Embedded computer systems literally surround us: they're in our cell phones, PDAs, cars, TVs, refrigerators, heating systems, and more. In fact, embedded systems are one of the most rapidly growing segments of the computer industry today. Along with the growing list of devices for which embedded computer systems are appropriate, interest is growing among programmers, hobbyists, and engineers of all types in how to design and build devices of their own. Furthermore, the knowledge offered by this book into the fundamentals of these computer systems can benefit anyone who has to evaluate and apply the systems. The second edition of Designing Embedded Hardware has been updated to include information on the latest generation of processors and microcontrollers, including the new MAXQ processor. If you're new to this and don't know what a MAXQ is, don't worry--the book spells out the basics of embedded design for beginners while providing material useful for advanced systems designers. Designing Embedded Hardware steers a course between those books dedicated to writing code for particular microprocessors, and those that stress the philosophy of embedded system design without providing any practical information. Having designed 40 embedded computer systems of his own, author John Catsoulis brings a wealth of real-world experience to show readers how to design and create entirely new embedded devices and computerized gadgets, as well as how to customize and extend off-the-shelf systems. Loaded with real examples, this book also provides a roadmap to the pitfalls and traps to avoid. Designing Embedded Hardware includes:

• The theory and practice of embedded systems

• Understanding schematics and data sheets

• Powering an embedded system

• Producing and debugging an embedded system

• Processors such as the PIC, Atmel AVR, and Motorola 68000-series

• Digital Signal Processing (DSP) architectures

• Protocols (SPI and I2C) used to add peripherals

• RS-232C, RS-422, infrared communication, and USB

• CAN and Ethernet networking

• Pulse Width Monitoring and motor control

If you want to build your own embedded system, or tweak an existing one, this invaluable book gives you the understanding and practical skills you need.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 18 Ratings

Good book but low level - 2006-06-20
Reviewer Rating:
I am a Firmware Engineer currently but have a degree in Electrical Engineering so I felt this book would help me relate my Electrical experience to the Firmware world. I was disappointed when I realized how basic this book was. They dedicate a full chapter to basic voltage, resister, capacitor, etc concepts. Even with no on the job experience outside of school I found almost nothing that I did not already know. It is good for people who need to learn the basics but if you have any computer architecture experience or electrical engineering experience then this book is not for you.

Good book on hardware common to embedded systems - 2005-12-16
Reviewer Rating:
This is a practical introduction to embedded hardware, so to write software for the hardware presented in this book, you will need to consult other books. This book is only an introduction and if you want to gain more knowledge and experience in the field of hardware design, further study is required. In the first part of the book the author gives an introduction to computer architecture and describes the components that you find in a PC. The author goes on to explain basic electronics, just enough to understand the explanations about the electronic components. There are the basic equations to calculate voltage and current. The functionality of resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and crystals is explained. There is advice on how you can build or have built your own integrated circuit board. Some simple microprocessors and micro controllers are described including the currently available and commonly used PIC and AVR micro controllers, the 68000-series microprocessor and a DSP based controller. The functionality of the components is described and it is shown how the component can be used with a few other basic components to exercise a minimum of functionality. The book also covers useful topics like the protocols SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) and I2C, Inter Integrated Circuit, which show how components can communicate with each other or the outside world. Various serial port and network protocols are discussed like RS232C and USB. Chapter 13 was particularly interesting, covering analog to digital conversion and applications. For example, the book explains how to use an amplifier to connect a digital circuit to a temperature or light sensor, or a motor control. The one thing I did not like about the book was the dedication of an entire chapter to the ancient language of Forth. This space might have been better spent on expanding the book's discussion of assembly language or the more timely topic of embedded networks.
This book might be too elementary for practicing engineers, particularly if they are already familiar with the devices commonly used in embedded circuits. However, for those engineers that have been writing software since they graduated, this book is a good fast-paced introduction to the hardware commonly found in embedded systems. A good follow-on to this book is "Programming Embedded Systems with C and C++" by the same publisher.

Not for anyone but REAL beginner - 2006-11-07
Reviewer Rating:
All of the topics could be easily found by a google search in much more details. The only good point after reading this book : a beginner knows how to pick from the smorgasbord of the Net.

Pretty useless for Engineers, even beginner Engineers already in the trade. And the book is not cheap !

Pretty good! - 2009-05-02
Reviewer Rating:
I bought this book just after reading "Getting started with Arduino" - hoping that this book would enhance my knowledge enough that I would not break everything I plug into the Arduino with its Atmel Microcontroller.

Sofar it has been great. I have a degree in Computer Science, so some of the "This is a microprocessor, this is what makes it up" stuff was redundant for me, but this will not be the case for everyone.

The "Electronics 101" section is really helping me a lot - I don't have to pester my EE friend with nearly as many questions!

Great book for programmer - 2009-09-01
Reviewer Rating:
Well, it is not a book for experienced hardware engineers. But it is a Great book for the programmers in the embedded system team.
The author short introduce the basic of electronics, power, and SPI bus, I2C bus, UART serial port in the beginning. Unfortunately, he talks too little of IrDA, USB, CAN bus in the middle of this book. Though the ICs he used is seldom seem in Taiwan, and you cannot establish a embedded system after reading it. Anyway, it is very useful for the programmer to know the business of the hardware engineers. I think the programmers should got one.
I love the latter of this book. The author briefly introduce (Microchip) PIC, (ATMEL) AVR, (Motorolla) 68HC11, (Dallas) MAXQ, (Motorola) DSP6800/68000 CPU from chapter 14 to 19.
Most important is that he Clearly explain what the "memory management unit (MMU)" exactly be done in the electronic element and scheme. Most software programmer learn the MMU from Linux kernel -system call, and have no idea of what it works in the electronic scheme/ICs. The author show you these things quite frankly.
It is great!

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