Recommended Reading

Thread Starter

Sparky49

Joined Jul 16, 2011
833
Hi all,

this is my first real post on this forum, so please forgive me if this is in the wrong section, or has already been covered before. I've done a quick search and I can't see that this has been discussed recently.

I'm wondering if you guys could suggest some suitable books for me? I've only really read some basic books, as well as a selection of Banabi books and one really good book called 'From Chips to Systems' by Rodney Zaks.

Could anyone recommend some suitable reading for me - I don't have specific topic in mind - just suggest some books which you have enjoyed reading. Try to make sure that they are not too technical for me though.:p

I've have a look at your e-book, and what I've read of it is great - it's just a shame that I can only read it whilst I'm on the laptop... Has anyone considered getting it published?;)

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, again I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place or it has been covered before - I look forward to your replies!:)

Spark49
 

bertus

Joined Apr 5, 2008
22,270
Hello,

Good to hear you like the site.
If you have any questions, start asking.
We will be happy to answer the questions.

There is also the eBook, see the tabs on the top of the page.
The eBook can be downloaded using the PDF sign at the right top on the index page of a volume.
Did you also look at the useful websites thread:
Useful websites for electronics (Ver. 2)
Or the RF related links thread:
RF related links

Bertus
 

Thread Starter

Sparky49

Joined Jul 16, 2011
833
Thanks for the reply Bertus, I've already seen those threads, and had a quick look through some of the stuff, but I guess I'm going to have to have a deeper look and learn some more stuff!:D

Are there any 'real-life' books which you suggest? I've already been suggested a book called the Art of Electronics, I was wondering if there are any other books people recommend or have enjoyed reading?
 

someonesdad

Joined Jul 7, 2009
1,583
What are your objectives and education level? The Art of Electronics is a superb book and is roughly at about a beginning college level (i.e., might be a few spots of calculus in it).

One of the things many folks do is read, but then they don't back their reading up with practical experience. This is about the same as reading books about sex -- it's quite a bit different when you try it for real. Thus, I recommend you try many of the experiments in the on-line book. One of the best methods of learning is to construct a practical circuit, watch it work, and perturb it and see the new behavior. Along the way you'll have to troubleshoot things because things NEVER work right the first time -- and this troubleshooting is valuable because it solidifies the principles in your mind. You'll find, for example, that you acknowledge the basic laws of conservation of charge and energy -- but that you'll find these incredibly useful when troubleshooting real circuits. And once you've learned them thusly, they'll be acid-etched into your brain forever. Trust me, I speak from experience. :p
 

debjit625

Joined Apr 17, 2010
790
I will also prefer while reading you can simulate circuits using simulation softwares like spice (LTSpice),Multisim...and about most important thing i.e.. practical already said by someonesdad.

Good Luck
 

Thread Starter

Sparky49

Joined Jul 16, 2011
833
Someonesdad - I don't suppose you're Daddles on another forum?:p

Thanks for the advice guys, as far as my education - my only formal education has been (just finished) GCSE in electronics - however I have read and learnt quite above GCSE level.
 

Thread Starter

Sparky49

Joined Jul 16, 2011
833
Ah - my objectives. None as such... all I really want to do is learn anything! A bit vague I know, but I'm not really bothered - perhaps someone could recommend something to specifically learn about?

Thinking for the future... I'm looking into possibly taking an Electronic and Electrical Engineering degree, for a career in aircraft avionics... but that's a few years away lol!:D
 

someonesdad

Joined Jul 7, 2009
1,583
Someonesdad - I don't suppose you're Daddles on another forum?:p

Thanks for the advice guys, as far as my education - my only formal education has been (just finished) GCSE in electronics - however I have read and learnt quite above GCSE level.
Did that flea-bitten ingrate give you the same advice on another forum? I probably should sue him or her for copyright infringement.

One of the things needed in today's world is the ability to program computers, regardless of what discipline you go into. One of the courses I recommend to all technical people is a beginning computer science course on data structures and algorithms. It will probably presume you already know programming, but I found when I took such a course about 20 years ago that I was able to learn the requisite language used for the course while I took the course (I'd been programming for 10 or 15 years prior to this and had taught myself). This one step will put you substantially above the other engineers -- and you'll learn how little you really know. An annoying thing in industry is a EE who thinks he's a dynamite programmer when in fact he's a horrible example. I've seen these, yet I worked at a big company where there were some fabulous EEs who also had degrees in computer science -- these people were typically highly thought of because they could understand two of the key aspects of product development -- and help management make the inevitable product development tradeoffs.
 

Thread Starter

Sparky49

Joined Jul 16, 2011
833
Are there any online courses/e-books/real books you recommend as an introduction to programming?

I am in no position to take a real life course at a college or school as I can't drive yet (gotta wait until December)...
 

debjit625

Joined Apr 17, 2010
790
Are there any online courses/e-books/real books you recommend as an introduction to programming?
What kind of programming,there are many like
Embedded system programming i.e.. application runs under microprocessors or microcontrollers.
Web programming i.e.. applications for websites
Application programming i.e.. softwares runs under operating systems like windows,linux,mac...etc
There are many more but to do any of them you will need to know some kind of computer language or more specific any high level programmming language like C,C++,Java,C#(pronounced "C Sharp"),Visual Basic.

I my self use C# and C++ for application programming,for embedded system I use assembly and C,for web development I use Java and PHP and for mobile applications I use Java.

You need to decide first which language you want to learn...any way here is an e-book on C++ which may help you over general programming..
http://mindview.net/Books/TICPP/ThinkingInCPP2e.html

Another one which is very good for beginner "C++ A Beginner's Guide by Herbert Schildt" search it over google.

Good Luck
 

someonesdad

Joined Jul 7, 2009
1,583
Are there any online courses/e-books/real books you recommend as an introduction to programming?
I suggest you take a look at learning the python language as a good first language. It's easy to learn, but isn't a "baby" language, as it's also used for serious applications. I turn to it first and find it's suitable for most of the stuff I do. I wrote a blurb on why I think python is useful for technical folks; you may want to take a look at that to get a feel for python's abilities, although it isn't intended as a tutorial introduction. A nice thing about python and all the ancillary python tools I use is that they're all free, so it costs you nothing to use them.

I'd suggest starting with the tutorial that comes with python to teach yourself. You'll then come across things that confuse you; a web search will turn up lots of information. <old codger rant> Ha -- you kids today have it so easy -- you just have to type something into a computer sitting in your underwear in your bedroom. When I was a kid, we had to wait for someone to drive us to a library a half hour to an hour away so that we could look something up. Then it was a 10 minute hike uphill through the snow in the parking lot -- and uphill again when we had to go back to the car. Of course, I should have looked on it as my a practical introduction to a nonconservative force field. I probably would have if I could have gotten my mind off the frostbite and the wolves and mountain lions that took a few of the schoolkids before they got to the safety of the library. :p </rant>

One of the keys to learning programming is to have some problems you want to know the answer to that require computation. Learning programming for the sake of learning programming is like eating from a bucket of cold lard -- it might keep you alive for a while, but you won't enjoy it.

The absolute best thing you can do is to find a local mentor who will help you learn and answer your questions. Asking questions on a forum is a poor second place, but it certainly is better than nothing. One of the things this can do is exercise your people skills in getting out into the world and aggressively finding these people who can help you. They're actually around you; you just need to find them -- and they may not be in the most obvious places.
 

Thread Starter

Sparky49

Joined Jul 16, 2011
833
I was thinking primarily along the lines of Emebedded System Programming, but I'm also quite interested in application programming, so I'll have a look for that book on Amazon.:)

The e-book looks cool too!

Thanks.
 

Thread Starter

Sparky49

Joined Jul 16, 2011
833
At least you had a decent book on electronics at your library!:p

I can still remember the time before we had a computer with the internet - we had an Acorn which had an awesome 'game' which generated faces - the bees' knees I thought! The whole progress and effect of the internet fascinates me somewhat!

I'll have a look at Python as well.:)
 
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someonesdad

Joined Jul 7, 2009
1,583
Learn about programming first; embedded stuff is still dependent on using good software designs and architectures. Thus, you need to first learn to be a good programmer. Then when you go to school to e.g. learn engineering, you'll have a leg up over the other folks. If you're really interested in doing embedded stuff for a living, you'll want to be good at both hardware and software -- and to do it well really takes training in both disciplines, at least to learn it in a reasonable time.

Spend some time reading Ganssle's site, as he is a recognized authority on working in the embedded space and a readable author of a variety of stuff.
 
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