, I instead chose to use the freely distributed AVR-GCC compiler (search WinAVR), so the differences must be kept in mind while studying the code examples (e.g. bit-level I/O port access, memory sectioning). This is not a major obstacle, however, and the final project in chapter 5 still functions as an excellent description of the process of project development, from concept to final test.

If you want to learn embedded C, strongly consider buying this book.

If you want to learn embedded C and the AVR line of microcontrollers specifically, buy this book.

If you want to learn embedded C for the AVR using the Codevision compiler/IDE, run and buy this book NOW!

If you know of the ATMEL AVRs, then you probably should own this book.
If you are enw to the ATMEL, try this book or the "other" AVR book "Programming and Custominzing the AVR Microcontroller" ISBN 007134666X (by Dhananjay). This one is great for first timers learning microcontrollers. I picked up the Dhananjay book, never having done any microcontroller stuff, and was jamming in a week!!!
This C-programming book starts out a little slower, as it has to teach some C-fundamentals....nevertheless, both are excellent books for one of the best 8-bit microcontrollers out there....a great starting point for students and engineers.

This is a great book on embedded C programming. Although it focuses on the Atmel AVR microcontrollers, it is a useful reference for anyone doing embedded development! I have been an embedded systems developer for years and this is the first book that I have found that I keep at my desk for quick references - for software and hardware!

Hi folks!
It's amazing how reviews dated months (or years) prior to the publication date of a new edition got added here. I do own the earlier edition and find it to be *exactly* what I needed to both ramp up my knowledge of embedded C processing and learn the AVR micro.

Now we have this new edition that just might overcome some of the valid criticisms of the reviewers as well as bring the explanations up to date for the newer processors. Or it might not. . .. An update review would be helpful as I don't want to spend $90 to get the same book with a different cover. Ahhh! Amazon's return policy. I'll order the new one and either write an update review or send it back. Nice!

UPDATE!
Well, I ordered the new edition. . .. Here's the scoop: the authors have updated the chip used in the examples to the Mega16 (and sometimes the Mega128) so this is a good thing as there have been significant changes in the naming of internal registers, etc. since the first edition was written. There are some short additions here and there (e.g. a two-page section on I2C) and "Lab problems" in addition to the exercises at the end of each chapter. The new book is thirty pages longer, but somewhat thinner than the first ed.

So, if you're a bit of a newbie (like me) and are using a particular chip (like the Mega16 as I was) this edition is well worth the cost as it tracks the chip internals closely in the descriptions. If you are "just looking," maybe a used first edition will answer 99% of your questions for 50% of the price. In either case, the explanation of embedded C in the first 80 pages of the book is superb! There is also an excellent project example--start to finish--that ties it all together.

I will say upfront that this book represents some of my best spent money. This book is concisely and intelligently explaining embedded C programming, in a way well-suited for people used to working with assembler. It's so well-written that it keeps the readers interest and invites him/her further into it's fascinating world of electronics and programming.

Even the seasoned C programmer will find the book interesting, as it sheds light into a different aspect of this programming language and the hardware on which it runs. And did I mention that the book was really written well?

Said all this, I think chapters 4 and 5, as well as appendixes B, D and E are unnecessary, some of them are a real let-down compared to the rest of the book. The chapter and appendix about Codevision AVR are not any better than just starting a simple project with CVAVR - CVAVR is a really simple IDE for the AVR series of MCUs. Unfortunately, those chapters and appendixes represent more than half of the book.

I bought both this book and the C Programming for Microcontrollers book by Joe Pardue. This book would be acceptable, maybe even good if not compared to the other book. This book has a short 'tutorial' introduction to C even thought the title implies that it is about C. The Pardue book is entirely about C as used in micros. This book uses an expensive commercial compiler. The Pardue book uses the free WinAVR compiler (included on the CD). This book uses expensive and confusing (to me) development systems. The Pardue book uses the AVR Butterfly which only costs $19.99 and has everything you'd want and is simple to use. This book goes into a lot of details on stuff that I guess would be of use for filling time a college course and if you are an academic type you might like that. The Pardue book starts out holding your hand, but quickly becomes brief in getting you going with fun projects that help with my real real world interests. Finally this book costs more than the Pardue book costs with the Butterfly and the full projects kit thrown in. Yeah, the Pardue book has some typos, but an error sheet is included so that's no big deal. I wish I had saved my money and just gotten the Pardue book, an AVR Butterfly and the projects kit

This book has some good information on programming AVR microcontrollers in c, but in my opinion it is ridiculously over-priced for what you get. The whole second half of the book is worthless to me because I am using a different c compiler. If one is not using the CodeVision c compiler, then I think the same information can be gotten a lot less expensively from other books, the device datasheets, Atmels application notes, and other users on the internet.

I have only just started programming with AVR and was looking for a book that would help me. After reading other reviews I decided to buy this book - and I'm glad that I did.

It starts off with an introduction to embedded C, moves on to discuss the Atmel AVRs and concludes with a chapter on developing a project from scratch. But, what's good is that it starts off from the basics with plenty of explanations (so if you've never done anything with AVRs before, then this is for you), and moves on to the complex stuff later.

The book covers almost every topic you would want, so you can always use the book as a reference later. There is a comprehensive Appendix in the back too which lists the various C functions and Atmel instruction sets.

My only complaint is that the book dedicates to much space on the CodeVision C Compiler (there is a whole chapter on using the IDE, and several references are made to it throughout the book). It's a pity that there is no mention of the AVR-GCC Compiler - since it's free!!

Overall, this is an excellent book, that I would definately recommend to anyone starting off with programming the Atmel AVR microprocessors.

In a word, this book is Awesome! It takes the reader through beginner to advanced programming of the AVR in C and provides an extensive list of projects while remaining just abstract enough to allow the reader to translate the code and concepts into many different but similar real-world problems. The first section also provides a quick recap on basic C programming for people (like me) who program infrequently enough in C to forget basic concepts.

You can find more AVR info at http://www.hobbyrobotics.org/avr.htm

Perfect book to help make transition from assembly language to C.
Best if you know about internal micro peripherals and a little C but I stumbled along despite never having used C.