Programming and Customizing the Multicore Propeller Microcontroller: The Official Guide [Paperback]

Parallax (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 13, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0071664505 | ISBN-13: 978-0071664509 | Edition: 1

The Only Official Guide to the Parallax Multicore Propeller Microcontroller

Written by a team of Propeller experts, this authoritative guide shows you how to realize your design concepts by taking full advantage of the multicore Propeller microcontroller's unique architecture. The book begins with a review of the Propeller hardware, software, and Spin language so you can get started right away. Programming and Customizing the Multicore Propeller Microcontroller: The Official Guide is filled with a wide variety of step-by-step, hands-on projects. Put your ideas into production when you learn how to:

• Debug code for multiple cores
• Understand how the Propeller interacts with different sensors
• Wirelessly network Propeller chips
• Build a balancing robot and control it with computer vision
• Develop networking applications using an off-the-shelf Ethernet chip
• Create a portable multivariable GPS tracking and data logging device
• Use the Propeller as a remote virtual peripheral for media applications
• Create a Propeller-powered HVAC green house model
• Synthesize speech with the Propeller

Experience more of the process at mhprofessional.com/propeller

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Parallax, Inc., a privately held company, designs and manufactures microcontroller development tools and small single-board computers that are used by electronic engineers, educational institutions, and hobbyists.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 1 edition (January 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071664505
• ISBN-13: 978-0071664509
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the wait February 1, 2010

By Robert Pflaum

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As an electrical engineer with 30+ years of experience designing with various microprocessors, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs and CPLDs, I found the book to be a refreshing joy to read compared to most of the similar books available. This book has something for everyone regardless of skill level and is not just the common "re-hash" of the documentation commonly found in many books on the subject.
The book begins with a well-written discussion of the Multicore Propeller and the languages used to program it and escalates throughout, building layer upon layer of knowledge, showing how to have fun and learn using concrete example projects. Upon completion the reader will be well poised to continue
exploring this exciting world with the Multicore Propeller.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Programming and Customizing the Multicore Propeller Microcontroller January 31, 2010

By R. Kesler

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a beginner to electronics with limited hobby level experience in programming computers, I am very impressed with "Programming and Customizing the Multicore Propeller Microcontroller." The book begins with a description of the multicore Propeller and an introduction to the Spin language used to program it. Debugging tools and practices are discussed followed by an overview of sensor basics with examples. Eight interesting projects fill the remainder of the book, with topics ranging from a balancing robot to an HVAC green house model. My favorite project is the chapter on wirelessly networking Propeller chips. In this chapter we are taken through the steps required to wirelessly network a robot with a compass and a PING))) ultrasonic sensor, an accelerometer/inclinometer, and a display. The communication is provided via XBee 802.15.4 modem/transceivers. The final result is a robot that can follow a heading, turn based on wireless input from an accelerometer board (steering wheel), and wirelessly transmit useful information back to the tv display, such as bearing, distance to objects, bar indicators for drives, and signal strength.

Anyone from beginner to advanced skill levels will find this book educational, interesting, and engaging.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you need to know from the basics to advanced projects. January 31, 2010

By Roy Eltham

Format:Paperback

This book covers everything you need to know to start building projects with and programming the Propeller microcontroller. From blinking an LED to wireless networking with XBee modules and more. It has examples of working with just about any sensor you can think of, such as GPS, ultrasonic, digital gyros, compass modules, and more. Each chapter has parts lists, schematics, and code. There's lots of good diagrams and photos to help you understand how to hook things together or work with the various devices you connect to the Propeller. They also include lots of "try this" boxes with alternate things for you to try with the project.

There is a chapter on how to debug your code and most of the chapters also contain helpful tips for testing and debugging the hardware as they describe the project. Also, all of the source code for each chapter is available online (the URLs are in each chapter). Some of the projects also have URLs to websites for the project or videos.

Most of what you need for these projects is available from the Parallax site, and if not then the text tells you where you can get the parts needed for the given project.

I am very happy with this book, and will be referring to it for several projects in the future. I highly recommend that you get this book if you are planning to work with the Propeller microcontroller.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE! January 31, 2010

By Chaz

Format:Paperback

This book is a must have! It's not very often you can find a book with this many different authors and have so much useful information in one book.
It provides very handy information on things such as interfacing different sensors, program code examples, a vision guided robot, and many other resources.
Don't pass this one up!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Propeller Book - Absolute must have! May 5, 2010

By Fixmax

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have read a lot of microprocessor books over the years, and typically find that they are either written by a manufacturer as a reference, or by an end-user who utilized the chip only one way. This book is very, very much different from that. It's written by some of the very best Propeller users out there. The book is incredibly readable - I literally read this book from cover to cover over one weekend - it's that good. No amount of forum "lurking" or OBEX code perusal can even come close to how well written and laid out each chapter is. This book is a wonderful, must-have addition to any Propeller user, and for that matter, any microprocessor user in general. If you read this book, and are not using Propeller's - you will be soon. Kudo's to McGraw Hill. Publish more books on the Propeller like this. I'll buy every one of them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Blink an LED and you can control the world! February 3, 2010

By D. Oak

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Okay - I am a Hobbiest, but I do have some cool goals for this year using the propeller. The biggest problem I have is I really like practical examples. I bought this book thinking it would just be a good reference, and yes it does show you lots of practical things you can do with a Propeller. Fortunately for me, this is not a reference book after-all. You will find things for the absolute beginner, and all the way to the "Mad Scientists." I was surprized to see how I really wanted to read this book in a 'linear' form! This was not a book on tips and tricks. This is classroom material, with labs to be done! Fun, and crazy things to do at that. Looking for a better understanding of sensors - sure it's here, but that's just the surface. I realy like the way this book has been set-up with a backbone of understanding approach. You can skip ahead to see some really cool projects and the thinking process of how to do them, but you are doing yourself an injustice to skim the first parts. The Propeller is a different type of microcontroller and it has some way cool techniques to things so I appreciated the extra time put in this book for all the notes and extra care to really help explain all these crazy cool options.

Overall - I am very pleased with the book, and I wish this was the book I first was able to pick up when I started working on the Propeller. The forums are nice but this would have answered a ton of questions I had when I started. There are still lots of material in this book that is crazy cool and beyond my scope of projects and current understanding, but it's nice to know thats there when get to that level.