Customer Reviews

VHDL with CDROM

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

 

 

As another software deveoper coming to VHDL, I was reasonably satisfied with this book. It gives a strong description of the basic language features, including the ones usually skipped in intro texts. It skips the baby steps of logic design, and shows examples of most language constructs, including overloading.

I never thought I'd say it, but this VHDL book is actually a bit weak on the hardware side. It's description of processes and events seems incomplete, and the discussion of timing-related features is scant.

The description of synthesis is too brief to cover many of the common variations you'll come across. If you have scars from a few optimizing compilers, though, you'll be able to pick up what you need from your tools, co-workers, and experience. Place-and-route is worth understanding. Taking real control of it, though, is usually something done cautiously and within the context of specific tools and chip characteristics. A few chapters of the book focus on specific tools - naturally, not the ones I use. I found those missable.

On the whole, I find this book helpful. Perhaps other books are better, but lots of books are lots worse.

As an experienced C programmer I found this a useful introduction to VHDL but was worried by a number of obvious typos and missing/mislabelled diagrams - if I can catch the easy ones (starting with the cover and chapter 1!) with no knowledge of the subject what are the important ones I didn't get? At the very least the publishers need to put up an errata site unless there is one I couldn't find.

Perry's 4th edition seems a little hastily put out on the market. Many inconsistencies between the text and the contents of the enclosed CD. But if you are willing to tolerate this, then the book is actually ok. It teaches VHDL with many examples of source code. You should be able to ascertain that VHDL is a pretty simple language. From a theoretical computing viewpoint, there is nothing too abstruse in VHDL.

What you do have to be careful about is if you actually want to use the example code that's either in the text or on the CD. Here, you should go carefully through it, because of possible bugs. Which does afford the advantage that it forces you to understand the code. An inadvertant pedagogic property of the book!

This was my first VHDL book. VHDL is hard learn and Perry managed to get me through to my first model. However, this book has a lot of problems as a reference work. As a tutorial, it is OK, but there are often concepts that are used but never defined. For example, nowhere in the book is there a list of primitive operators for VHDL! Still, what he does explain well is what each individual language concept is use for. That is what makes it for this book.

After considerable reading through other source material - Perry walks you through VHDL like a master of the subject. I have seen him in person at seminars as well and undisputably he knows what he is writing about. A top Recommendation from me.

VHDL, by Douglas Perry, is a very informative book on VHDL. It is useful for
beginners, as it was the manual I first learned VHDL with. It is also useful
to more experienced users. I have used it at work as a reference manual, and my
co-workers have found it useful as well. He has enough depth that theinformation
is usable, but is not so deep that it is like reading the UCF manual.

It is a very nice intro book on VHDL. And did a good job demonstrating VHDL on a simple CPU design.

A note to computer programmers:
Despite what most people thinks, VHDL is NOT a programming language. No more is Verilog HDL a programming language, and Verilog is somewhat like C. So don't read this book in the mindset of a computer science/software engineer view point.

Other than that, this is a great book for undergraduate computer engineers who have little or no background in VHDL.

Personally I found this the best book available on VHDL in the market today. Buy this book if you are new to VHDL. The book doesn't assume too much from the reader and works it's way to the core gradually. The companion CD makes a great add-on with the Modelsim VHDL simulator thrown in. The CD also includes VHDL code for the problems in the text.

This seemed to be THE VHDL book, I always found in bookstores. So I bought it. I know other people seem to like the book, but I found it confusing, whenever something important (like the instantiation of flip-flops) comes up. loads of extra confusing detail is thrown in. It really confused me. I just needed the basics first and once I got the hang of that, then I needed more details. With this book, it all comes in one lump. Also, it may be because it is a 3rd edition, but its not very well structured, I had to leap about the book a lot and the extra material didn't seem to link in well with the other stuff.

This is an excellent book and I couldn't believe the price. The book arrived in better shape than I hoped for. It is a good reference book.