5 comments about System Design with SystemC.

1. I read this whole book trying to figure out who it was written for, and failed.
   
   To all outward appearance, it seems to address the C++ programmer who, for reasons unknown, has been thrown into the task of creating executable specifications for complex HW/SW systems. Well, it happens. That poor slob's problems are never really addressed.
   
   The authors spend significant time discussing bit-accurate, cycle-accurate, both-accurate, and neither-accurate simulations. Those topics all deserve attention, as does optimization of the model for faster simulation time. The typical programmer, however, just won't be ready for concepts of sensitivity and some of the weirder forms of assignment. Straight-up hardware guys won't get the classing structures, and won't see all the discussion they need to translate statements into cycles; software guys won't get enough of the class hierarchy to follow along, and will need to sit down with someone for a long time to understand why all those fixed-point formats deserve to exist. (You wouldn't believe some of the questions I've gotten. For example, "0.56 isn't a fraction with power-of-two denominator - so why does that scaling logic assume I can just shift?" Lawd lumme, what kids don't learn these days.)
   
   There's not enough here of hardware system analysis for the software guys, and not enough of the C++/SystemC strangeness for a logic designer to grab hold of. On the whole, it looks like a fair answer to a question that I didn't hear asked.
   
   -- wiredweird



2. This book is not meant to be a introductory book or
   about the SystemC language or coding guidelines.
   For that please refer to other elementary or primer
   book or the user guide available for download from
   systemc website.
   
   This book is mainly useful for researchers to understand
   the philosophy behind the SystemC language and
   interesting problems addressed by the language.



3. SystemC is my bread and butter and I bought this book with great hopes to understand both the language and the underlying concepts of the language, unfortunately the book provides neither. I think it is a grossly overpriced useless book.



4. A very good book, if it is used as a reference material, specially for TLM modeling, it helps along with the code for simple_bus available at www.systemc.org. For starters, I will recommend to add more examples in the text of the book as the systemC library is huge. It is sometimes very hard to remove the bugs, if sufficient examples are not available. A suggestion will be to add a functional model example of a CPU based system design, so that the ideas can be extracted out of the text easily.



5. I am a active user of SystemC, so had great hopes for either a real reference or even an introductory book. Unfortunately, this book provides neither a introduction to the language, real world help for coders, or even reference material. The free manual with SystemC better then this. Worse, it badly needs editing to clean up awkward sentances.

   Generally I expense technical books, but I feel too guilty to bear the company with this overpriced book. Back it goes.

2 comments about Elements of Architecture.

1. It is difficult to find an intelligent analysis of the essential elements and characteristics of architecture. Chings' books are decent at giving the basics in graphic form and books by architects usually offer their own way of understanding architecture. However, for a good overview of what architecture is and how it can be approached, this is the best I have found.



2. I have a general fascination of architecture and as a game level designer / 3d modeler this is one of those books you need to have in your image repository. If you don't have a repository this book is an excellent start. Who knows, you may even learn something about renascence architecture.

1 comments about Senior Residences: Designing Retirement Communities for the Future (Wiley Series in Healthcare and Senior Living Design).

1. The book doesn't deliver on presenting a computer application system for evaluating performance. It takes the CCRC's accredition questions and just expands on them. From the information that was presented I not sure if the authors know what an application system is. In any event the book lacks any hard technical information, or performance standards, that can be used for evaluating and designing a project. It's presentation is more like a general business plan from a recent MBA graduate.

No comments about Staircases Selection and Details.

No comments about Introduction to AutoCAD 2009: A Modern Perspective (Autodesk Design Institute Press).

No comments about Bon Appétit - Restaurant Design.

2 comments about Capital Drawings: Architectural Designs for Washington, D.C., from the Library of Congress.

1. I purchased this book based upon its title and cover imagery; I was disappointed in that many if not most of the images and drawings contained in the book are NOT located in Washington, DC, as the title would have you believe. It's ok to illustrate other images by the same architect or draftsman, but the book includes tens of dozens if not hundreds of illustration that are located thousands of miles away from Washington, DC, the city. A better title would have been "architectural drawings at the Library of Congress" and leave out the reference to the actual City of Washington, which is not well represented.



2. Washington DC is one of the few major cities in the world that was designed from the start to be a city. Built on ten square miles of land donated to the nation by Maryland and Virginia, the city was conceptually laid out by L'Enfant. The streets were designed to be wide, straight and long instead of the meandering cow paths of the older cities.
   
   Along with the general plan, the early presidents, Washington and Jefferson especially) recognized the expressive power of the capital's buildings and monuments. The major Government buildings and monuments: the White House, the Capital building, and the Washington monument have become recognized around the world.
   
   This beautiful book consists of drawings from the Library of Congress illustrating these and other buildings in Washington. Some of these are historican and reflect various plans submitted before the final design was chosen. Some are more recent, reflecting the fact that the originals were lost.
   
   This book illustrates the impact that the architecture of Washington has had on American architecture around the country.

No comments about MP AutoCAD 2004 Instructor w/bind in sub card.

1 comments about Autocad Release 13 for Beginners.

1. General information for Rel 13. Good for beginners.

No comments about AutoCAD 2000i Beginner by OpenCAD.