As the title states, this is a textbook for a graduate course on digital design. When one buys a textbook, one expects a student-oriented book. In this case, the text is mostly oriented to the professor, providing a perfect tool to drive the course. The text is well structured by weeks and class sessions, with all of the theory and exercises needed to cover most of the aspects involved in an introductory digital design course. It is also possible to download all of the course material from Springer’s website; this gives the professor everything needed to use the book in class.

Each chapter in this book covers a class, including the needed theory, lab practice, and additional study material in order to go deeper in the knowledge of the subject. I see three different types of chapters. The first class of chapters focuses on the Verilog language, covering language aspects and settling the bases for other types of material. The second type of chapters provides digital design descriptions using the topics learned in the previous chapters; for example, chapter 5 describes how to create a phase-locked loop (PLL) using Verilog, and chapter 9 describes states machines and first in, first out (FIFO). Finally, the third type of chapters covers more specific and complex topics of the digital hardware design world, like chapter 18 on timing checks or chapter 22’s really interesting discussion on design for test (DFT).

The level of the book’s content is high. It is intended for students with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a deep background in digital design. However, it seems to also be good--although possibly difficult--material for gaining a complete overview of Verilog design and several advanced topics related to chip design. I am sure that students using this book will learn enough to start working in any Silicon company.

A Verilog simulator is needed to follow the book; Springer provides a free one in the additional material on its website. However, some tools are needed that cannot be obtained for free. This is a problem for readers outside the US.