Customer Reviews

Z-80 Microprocessor: Architecture, Interfacing, Programming, and Design (3rd Edition)

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This book is a classic example of what a text-book should be like - easy to read, comprehend and apply.

The book is split up in to thee sections - Interfacing, Architecture and Advanced topics. The reader is first introduced to the Z80 microprocessor and it's architecture, and a discussion follows as to why this device is still so important after twenty years of production.

The detailed and easy to read section on Memory and Hardware interfacing is very straight-forward and rich with examples to follow.

Although learning any new Assembly language can be rather intimidating, Gaonkar takes the sting out of it by supplying many useful examples and subroutines for the reader to follow and copy, with a detailed explination of the instruction set . Examples of binary multiplication and division are included, as are Binary to BCD conversion routines.

Chapter three goes on to describe advanced topics in interfacing design, such as interrupts and wait-states. Programmable input/output devices are also discussed, such as the intel 8255, as is serial communication and the RS-232 protocol.

The entire book is written in a very coherent fasion and the reader can really draw upon Gaonkar's obvious experience in this field. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to a novice approaching the Z80 microprocessor for the first time, or to any electronic engineer wishing to acquire a reference text on this subject.

This book must be adopted for training students during a serious introduction to microprocessor-based design as the book is quite motivating, and self contained. However, the practical applications presented therein are not enough and briefly explained.