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Computers
Wear L., Pinkert J., Wear L., Lane W., McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, NY, 1991. Type: Book (9780070686748)
Date Reviewed: Nov 1 1991

This excellent textbook has the unusual characteristic of being motivated by a definite doctrine. In their preface, the authors argue that computer design projects are now hampered by an educational process that produces “hardware or software exclusivists.…” They also assert that company organizational structures often create barriers between hardware engineers and programmers. In the particular case of microprocessor design, “dedicating separate teams to hardware and software often results in unnecessary duplication of effort … [while one or] a few general-purpose people can efficiently complete all the design tasks for projects that include microcomputers.” The authors’ stated goal is to prepare “people to become multitalented computer generalists.”

The preface goes on to offer considerable guidance to the teacher on how to use the book in a class. Possible arrangements of selected parts of the 20 chapters are given for an introductory course in computer engineering, a survey course, or use as a reference in an assembly language programming class. A particularly useful and stimulating feature is the collection of problems at the end of each chapter. Some of these will be of considerable difficulty to the student (and likely to the instructor as well), but the authors have mercifully provided answers to many of them in the back.

The book is divided into four major divisions: “History and Concepts,” “An Overview of Computer Hardware,” “An Overview of Computer Software,” and “System Considerations,” which deals with user-machine interfaces and the process of system design, including economics. In all parts, the presentation is down to earth, if sometimes lacking in literary grace. The reader will never be in doubt about the meaning of any sentence. Acronym use is kept to a necessary minimum, and the reader will appreciate the fact that the index appears to cover most of the acronyms used. The special terms of the computer business (such as “bootstrap”) are set in boldface when introduced and are always clearly defined.

The “History and Concepts” section has a chapter on set theory and Boolean algebra. One may question the utility of including such material in an elementary course--not a great deal of use is made of the ideas in the rest of the book--but the authors attempt to connect the concepts to practical matters. Perhaps the discussion makes some of the hardware logic operations that are presented later easier to grasp.

The biggest section of the book is on hardware. Here the writers begin to struggle with the process of trying to present an integrated picture of computing, and the first thing we see is that hardware and software are discussed in separate sections. The great problem in discussing computer hardware is giving the student a concrete grasp of why all this apparatus is there. (The problem resembles trying to teach someone who has never seen a baseball game using the official book of rules.) The discussion is good, but nothing can substitute for imaginative teaching by the instructor to make the material appear as relevant as in fact it is. A similar problem exists in the software section, which is led off by an introductory chapter on operating systems.

Those considering using this book should pay close heed to the statement in the preface that the students are assumed to have had previous courses in programming in a high-level language. The authors advise this for the purpose of understanding the software section, but I think it is a necessary prerequisite for the hardware section as well. By contrast, the last section of the book, “System Considerations,” will present no such difficulties, because the discussions of design and economics have a “real world” quality that the student should be able to appreciate quite directly.

Teachers and students who work with this book in the manner intended by the authors will achieve satisfying  results. 

Reviewer:  Melvin L. Tobias Review #: CR115200
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Introductory And Survey (A.1 )
 
 
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