• USB Complete: The Developer's Guide (Complete Guides series) | | | |
• Serial Port Complete: COM Ports, USB Virtual COM Ports, and Ports for Embedded Systems (Complete Guides series) | | | |
• USB Mass Storage: Designing and Programming Devices and Embedded Hosts | | | |
• Embedded Systems Design using the Rabbit 3000 Microprocessor: Interfacing, Networking, and Application Development (Embedded Technology) | | | |
• Ethernet: The Definitive Guide | | | |

Intelligent, comprehensive Reading!
Review written by: Robin D. Leyden From West Hills, California
I spent a couple of weeks of hard research time trying to personally fathom the depths of Ethernet technology. Too bad it took me that long before I discovered that most of what I was seeking was already summarized clearly and succinctly in Jan's book.

Primarily, it helped me with the overall "big picture" of understanding Ethernet, Internet, and all those crazy protocols you hear about (for all I knew, NetBEUI was some sort of nautical communication). The book explains things from basic Ethernet wiring practices, through functional descriptions of Ethernet equipment (Switches, Hubs, etc.), wrapping up with byte-by-byte explanations of all those various protocols and headers.

For all of you to whom TC/IP is just a buzzword, and Ethernet just a perplexing mystery, this book will be of considerable help. It connects the dots in clear concise steps. Where it doesn't go into detail, it provides websites and reference sources to follow up on.

Admittedly, if you are looking for a book to provide a step-by-step guide in creating your own embedded Ethernet hardware design from scratch, this probably isn't the best book for that. Although it provides several sources for buying turn-key Ethernet hardware boards, the focus is more with process and implementation. It even discusses setting up websites on embedded systems (I hadn't even known that was practically possible).

Bottom line, if you're trying to get a handle on overall Ethernet understanding, this book is an excellent read.

Not her best, I would pass on this one
Review written by: rwizard From USA
I've been involved with computers and electronics, professionally and personally, for more decades than I care to say. I have been on mailing lists where Jan Axelson was a member, and found her to be a knowledgeable and helpful contributor to the discussions. I believe I own all of her books, and have used them with students, as well as finding them a handy reference at times when I had trouble recalling the details on something.

All that being said, this book is a big disappointment - I'm afraid this one looks like it was "phoned in", and as others have said, the "Complete" is a total misnomer - it should be titled, "Embedded Ethernet and Internet Superficial and Unfocused". It stands in stark contrast to her "Parallel Port Complete". I hope someday we will see a dramatically revised version of this book worthy of the title "Complete" (meaning lots of details on the physical layer, the OSI stack, Internet protocols, and implementation examples with common P families and chip sets).

It pains me to give such a negative review for a book by someone whose contributions to our field I respect, but I suppose we all have our off days, and this book appears to be proof that even someone as knowledgeable as Ms. Axelson is not immune.

I will note in closing that I have just pre-ordered "USB Complete: The developer's guide 4th Edition" and trust that it will be a better reference than this was.

Inedible salad of disembodied pieces of knowledge
Review written by: Nikolay Baklanov From Sugar Land, TX USA
I would say this book belongs to trash category not only because it is poorly structured collection of scrappy material but mainly due to the fact it fails to fulfill its goals stated at the introductory pages - i.e., to answer questions listed therein in a complete self-consistent manner. If you want to see what the superficial knowledge is about, buy this pseudo-book jumping from one receipt to another, returning back to the discussed subject, and so on. I found too many senseless listings and script examples which are aggravated even more with surrounding text detached from any outlined solid canvas with systematic basic idea.

It is not a manual, nor a guide, and it is not either a handbook. It is something like collections of notes alternated with photos of connectors (half-page each), wires, PCB boards, listings, screen-shots, etc. Diagrams are far away from being real engineering charts, protocols are obscured traces of RFC texts, and screenshots are just to be. I better stay away from misleading examples torn out (copy/paste) from miscellaneous examples out of different evaluation boards.

To get a real clue on embedded internet, I would suggest to buy either the "Designing embedded internet devices" by B. DeMuth at al. (plus, you get an insight into the CAN), or "Networking and internetworking with microcontrollers" by F. Eady (plus, I2C discussed). The first one is mostly about TINI, and the second one - on CS8900 controller. Both are a way ahead in covering the embedded Ethernet stuff. My feeling is that you (potentially) can create/program your own embedded device with these 2 books in your hands but no-way to make something working using this "complete" book.

I wouldn't buy this book =(
Review written by: Fco Javier Rodriguez From Mexico City
After reading few pages of the book I felt my self as a fool because of being spent my money on it.



People outside US need to pay a lot more of shipping cost as well as to wait longer. I was waiting for the book very excited, but I got angry when reading it. I would say it is a kind of fraud. The book doesn't cover more than a good TCP tutorial on Internet, however you need to pay and wait for it.



The book is not "Internet complete". The book doesn't cover what internet is. It only mentions some aspects of building a net, but anything else. If you expect to read something about packets, datagrams and so on this is NOT the book for you. If you expect to learn something deeply about chips for LAN, this book is NOT for you. If you expect to know how each layer in the TCP/IP stack works this book is NOT for you. This book is for nothing.



The book is not "Embedded Ethernet". Actually I needed to pay about $50 US and wait 2 weeks just to hear "don't get in troubles, just buy a Rabbit kit, or if you like Java get the TINI card". I have cards for others architectures, but none of them. At this point I hope you may guess how I felt =( . If that is the author's idea of designing embedded systems I have a big problem.



I have some books about TCP/IP and Internet (english/spanish) that are each one far superior to this one, and cover more topics deeply. I use 8, 16 and 32 bits microcontrollers in which I want to implement a TCP/IP stack, that's way I bought the book, but I've just wasted my time and money.



My recomendation is DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. Try instead some tutorials in Internet, and you'll get better results and knowledges.

You got a good knowledge about ethernet reading this book
Review written by: B. M. Reyes From Mexico City
This book has a good understanding about ethernet protocol and hardware topics, the programming part on this network interface is something new for me and improve my knowledge on this matter.