It is now customary to produce even early prototype computer circuits on printed circuit boards. This is partly a matter of convenience but, to a greater extent, a result of the need for stable configurations in today’s very high speed devices. Detailed technical information on the methods of designing layouts and producing the masks needed to produce the boards is available, but it is widely scattered throughout the electronics literature and difficult to access. Likewise, reviews of PC board design and evaluation software can be found, but with difficulty. Thus this book fills a real gap in the literature.

The first chapter gives an overview of the whole design and production process. Next follows schematic capture, or the reduction of a design concept to computer readable and displayable form. A fairly recent development has been the availability of design validation software. This software uses simulation and can dramatically reduce design time by enabling circuit performance to be evaluated without actually building the device. All of these things are covered in chapters 3 and 4, with special emphasis on the two main techniques: SPICE and SUSIE. Chapter 5 discusses the production of the final output of the process and gives an overview and evaluation of available software.

Chapters 6 to 17 describe individual software packages in detail, including DC/CAD, EE DESIGNER III, and OrCAD. Finally, chapter 18 gives valuable and accurate guidance on the selection of equipment for using CAD software. The virtues of different CPUs, monitors, and output devices are examined in detail, and particular attention is given to cost-effectiveness. Finally, an appendix gives a condensed analysis of available products and their prices. The book has a good glossary and index but no bibliography. I recommend it as interesting, informative, and inexpensive.