Tabak has expanded and updated his 1990 book RISC systems [1], which in turn was an update of his RISC architecture (1987). This latest version introduces the reader to the basic concepts of reduced instruction set computers (RISCs); describes some historical, experimental, and current commercial RISC systems; and provides information on applications and performance comparisons of RISC systems.

The book consists of 18 chapters divided into three parts. Part 1, “Introduction to RISC,” uses five chapters to cover the notions of high-performance pipelined systems and the RISC concept, as well as two historical systems  (Berkeley  and Stanford) and current experimental systems. Part 2, “Commercial RISC Processors,” consists of eight chapters and covers the architecture and characteristics of RISC processors from Digital, PowerPC, Sun, MIPS, Intel, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, and INMOS. Part 3, “RISC Evaluation and Application,” consists of five chapters that compare the performance of RISC systems; covers applications in parallel computation, workstations, and real-time systems; and concludes with a brief discussion of RISC systems--past, present, and future.

According to the author, the book is intended as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of computer science, computer and electrical engineering, and related fields. While he does not supply exercises, he does provide an extensive bibliography, a convenient glossary of abbreviations, and an 11-page index.