Every major field in computer science requires a primer. Digital signal processing (DSP) lies at the intersection of many disciplines, some very close to computer science and others apparently unrelated to it. This helps to make DSP an exciting, but difficult to learn, discipline. Thomas Young’s primer is an excellent example of how to explain, in an easy-to-follow way, what DSP is and how to master it.

To achieve its main purpose, the book contains a bit from everything in a very clear form. The book begins with an introduction to linear systems, analog signal processing, and analog-to-digital (A/D) converters. Following this indispensable background, there are chapters on the Z-transform, digital filters (as part of the larger class of digital systems), and discrete and fast Fourier transforms. The many examples throughout the text and the problems at the end of each chapter will be very helpful to the conscientious reader. The last two chapters are devoted to DSP hardware. The penultimate chapter reviews special-purpose DSP integrated circuits, based on the data sheets of these devices. The final chapter discusses digital-to-analog (D/A) converters and should have been combined with the chapter on analog-to-digital converters, but this is a minor point.

The data sheets of some A/D and D/A converters and related analog circuits are well chosen to orient the beginner and to show how real-world hardware works.

I think that a more detailed description of some of the DSP chips, such as the AMD29500 family and the TMS32010, would provide the beginner with a deeper understanding of how signal processing and computer technology interact.

In brief, Linear Systems and Digital Signal Processing is an excellent introductory book. I strongly recommend it to those people who are new to the field and who want to prepare themselves to understand the classics.