Embedded Hardware: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) [Paperback]

Jack Ganssle (Author), Tammy Noergaard (Author), Fred Eady (Author), Lewin Edwards Lewin Edwards is an embedded engineer with over 15 years experience designing embedded systems hardware firmware and control software. (Author), David J. Katz (Author), Rick Gentile (Author), Ken Arnold (Author), Kamal Hyder (Author), Bob Perrin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0750685840 | ISBN-13: 978-0750685849 | Publication Date: September 28, 2007

The Newnes Know It All Series takes the best of what our authors have written to create hard-working desk references that will be an engineer's first port of call for key information, design techniques and rules of thumb. Guaranteed not to gather dust on a shelf!

Circuit design using microcontrollers is both a science and an art. This book covers it all. It details all of the essential theory and facts to help an engineer design a robust embedded system. Processors, memory, and the hot topic of interconnects (I/O) are completely covered. Our authors bring a wealth of experience and ideas; this is a must-own book for any embedded designer.

CHAPTER 1: Embedded Hardware Basics
CHAPTER 2: Logic Circuits
CHAPTER 3: Embedded Processors
CHAPTER 4: Embedded Board Buses and I/O
CHAPTER 5: Memory Systems
CHAPTER 6: Timing Analysis in Embedded Systems
CHAPTER 7: Chooosing a Microcontroller and Other Design Decisions
CHAPTER 8:The Essence of Microcontroller Networking: RS-232
CHAPTER 9: Interfacing to Sensors and Actuators
CHAPTER 10: Other Useful Hardware Design Tips and Techniques
APPENDIX A: Schematic Symbols
APPENDIX B: Acronyms and Abbreviations
APPENDIX C: PC Board Design Issues

*A 360 degree view from best-selling authors including Jack Ganssle, Tammy Noergard, and Fred Eady
*Key facts, techniques, and applications fully detailed
*The ultimate hard-working desk reference: all the essential information, techniques, and tricks of the trade in one volume

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The authors know their subject and present it well. Examples include C and BASIC code that will run on a PIC12F675 microcontroller."

"If you want information about the overall aspects of empbedded-system design, this book deserves a look."

"David Katz and Rick Gentile of Analog Devices do an admirable job covering memory architectures and storage technologies and devices."

"The authors know theit subject and present it well."

ECN

About the Author

Jack Ganssle has 30 years' experience developing embedded systems. He has authored two books, The Art of Programming Embedded Systems and The Art of Designing Embedded Systems, and writes a regular column in Embedded Systems Programming magazine. Michael Barr is the editor-in-chief of Embedded Systems Programming magazine and the principal of Netrino Consultants Network. He wrote Programming Embedded Systems in C and C++.

Tammy Noergaard is Chief Specialist in Embedded Systems at Terma, Denmark. Tammy has a wealth of professional experience including Technical Lead/Manager (Denmark) at Vestas Wind Systems A/S, independent consultancy in systems engineering and as a Field Engineering Specialist for two Silicon Valley-based corporations. She has also worked as a software engineer with Sony Electronics and Hyundai.

As an engineering consultant, Fred Eady has implemented communications networks for the space program and designed hardware and firmware for the medical, retail and public utility industries. He currently writes a monthly embedded design column for a popular electronics enthusiast magazine. Fred also composes monthly articles for a popular robotics magazine. Fred has been dabbling in electronics for over 30 years. His embedded design expertise spans the spectrum and includes Intel's 8748 and 8051 microcontrollers, the entire Microchip PIC microcontroller family and the Atmel AVR microcontrollers. Fred recently retired from his consulting work and is focused on writing magazine columns and embedded design books.

Rick Gentile joined ADI in 2000 as a Senior DSP Applications Engineer, and he currently leads the Processor Applications Group, which is responsible for Blackfin, SHARC and TigerSHARC processors. Prior to joining ADI, Rick was a Member of the Technical Staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he designed several signal processors used in a wide range of radar sensors. He has authored dozens of articles and presented at multiple technical conferences. He received a B.S. in 1987 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an M.S. in 1994 from Northeastern University, both in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Ken Arnold is the Embedded Computer Engineering Program Coordinator and an instructor at UCSD Extension, as well as founding director of the On-Line University of California, where he manages, develops and teaches courses in engineering and embedded systems design. Ken has been developing commercial embedded systems and teaching others how for more than two decades. As the champion of the embedded program at UCSD, he lead the inception and growth of the program as well as introducing the world's first on-line embedded course well over a decade ago. Ken was also the founder and CEO of HiTech Equipment Corp., CTO of Wireless Innovation, and engineering chief at General Dynamics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Newnes (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750685840
• ISBN-13: 978-0750685849
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for the professional, good book for hobbyist, April 22, 2008

By 

Keith A. Monahan (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Embedded Hardware: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) (Paperback)

I purchased Embedded Hardware because I'm a computer science student and hobbyist who wants to understand more of this stuff.

The first couple chapters which covered the basics were well written and was a refreshing review of the associated topics.

Most of the embedded hardware discussed was embedded processors, the busses in an embedded system, and the different memory types used. These topics take up about 1/3 of the book. The coverage is very complete.

Another huge part of the book talks very in depth about RS-232. It starts with a history lesson, then talks about the standards, and then proceeds to show you how to write your own UART code in Basic, C, and assembly. While this is one topic I'm very comfortable with, I found a lot of the discussion to be long, drawn out, and just plain overkill. The same section covers I2C and SPI and those were done properly. YMMV here.

The book has chapters on interfacing to sensors and goes through a fairly lengthy example of how to check noise related to ADC's.

Last but not least, it has a couple tips chapters which talk about common pitfalls and problems, and talks about PCB design issues... These chapters were well done.

The target audience of this book is definitely professionals that already work in the field. The book has a "business-side" feel to it which discusses things like part cost, IP licensing, relationship with vendors, and so on. The authors do mention hobbyists throughout, but it's usually a passing reference and a "hobbyists can ignore this."-type of message.

Besides the fact that there were like 11 different contributing authors, the book has a consistent writing style and appeared to be well-edited with few gaping mistakes.

The book is relatively new, as of April '08, and has an up to date feel to it. No passing references about a gig of memory being $500 or anything. :)

I found it a relatively easy read although I've got a decent background in computer architecture. I admit I skimmed some of the very detailed processor specifics and some of the memory section. Some of those chapters felt like they were written for reference rather than for a narrative.

Overall, I like the book and would recommend it. Hobbyists will have to filter out some of the unnecessary stuff --- and look elsewhere if they expect coverage of small 8-bit microcontrollers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book - Must have if you want to do something with PIC, August 12, 2008

By 

Choudhury (Dallas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Embedded Hardware: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) (Paperback)

This is a great Book. Worth the buy if you wanted to learn how to get working with PIC.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you are a real engineer "Dont", October 23, 2008

By 

D. Fullmer (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Embedded Hardware: Know It All (Newnes Know It All) (Paperback)

Had I picked this book up from a shelf in a bookstore, I would have flipped through it and put it back. It is full of racked together bits and pieces of things easily found on the net. It isn't really put together in a useful way. I had mistakenly thought it might be a good technical and philosophical guide to embedded layout, organization and basic design ideas. Practical ideas - good ones and bad ones. Its far to basic and just lists stolen information from all over. In a nut shell don't waste your money.....