The stated goal of this textbook is to provide a detailed introduction to microprocessor fundamentals and their application, suitable for a one-semester survey course at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Overall, it seems to very nicely achieve this purpose, given the difficulty any course material in this field will encounter due to rapid advances in computer architectures and the underlying microelectronics technologies, and the ever-expanding breadth of microprocessor applications. While this book could also serve as a useful refresher in underlying concepts for practicing professionals in these fields, the emergent technology and application specifics generally change at a faster pace than can be substantially captured in such a textbook-oriented publication format.

The presentation is organized into five chapters, rich in illustration and example, and well suited for the book’s intended role as a classroom and laboratory text. The first three chapters form the bulk of the text, while the final two provide abbreviated surveys of two more advanced problem-oriented topics. Chapter 1 lays the conceptual foundations for microprocessor architectures, technological structures, and functional organizations. The underlying semiconductor and large-scale integrated circuit technologies, their realization into specific microprocessor circuits and components, and the basic architectural and structural methods used to improve microprocessor efficiency and speed are discussed in some detail. Building on this base, chapter 2 addresses specific general-purpose microprocessor architectures and contemporary design alternatives available from several manufacturers, including AMD, IBM, Intel, Motorola, SPARC, and Texas Instruments. Numerous application examples are provided, illustrating specific design features of both reduced instruction set and complex instruction set computer architectures, as well as their comparative utility in achieving desired functionality and efficiency.

Chapter 3 introduces problem-oriented microprocessor designs for digital signal processing and multimedia applications. Specific families of digital signal processors--from Analog Devices, Motorola, Texas Instruments, and others--and their applications in signal processing, multimedia processing, and communications processing are described. Comparative analyses of the effectiveness of signal microprocessor architectures when performing typical signal processing tasks are provided. Two additional problem-oriented microprocessor-based architectural designs are addressed in the final two, relatively short, chapters. Chapter 4 describes transputer-type microprocessors oriented toward use in massively parallel computer systems, while chapter 5 considers the organization of neural network computations and the implementation of neuroprocessors. Each of these two final presentations seems to be a less thorough review of these emergent (and important) microprocessor-based technologies than would be expected, given the much greater range and depth of material presented in the initial three chapters.

Each of the five chapters concludes with a detailed question set that seems to be based on the authors’ many classroom presentations in these subject areas. In addition, each chapter provides an extensive set of references, called endnotes, serving the interested reader with pointers to many additional resources. This textbook usefully serves a broader goal, of engaging readers interested in the basic understanding of microprocessor fundamentals, and leading them to further their self-education. A companion laboratory course (and accompanying study guide) would be highly recommended as an adjunct to this course material. With these caveats, the topical coverage would seem appropriate for a fast-paced one-semester sequence, or a class at a more measured two-semester pace, within this curriculum. The text is also recommended as a very useful reference for nontechnical professionals, and others within the microprocessor user community who need a quick and easy refresher in day-to-day applications of these underlying concepts and technologies.