Rilegato

ISBN 10: 049541137X ISBN 13: 9780495411376

Casa editrice: CL Engineering, 2009

This book employs a bottom-up educational approach with an overall educational objective of allowing students to discover how the computer interacts with its environment through learning basic computer architecture, assembly language programming, as well as through an introduction to interfacing. Developed around the Freescale 9S12, this book describes both the general processes and the specific details involved in microcomputer simulation. In particular, detailed case studies are used to illustrate fundamental concepts, and laboratory assignments are provided.

About the Author:

Jonathan Valvano is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. His tenure at UT Austin began in 1981. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in computer science and electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in Medical Engineering from Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He is a leading authority on embedded systems having written 23 referred archival papers, 63 referred papers, and five book chapters in the fields of embedded systems, biomedical instrumentations, and bio-heat transfer.

Review:

The passion that Valvano has about the matter shows through in his presentation. The C examples will be very helpful, especially to the more advanced students.The checkpoints and tutorials are an excellent addition. I also especially like the "Common Error" that are a regular part of most chapters.

This text is the antithesis of dry and academic. Its pages cogently present detail, but that detail is provided in order that the reader can understand completely how something works and, therefore, how that something can be used to meet a need. The combination of "observations" and "checkpoints" is very useful in permitting students to incrementally test their understanding of material as they encounter it.

The approach is appealing in that the students get to start using/programming the processor rather quickly. It challenges and inspires.