If I Only Changed the Software, Why is the Phone on Fire?: Embedded Debugging Methods Revealed: Technical Mysteries for Engineers (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I haven't had as much fun with a book about programming in a long time." - Ecnmag.com - July 01, 2007

"Great title and a good read too, especially if you like stories from the trenches. Simone does more than just revive old ghosts. She brings out the debugging techniques in context." - William Wong, Electronic Design

Book Description

CSI for software engineers!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Newnes; illustrated edition edition (March 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750682183
• ISBN-13: 978-0750682183
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #383,939 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #32 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Languages & Tools > Debugging
  #54 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Hardware > Microprocessors & System Design > Embedded Systems

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing and Welcome, January 10, 2009

By	Riley Cooper - See all my reviews

"...Phone on Fire" is a refreshing and welcome departure from how embedded systems are treated in other books. The author brilliantly creates a team of real-world characters, warts and all, caught in a whirlwind of enormous technical challenges, impossible schedules, inadequate funding, questionable management, internal strife, avoidance of responsibility, harassment, and irate customers. This is the kind of stuff not taught in school. With all this melodrama, you may think this is not a technical book. But it is; the author weaves into the story numerous technical problems the team must solve. She builds suspense by also inviting the reader to try solving them. It's all about finding and fixing bugs.

This book is a must-read not only by embedded systems engineers, but also by their managers and other groups in an organization responsible to design, develop, test, produce, and support embedded system products. It's one of those "couldn't put it down" books. It's an easy read; the author knows how to reach her audience in a thoroughly understandable way.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Add this one to your bookshelf!, February 29, 2008

By	David Taylor "airwave" (Wilsonville, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Excellent book! Real-to-life, creative thinking, lessons build upon themselves as you go through the book. It mirrored some of the things I've been through during 20+ years of HW/SW debug and Customer Support roles. I HIGHLY recommend this book and feel it
should be required reading either during school or as new employees in relevant positions.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new method and style to write engineering books, August 3, 2007

By	Carlos X. Rosado "Carlos X. Rosado" (Linden, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very intriguing book that reveals some of the experiences of young engineers in the field. It is a good guidance that takes you by the hand walks you through struggles, and shares some of the common frustration feelings that the engineering carrier exposes you to. It ought to be read by students who are hesitating about studying engineering and recently graduates that do not know what to expect from the field. The book itself is more than a text book and should be considered as an alternative to write engineering books. I really enjoyed trying to solve the mysteries while I was reading.