Product Description

How Computers Work shows you how chips, software, memory, and hardware work using detailed four-color drawings. An interactive game-like CD-ROM takes you directly inside your computer. This book is completely updated and revised to include the latest technology developments.

An updated introduction to the workings of the computer explores the basics of microchips, hardware, software, and computer memory, providing an entertaining and informative tour of every part of the computer, from hard drive and processor to mouse, monitor, and keyboard.Also takes you through the workings of digital cameras, ebooks, Bluetooth, and much more.Amazon.com Review
Updated to include all the recent developments to the PC and complete with a CD-ROM, the third edition of How Computers Work is like a cool science museum in a book. But make no mistake--this is not a book for children. How Computers Work aims to teach readers about all the intricacies held within the machine, and it's a daunting task. The author, Ron White, doesn't dumb down his material; instead he provides thorough and substantive definitions. The pages of fun and colorful graphics ease the tension, though, and bring the abstract concepts--the difference between RAM and ROM, for example--into real life.

The book has incredible depth, explaining everything you could want to know about your computer, with each piece of hardware being given full treatment over two to five pages. (Macintosh and UNIX users should be aware, though, that the book's model is the "Wintel," a Windows PC with an Intel microprocessor.) The book is well-structured and can easily be used as a reference resource beyond the first reading. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Customer Reviews (94)

If you think you know computers, think again! You will learn!
The layout & photos just make this book EXCEPTIONAL!
Great detailed information & history.
This is the best book for all levels of PC knowledge.
Can't say enough good things about it!

Must be an Impulse Buy
I suspect many of those who buy this book never finish it. Despite the enticing illustrations and efficient short, numbered paragraphs, it soon becomes apparent this is a professional writer's superficial treatment of a vast landscape of information, compiled from easily available sources, rather than an expert's distillation of that information for a general reader. That would be OK except so much of the basic science is wrong that, after a while, it becomes annoying.

Good starting place
Very graphic heavy for easy-to-understand layouts. A good place to start with understanding computers. If you are looking for a more systematic approach, this book might frustrate you a little. It gives you snippets of information without providing a "roadmap" to know how this fits and where we are going. But overall, a really good resource for the general public.

Shipping not Intellectual Content
The product arrived as stated in the shipping terms.
The product was in it's original wrapping, and in pristine condition.

I cannot rate the intellectual content of the book. It is simply for a class of mine and I have no other books to compare it too.

I enjoy purchasing from Amazon, especailly since the price is ALWAYS significantly lower than that of the school's bookstore.

Quick service
The item came quick and was in good condition. Exactly what I was looking for. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

For ages 5 and under
This book is only helpful for extremely young children that want to learn about basic computer architecture.There is extremely little redeeming value about this book.The explanations of basic concepts are ludicrouslylaughable.The title should be changed from "The Architecture ofComputer Hardware and Systems Software: An Information TechnologyApproach" to "Watered Down Computer Architecture that is even toobasic and elementary for even dummies and idiots".Any money spent onthis book is better spent on a pyramid scheme.

If you want to learn aboutcomputer architecture, I would recommend: "Computer Architecture: AQuantitative Approach" by John Hennessy and David Patterson.

A comfortable and well-written read
This book is an excellent introduction for those familiar with computers, but is neither for dummies nor for rocket scientists.

It is a well-balanced book suitable for both IT students and those working in the industry who want to know what goes on in PCs and system servers. The cleanlayout, the sequence of information presentation and the author's writingstyle makes this diffcult topic a joy to read about.

Some criticism -the presentation of numbers could be reduced, the appendices on logic couldbe expanded and a chapter on client-server architecture would be the icingon the cake. Another worthy book but a bit dry is 'Silberschatz et al.'.Check it out before you buy.

Too much useless detail, not enough context
Required text for a computer course...very poor. I would suggest a Scott Mueller book instead. Lacked context, went into too much detail.

This book is crappy..I use it for a course
This book tells you a lot about the computer but the problems at the end of the chapters are very BAD. The problems really don't correlate with thetext.The problems are too vauge.

Practice questions without giving any answers!
Yes, it seems to be a readable book. But what kind of crappy book contains practice questions without giving you any answers? How am I supposed to use this book to study from if I have no way of knowing that my answers to theauthor's questions are right?

Also, I would say that although Irv'swriting style is readable it is wordy. It would be a much better book ifthere was a summary section following each section of each chapter. And ifthe damn answers were in there! ... Read more

Product Description
Computer-aided design (CAD) technology has already changed the practice of architecture, and it has the potential to change it even more radically. With Architecture's New Media, Yehuda Kalay offers a comprehensive exposition of the principles, methods, and practices that underlie architectural computing. He discusses the aspects of information technology that are pertinent to architectural design, analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of particular computational methods, and looks at the potential of emerging computational techniques to affect the future of architectural design. CAD technology, introduced in the postwar era and adopted in everyday architectural practice beginning in the 1970s, is now so indispensable that, as William Mitchell observes in his foreword, architectural practice without it is "as unimaginable as writing without a word processor." Yet, Kalay argues, it has had little qualitative effect. This book provides a detailed introduction for practitioners, educators, students, and researchers to aspects of CAD that go beyond the improvements in drafting, modeling, and rendering for which it is commonly used. Computer-aided architectural design (CAAD) is capable of modeling and manipulating objects (not merely their graphical representations), reasoning about and predicting performance of design solutions, generating new design solutions through algorithmic and other methods, managing vast amounts of information, and taking advantage of opportunities offered by the Internet for collaboration across time and space and for design of the virtual "space" of the Internet itself.Architecture's New Media covers five main topics: design methods and computer technology and the relationship between computers and design; the principles of communication and representation; generative design methods; the advantages of computational methods for predicting and evaluating the performance of design solutions; and current and future developments in technology, including collaborative design, intelligent design assistants, construction automation, and virtual design environments. ... Read more

Product Description
B> This book provides up-to-date coverage of fundamental concepts for the design of computers and their subsystems. It presents material with a serious but easy-to-understand writing style that makes it accessible to readers without sacrificing important topics. The book emphasizes a finite state machine approach to CPU design, which provides a strong background for reader understanding. It forms a solid basis for readers to draw upon as they study this material and in later engineering and computer science practice. The book also examines the design of computer systems, including such topics as memory hierarchies, input/output processing, interrupts, and direct memory access, as well as advanced architectural aspects of parallel processing.To make the material accessible to beginners, the author has included two running examples of increasing complexity: the Very Simple CPU, which contains four instruction sets and shows very simple CPU design; and the Relatively Simple CPU which contains 16 instruction sets and adds enough complexity to illustrate more advanced concepts. Each chapter features a real-world machine on which the discussed organization and architecture concepts are implemented.This book is designed to teach computer organization/architecture to engineers and computer scientists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Horrible Book
This is a very, very bad book for someone who has not seen this material before. It may be fine for someone who needs a refresher, but someone who is learning needs to steer away from this one. We used this book for our Computer Organization and Architecture class.

The book is very hard to follow. It just reads and doesn't really give you any sense of problem solving along the way. Then you reach the problems, but nothing you learned will help you solve those problems. It's just a mess. This guy really shouldn't write another book.

Terrible
I recently had the misfortune of using this text for a Computer Architecture class.I read and re-read every chapter several times to always have to search out more material just to be able to answer the end of chapter questions.The book may be good as a second text, but should never be used as the main or only text for a class.There are supposedly no prerequisite readings for this, yet I highly disagree!

Consistently inconsistent
Most of the other 1-star reviews have covered the outstanding deficiencies of this text.I am 3/4 of the way through this book.It is the second course I have taken that used this text.It is thoroughly inconsistent.Concepts are not explained in a thorough and meaningful way, sometimes not at all.Logical progression (ability to connect concepts) is very poor.

It is at times impossible to solve the problems at the end of the chapter because they lack enough detail to understand what is actually required.

I am not a lazy student who is mad about my bad grade.I got an A in my previous course and am on track to get another; however, it has required A LOT more work than any other courses - mainly because of the terrible text.

Please avoid this text if you possibly can!!!

Weak learning tool, likely good reference book.
This is the least pdagogic technical text I have read to date. The material lacks coherence between points. It almost feels like a PowerPoint slide show that is missing the speaker to tie the points together.
That is compounded by poor illustrations that are also full of errata. The high purchase price is unjustified bt the poor production value.
(e.g. Karnaugh maps could have been much clearer if colors were used)
It may turn out to be a suitable reference work for some one who already knows the topic, but surely not to learn from.

Understandable but complex - for a complex subject
I used this book for an undergrad Architecture course.I had a great teacher, and we only looked at certain sections in the book.There is an awful lot to cover in a single semester.

The book is written for students with very little formal electronics knowledge, but you do need to know some basic logic and hardware concepts. It is based on the i86 architecture, making generalizations where possible. If you have a strong background, or want to learn very detailed concepts - then there are better choices. Sometimes this book over-simplifies concepts to reach its intended audience.

I later found the book useful as a reference tool in a graduate architecture class.Especially the sections on memory - cache, virutal, pagefiles, etc.. Even though my grad class was on the MiPS architecture, the concepts are the same.

Overall, this was a decent text for an undergraduate course.
As other reviewers, (good and bad) have noted - when you are learning, you should always use additional references. Don't depend on this book alone to teach you. ... Read more

Product Description
Object-Oriented Database Systems offers a clear introduction to the concepts and features of object-oriented database, illustrated with several examples of current commercial systems. Professional database designers and users who want a clear guide to the current state of the art will find this book a must. ... Read more

Product Description
The Complete Computer Repair Textbook is written so that it is easy to read and understand, whether the student is a novice to computers or has some knowledge, because the concepts are presented in building-block fashion.The book centres on hardware, but Appendix A covers the basic DOSskills and Appendix B covers basic Windows 98 skills that are needed for some of the exercises.It includes coverage of difficult subjects in a step-by-step manner, and uses good graphics to illustrate concepts.Reinforcement questions, end of each chapter hands-on exercises, and practice certification review questions reinforce the concepts described in the body of the text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Perfect for A+ Certification study
this book contains the whole test. unlike others which only have excerpts of the test. this book is also not too big to take with you wherever you go. unlike other books this book has a answer key if you forget the answer and would like to study

Better Books Out There
I used this book when I took a beginning computer repair course at a local community college. The graphics were in black & white and were just artist renditions rather than actual color photos.

The author seemed to prefer "describing" the parts of the computer and repair procedures instead of "showing" the reader what to do and what the parts really look like.

There are better books on computer repair out there, and I didn't find this book that useful, so I recommend skipping this one.

best bet!
One of the BEST A+ books around hands down
I have spent several months of hard studying and in-home lab exercises in preparation for taking the A+ exam and this book is one I use every day. One of the best things about it is that it is peppered with actual lab exercises. This makes sense since this book is actually meant to be a textbook for college classes (I just wish it were also available in hardcover). At the end of each chapter are pages and pages of exercises to do to actually practice what you've learned. For those who don't have the money or space to set up an old guinea pig computer there are paper exercises that will get your brain matter really working. Don't dismiss the paper exercises even if you do have a guinea pig computer. A lot of them are not easy and duplicate some of the problems a repair tech will encounter on the job.
Which brings me to yet another aspect of this book I really liked. It has added emphasis on troubleshooting. I have a lot of A+ books - all the standard ones most people find in bookstores and none of them focus on troubleshooting to the degree this one does. Again it makes sense since this book is supposed to be a textbook for courses that help people get a job as a PC repair tech. People bring in their computers because something isn't working correctly, right? So troubleshooting becomes an essential skill. I recognized a lot of the troubleshooting techniques I use on my job and several new ones I didn't.
Hardware and Operating Systems are given in-depth coverage. Probably far more than you would ever be tested on. For the OS portion of the test everything from DOS/Win 3.1, Win95, Win98/ME, NT, 2000/XP is examined. Even things that A+ doesn't really focus on anymore are given good coverage. Mainly, because on the job you'll likely face situations where it's good to know for troubleshooting older systems.
In a market full of A+ books studying any one of them thoroughly will be enough to pass. But if you want something that will help you on a job too - well, you can't go wrong with this one.

Thank you for the teacher's material on the Complete Computer Repair 2nd ed. Textbook. This material has made teaching this material from your book the most helpful of any material I have ever used. I have been teaching for 20 years, and this is the most complete and user friendly information I have used. Again thank you and keep up the good work. If you have a catalog of other books, please send it.
Loren Niemeyer, Sauk Valley Community College

I am very impressed
We have already adopted Schmidt's 2nd edition for use with my class at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, MA, and I am very impressed with it. I like the updated information and the addition of some review questions in Chp 6 on Troubleshooting. The end of the chapter exercises make preparing classroom activities much easier.

What a joy to have found this book.
I own every book, it seems, on computer repair. At last, I have found a book that is well written and easy to understand. Ms. Schmidt's explanations are straight forward and well illustrated. What a joy to have found this book.

Great book! this book will enable me to better instruct my students because the labs/exercises will save me many hours fine tuning labs that I have prepared. Other instructors in the same boat know how very difficult and time consuming it is to prepare and test lab exercises, and, be successful in ensuring that labs provide a positive learning experience. The chapter reviews and tests are reinforcement and well written and cover all important topics. I feel overwhelmed knowing that, finally, I will have such an excellent instructional computer book for my students. Please share my thoughts and thanks to Cheryl A. Schmidt. Jody Campbell Pima Community College.

I like this book. Explanations are easy to understand., September 29, 1998
Reviewer: A reader from VA
This is the only book my teacher assigned and I think it is very good. It's easy to understand and the lab exercises are good, too

The Best Technician's Handbook,
Reviewer: Maureen Murphy from Ponte Vedra, FL USA
There is not to much to say because the text explains it all. For those of you who have taken a class that requires this book you know what I'm talking about. Not only have I had the pleasure of owning this valuble textbook, I have also had the privilege of being a former student of Cheryl Schmidt's here at FCCJ in Jacksonville, FL.

Ms. Schmidt is one of the finest instructors I've ever had the honor of learning from. The one theme that runs through out her textbook as well as her classes is, DOCUMENTATION, DOCUMENTATION, ......ALWAYS READ THE DOCUMENTATION

The Best Technician's Handbook
There is not to much to say because the text explains it all.For those of you who have taken a class that requires this book you know what I'm talking about.Not only have I had the pleasure of owning this valuble textbook, I have also had the privilege of being a former student of Cheryl Schmidt's here at FCCJ in Jacksonville, FL.

Ms. Schmidt is one of the finest instructors I've ever had the honor of learning from. . .The one theme that runs through out her textbook as well as her classes is, DOCUMENTATION, DOCUMENTATION, DOCUMENTATION. ALWAYS READ THE DOCUMENTATION.

Thank you Cheryl for your sharing knowledge with us.

Complete Computer Repair by Cheryl Schmidt
Thank you for the teacher's material on the Complete Computer Repair 2nd ed.textbook.This material has made teaching this material from your book the most helpful of any material I have ever used.I have been teaching for 20 years, and this is the most complete and user friendly information I have used.Again thank you and keep up the good work.If you have a catalog of other books, please send it. Loren Niemeyer, Sauk Valley Community College ... Read more

Product Description
Scalable and Secure Internet Services and Architecture provides an in-depth analysis of many key scaling technologies. Topics include: server clusters and load balancing; QoS-aware resource management; server capacity planning; Web caching and prefetching; P2P overlay network; mobile code and security; and mobility support for adaptive grid computing.

The author discusses each topic by first defining a problem, then reviewing current representative approaches for solving it. He then describes in detail the underlying principles of the technologies and the application of these principles, along with balanced coverage of concepts and engineering trade-offs. The book demonstrates the effectiveness of the technologies via rigorous mathematical modeling and analysis, simulation, and practical implementations. It blends technologies in a unified framework for scalable and secure Internet services, delivering a systematic treatment based upon the author's cutting-edge research experience.

This volume describes in breadth and depth advanced scaling technologies that support media streaming, e-commerce, grid computing, personalized content delivery, distributed file sharing, network management, and other Internet applications. ... Read more

Product Description

All web sites have an architecture, whether you design one or not-just as every building has an architecture, from the lowly shanty by the railroad track to Chicago's tallest skyscraper. Unfortunately, most web sites are shanties, not skyscrapers. Companies that hastily threw up a web site in the dot-com boom days were visited by building inspector Jakob Neilsen, who told them their site should be condemned. But now we are entering a time of rebuilding, and we've got a chance to get it right.

Customer Reviews (27)

Are you just starting yours studies at IA now?
I have to ask you a question - "Are you just starting yours studies at IA now?". If yes, probably this book will help you. It's easy to read, small and fun. A really nice overview about IA and even usability. You could spend a lot of time reading the polar bear book, and I recommend that, but start reading this book is a nice idea too.

Unfortunely, if you have a little more experience on the subject, you won't get such surprising insights like the beginners readers. Christina has writen good things about the creation of personas and scenarios, one entire chapter, and that's all. Sometimes she mixes usability, IA and design in a strange way, losing focus. Even worst is how the book begin and over, very bad, with sad and ingenuous recommendations.

Simplifying... if you looks at a nice overview about IA, you'll enjoy reading this book. Otherwise, search for another book, more consistent, with more focus and better ideas, not only common.

A Good Overview of IA
I'm a web developer and have always been fascinated with the interaction of humans and web sites, and this book does an excellent job of explaining the subject in simple terms while addressing more complex issues, as well. I read this book back in 2003 when it was first published and, not being an information architect, was happy to find it spoke to my level of knowledge.

With chapter titles like "First Principles: Some rules of thumb, and some thumbing of the rules" and "Gurus and Rules: In which some people like to boss you around, when we know that's my job," the book entertains as it educates, and leaves you with a comrehensive set of steps & guidelines when designing a site from scratch or improving an existing one. Numerous case studies, screen shots and diagrams also break up the monotony of what could otherwise be a boring subject.

If you're new to IA or are looking to expand your knowledge of architecting user interfaces for the web, this book belongs on your bookshelf.

Good overview/introduction to IA
This book is a pretty quick read and a very good overview/introduction to the field of information architecture and HCI methods in general.Wodtke covers wireframes, content inventories, usability testing, interviewing users, heuristics, metadata, personas/scenarios, human memory, the concept of recall vs. recognition, and many other topics.After having a year of graduate coursework in HCI, I'm not sure I really learned anything new from this book but it was a really good refresher.Moreover, there's a diagramming chapter that is excellent.It included examples of some diagrams that I had never tried before and wasn't familiar with.Overall, I would highly recommend this book.It was fun and easy to read and very useful.For me, it will serve as a nice handy "all-in-one" reference guide.

insight into a true leader
this volume is an extremely valuable lesson from a true leader in the field. Wodtke provides insight into the thinking behind some of the most-used services on the Internet today.

It's worth taking the time to read a book like this
This book won't present shocking facts about IA but it puts in writing many things that come in handy when you have to work in this field. The author includes good examples and the book can be read from cover to cover without feeling overwhelmed. Overall, it's worth taking the time out to read a book like this. ... Read more

Product Description
A refreshingly unconventional look at architecture and the World Wide Web. Using Vitruvius' classical text De Arquitectura as a starting point, De Kerckhove begins a journey into the exciting world of the Internet. On the one hand he explores the architecture of this revolutionary mediums, on the other, he considers the wide-ranging opportunities which the IT world offers for architectonic design, revealing how this new medium for communication is as much based on tradition as on innovation.

Derrick de Kerckhove is the Director of the McLuhan Institute and Professor at the University of Toronto. His research into the effects of innovative technology on human communication, of new media on traditional culture have gained worldwide recognition. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (34)

Good introduction to cloud computing
Overall this book was a great overview of cloud computing. It would be great to see a new addition or online addendum that is less Amazon-centric and provides more information regarding other players. However, this is a great reference whether you are designing a new application or looking to convert an existing application. After working with cloud computing for over a year I can say that I wish I would have had this book before I started because many of the considerations and concepts that are discussed in the book I have learned about through hard work and sometimes trial and error.

See my full lengthy review at [...]

A good overview of Cloud Computing and Amazon cloud
If you are looking to learn some essentials about Cloud computing and Amazon Cloud computing services, this is a book for you. The book covers the basics of cloud computing, addresses its costs vs. benefits, also discussed security, disaster recover, and scalability. This book is heavily focused on Amazon Cloud Computing with some information about Rackspace and GoGrid. It does not include many other Cloud providers and services like Force.com (Salesforce), etc. This book is a good reading and reference in general.

Good for the right audience
In Short: If you're looking for a book that explains how the AWS EC2 & S3 services can be used to implement transactional web applications on the IaaS model, while accommodating enterprise architectural needs, such as security, disaster recovery, and scalability, this is a good book for you.

This book provides a good introduction to cloud computing, but it focuses on a specific usage paradigm. As such the title is a little misleading; instead of providing a variety of cloud application architectural patterns, this book focuses on web application development using the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model. That is to say, the discussion covers a subset of IaaS; it neither covers other models (e.g. PaaS) or other uses of the IaaS model (workflow-based, sometimes called "scientific" or grid-based, applications).

The book also focuses on Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the implementation context. I think this is a practical approach, given the aforementioned usage focus as was just mentioned. The VAST majority of web application development using the IaaS model is implemented via AWS.

If you are a developer who knows that the usage pattern described above is applicable to your needs, this is a great book to get introduced to AWS prior to a design effort for a new project. It covers high-level (architectural) concerns such as reliability and security which should be considered at the outset of such a project. It is concise, and clearly written (assuming a technical audience).

If, however, you are looking for more of an overview, perhaps cataloging all the various architectural options that fall within cloud computing, or if you are looking specifically for information on other cloud usage patterns (grid computing, Platform as a Service, or Software as a Service), you'll want a different book.

What a bore.
This book was such a bore to read.The phrase 'Building Applications' led me to believe that this book might possibly be about building applications.Unfortunately, it was mostly CIO-speak.Awful, awful.

Easy to read introduction focusing on architecture, best practices.
Book provides a good overview of cloud architectures and best practices, with a slant towards architecting transactional web-based systems for security, failure recovery, and so on. Heavy emphasis on Amazon S3, EC2 and related offerings, so if you are curious about deploying to Amazon's cloud, a good overview. Nice short book at 150 pages, easy to read in a few settings. But if you are new to this space, a good overview doesn't need to be 1000 pages to get you going. Also contains a couple of appendices that describe Amazon APIs and other cloud ISPs such as Rackspace. I recommend this book if you are looking at a quick overview of architectures and discussion of issues you need to think about to deal with security, data integrity, costs, disaster recovery. Your choice of cloud provider may not be Amazon, but these issues need to be considered regardless. ... Read more

Product Description
Detailed case studies demonstrate the value and practical application of the ATAM, SAAM and the ARID methods to real-world systems. A must have for software engineers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

lacks technical content
Like two other reviewers, I also found a lack of substantive technical content. The book does delve into great detail about the ATAM process, down to listing the various roles like timekeeper and questioner, and their responsibilities. Fair enough. And for this, there is indeed plenty of content for setting up and running the process.

But try as I might, I could not get a firm grasp on how to actually choose between two [or more] software architectures. The technical examples cited in the text were invariably too skimpy for serious consideration. Perhaps the book would be enhanced by several solid, detailed examples and how to choose in those examples.

Great on meeting details, but short on substantive examples
This book does a great job of diving into specific details on how to run meetings and the checklists of steps to follow for three different architecture review models that go into different depth (ATAM, SAAM, and ARID). I really liked the breadth of issues that the reviews covered as well as the concrete guidelines on how deep to go with the reviews.

I didn't particularly enjoy the checklist feel of the book. I felt like they had a series of meetings to have and attendees, but they didn't do a good job of explaining why which meetings had to happen in which order and what lengths were appropriate. It was hard to understand what was a critical constraint and not to be violated and what was guideline that would vary by project and is open to interpretation.

Additionally, the examples in the book were comprehensive in terms of what happened in the meetings, but weren't quite complete enough in terms of the documents generated. There were excerpts, but I almost would've liked to see larger pieces of them in the appendices. It was hard to get past the details of who was in what room when to what documents were actually generated, what the final results presentation looked like, and what the flavor of follow-up actions was.

Depends on what you want.
What this book does, it does very well. It presents three techniques for reviewing the suitability of a software architecture. The presentation style is clear, complete, and reasonably frank about the problems an architecture evaluator is likely to encounter.

The oldest of the three techniques presented is SAAM, the Software Architecture Analysis Model. It's primary goal is to determine how well a system's structure addresses the technical requirements of the application, and its probable success at addressing future changes of requirements.

ATAM, the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method, descends from SAAM but is far more complete. It starts upstream of the requirements, at the business model behind the application, then moves forward methodically through the top-level design. At each step, reviewers update the list of technical risks and non-risks (relatively safe items). ATAM is open-ended, in the sense that the project's own goals define the specific measures of quality that apply - it doesn't force-fit every project onto one Procrustean axis of measure.

If ATAM is SAAM grown large, then ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Design) is SAAM scaled down. Where ATAM and SAAM address strategic issues about complete systems, ARID incorporates tactical information about specific design issues. It's not as narrow as standard design review techniques, but not as broad as an architecture review.

ATAM is the main focus of the book, with more pages than SAAM and ARID combined. All three are described in full detail, however. The authors identify the specific skill sets, roles, and responsibilities that must be involved at each step. They present checklists for eliciting the kinds of information needed, even specifics of meeting agendas and meeting room equipment.

That creates my second impression of this book: I was very disappointed. This book is for meeting organizers, and deals very little with technical specifics. That is not at all what I hoped for. It is not the fault of the book that it fails to meet my expectations. In my present work, however, the authors present just about nothing to enhance my project's technical content.

This is a process book. It seems to be a good one. It takes what works in other design review methodologies, then expands that to the highest level of the software project. It gives enough detail that you can tune specifics of the process to specifics of your project. Still, it's just a process book.

Essential reading for practicing SW architects
The authors provide an in-depth treatment of three methods for
evaluating software architectures, all of which were developed at the
Software Engineering Institute with involvement by the authors.The
methods examined are:
(1) ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis
Method)
(2) SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
(3)
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)

Each of the above
address software evaluations in increasing levels of detail, with the
book's main emphasis on ATAM.

What makes this book so valuable is
the fact that you can learn much about developing software
architectures from the criteria with which they are evaluated.For
example, the discussion on quality attributes is eye-opening because
what architects consider to be well formed quality attributes are
usually too vague to properly evaluate, resulting in ill defined
architectures in the first place.Knowing how to evaluate the
architecture will provide the keys for defining a solid architecture.
More important is the way the authors define the outputs of the
architecture evaluation, which gives the practicing architect a
framework for design that fully meets the evaluation criteria.The
net result is that a defined architecture will unambiguously
communicate the design to the development team, as well as to the QA
team.

I especially like the business oriented approach that
addresses the costs and benefits of evaluation, the three approaches
from which to choose that best meets technical and business goals, and
the case studies that support each of the approaches.Another strong
point about this book is architecture is also evaluated with
production in mind.Too many books only consider architecture from
the development point of view, or in rare cases, from development and
QA points of view.The evaluation techniques in this book extend to
support and maintenance. The authors make selection of the best
technique easy by comparing them in Chapter 9, and provide an approach
to implement evaluations in Chapter 10.

If you're an architect I also recommend augmenting the excellent
material in this bookwith Design and Use of Software Architectures by
Jan Bosch , which gives an alternatemethod to ATAM that is more
complete in many respects. Even if you espouse Bosch'sapproach,
however, the approach and techniques given in Evaluating Software
Architectures: Methods and Case Studies are complementary. I personally
recommend both books and assign equal value to them.
... Read more

Product Description
This book is aimed at upper-division courses on architecture. It does not focus solely on parallel architectures like similar titles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This book as a text
In 1999, I have used this book as a text for my course on' Advanced Computer Architecture.' I have found that thepresentation and discussion of many topics is very good.

The main limitations for the use of this book as text are: (a) there are no excersizes at the end of chapters, and (2) there are no resources available on the web.

This book as a text
In 1999, I have used this book as a text for my course on' Advanced Computer Architecture.' I have found that thepresentation and discussion of many topics is very good.

The main limitations for the use of this book as text are: (a) there are no excersizes at the end of chapters, and (2) there are no resources available on the web.

Amazing Research
Well, actually I was doing an assignment regarding Pipelined Architecture for my course and to my surprise the answer are all in this book. I didn't purchase the book because it's only for my assignment and I won't get the chance to read it as I have other books to read also for my course. Iwanted to photostat the topic that I want for my assignment but too badthat I can't find it in the library. So, what I got to do is to do moreresearch and see where else that they have this book so that I can borrow.Thanks for the guideline. At least I know which book to refer to in orderto answer my assignment. ... Read more

Product Description
Beginning with an examination of the basic tools that control AutoCAD, each chapter in this highly regarded reference work builds toward a comprehensive skill set to produce a well-rounded exploration of each AutoCAD command related to 2D construction documentation.All the need-to-know information that current and future architects, engineers, and designers require is presented, providing users the efficiencies and skills needed to apply AutoCAD 2008 and its improved features in the architectural and construction fields.The book is an excellent resource for new users exploring the computer skills needed to excel in the creation of drawings for architectural design as well as for experienced CAD users adjusting to the new features and functions of AutoCAD 2008. ... Read more

Product Description

In A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture, six leading experts present indispensable technical, process, and business insight into every aspect of enterprise architecture. You'll find start-to-finish guidance for architecting effective system, software, and service-oriented architectures; using product lines to streamline enterprise software design; leveraging powerful agile modeling techniques; extending the Unified Process to the full software lifecycle; architecting presentation tiers and user experience; and driving the technical direction of the entire enterprise. For every working architect and every IT professional who wants to become one.

Customer Reviews (20)

total disappointment

been looking for an EA book. does not cover itil, togaf, cobit, feaf or any othe improtant EAs now being used.

Outdated
In support of the heading, let's take a look at presented viewpoints. There is nothing besides famous 4+1 and a slight variation on the theme.
EA leaped forward during last 5 years, leaving presented material far behind.

A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture (James McGovern)
To Whom It May Concern,

I have purchased "A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture" for my class which has already started on the 01/05/2009, I have waited for this book because it is vital in my research, and I have yet to receive it. It is paid for, I would like to receive my book or I would like to be reimbursed, and if not, I will be very please to use other services.

Thank you for reading this email, and thank you for your time.


Sincerely,


Rose


A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture (Coad Series)

A very poor book on EA
About 4 pages of this book concern Zachman.The rest of the book largely avoids any enterprise architecture topic.

The confused authors, and some reviewers here, do not understand the difference between enterprise architecture and software architecture.

The title of this book mimics the very popular PDF document "A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture", written for government EA practice.It may seem odd, but US government practice is at the forefront of EA because the organizations are huge and the IT budgets massive.Look for this PDF file on the CIO council website or www.egov.gov.This begs the question of if the authors wanted to steal from the popularity of the earlier work and take advantage of those without a deep knowledge of EA- such as most programmers.

Missing from the book are things like TOGAF, FEAF, DODAF.Also missing is the practical list of artifacts in Scott Bernard's EA3 book. Come to think of it, get Scott's book, DODAF vol 1 & 2, the PDFs at www.egov.gov under the EA link, FEAF v 1.1 (PDF) and you will be far ahead of this confused mishmash of OO religion and EA misinformation.

I've been doing this for about 20 years, so I may be entitled to an opinion.

The title is misleading. The book is NOT a practical guide to Enterprise Architecture
The title 'A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture' led me to expect a book that dealt with the processes, challenges and techniques for creating an ENTERPRISE architecture. It does not. The book is about various technology frameworks. The Contents lists Systems Architectures, Solution Architectures and Service Oriented Architectures but not Enterprise Architecture. Enterprise Architecture is skimmed over in the Preface. The book barely touches on Zachman and Spewak and Hill. It ignores FEAF, TEAF, TOGAF, PERA, C4ISR, the Clinger-Cohen Act and other ENTERPRISE stuff completely. Enough said. Whatever this book is, is it is NOT a practical guide to ENTERPRISE Architecture. The book may be of use to technical architects designing solution-frameworks to support an Enterprise Architecture. ... Read more

Product Description

Dismantle the overwhelming complexity in your IT projects with strategies and real-world examples from a leading expert on enterprise architecture. This guide describes best practices for creating an efficient IT organization that consistently delivers on time, on budget, and in line with business needs.

IT systems have become too complex and too expensive. Complexity can create delays, cost overruns, and outcomes that do not meet business requirements. The resulting losses can impact your entire company. This guide demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, complex problems demand simple solutions. The author believes that 50 percent of the complexity of a typical IT project can and should be eliminated and he shows you how to do it.

You ll learn a model for understanding complexity, the three tenets of complexity control, and how to apply specific techniques such as checking architectures for validity. Find out how the author s methodology could have saved a real-world IT project that went off track, and ways to implement his solutions in a variety of situations.

Key Book Benefits:

 Presents a model for understanding IT and enterprise complexity  Provides practical solutions for controlling complexity, and shows how they can be applied in a variety of situations  Features a methodology for checking architectures for validity  Explains how to apply simplification algorithms to software systems  Includes a real-world case study that demonstrates how the author s solutions could have saved an actual IT project that went wrong ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Easy read
Sessions correctly identifies the real enemy of IT; complexity.Exploring the facets of simplicity and its applicability to Enterprise Architecture makes this book well worth reading.If the author repeats himself, it's only to bash this important concept into our thick skulls.Let we never forget!I wish more books explored this topic.

EA,PMP,PMO,BULL$#@!
the problem with these so called Enterprise Architects, Project Management Professionals, Program Management Officers is that they hire these people with no knowledge whatsoever of systems development or engineering and throw them in the wild to be eaten alive by its sheer complexity and chaos! yet somehow top executives believe that if they throw enough money to it, it might somehow magically and miraculously work. the solution is simple: HIRE MORE SYSTEM DEVELOPERS AND ENGINEERS! PROBLEM SOLVED!

Seems flawed

Maybe I'm missing something, but this book seems flawed. I agree that simple is always better. I also agree that breaking complex problems into smaller pieces (partitions) is a good way to make something more manageable and increase your chances of success. But....

The idea that breaking things into partitions that are isolated seems flawed. Consider this example in the book - you have a bunch of executives trying to figure out lunch. Rather than having the group try to decide, you break them into five different sets of execs. Each determines part of the meal, such as appetizer, main item, or dessert.
Each group can figure out there piece because there are fewer factors involved, so you'll get lunch resolved and decided exponentially quicker.

Okay, but...

Most pieces of a larger project don't happen in isolation. As such, it isn't as simple as this tries to make it. If you end up with a group of executives eating a meal that is mish mashed together, then you are likely to have a bad lunch. While a bad lunch is tolerable, a bad project is not.

An equally flawed example is that of using an emergency response system. The author comments that it would be bad for a surgeon to give directions on removing a victim from a car. That is a bad example, but indicates the slight way this book seems 'off'. Instead of that example, the author should have commented that if a surgeon tries to operate before the victim is removed from the car....

There are a lot of interesting tidbits in this book, but as some of the other reviews said, there is a lot of redundancy, a lot of vague comments, and a lot of common sense too. The math is interesting, but not enough to make this a great book.

Far away from practical world ... not more than minor principles
When I brought this book, I was seeking for a book that talks about Enterprise Architecture, and I found this book as a perfect book for my need ... especially to use it in my master thesis, but what I have found is far away from the big phrase of Enterprise Architecture.

The book started well, spoke high-level and gave good introduction about some major key-words of what we are dealing with in work, but actually after the introduction I felt that I'm just reading an intro book to start studying IT, its just like those 00 books that we was taking when we enters bachelor programs, far away from IT, giving simple and trivial examples, talking about non-IT world more than IT, and even it didnt talk technically at all.

The book talked well about complexity and how to go to simplicity, but it kept far away from "Enterprise" and "Enterprise Architecture", it didnt talk about solutions architecture, simplicity in Enterprise design, best practices about how to architect our enterprise, I was expecting to read about how to create enterprise solution and how to design an enterprise architecture, how to distribute business among projects according to the use of business, distribution of data and how to set-up enterprise on servers ... etc, but what I have found in the book is no more than a talk about minor principles and mathematics for start thinking to learn computer science

If you want to pre-start reading about enterprise architecture, and u didnt get involved into a real project development or dont have any technical experience, this book may be good as an entry for you to start thinking in learning architecture

Yes - to simplicity.
I enjoy Roger Sessions and read his newsletters and past books. This book is on par with other Roger Sessions writtings. Roger's work is very well thought out as well s logical.

What seems to be missing, for me at least, is the clear cut solution.

The computer solutions world is complex by default. Most computer professionals are so wrapped up in current implementations, politics, issues, self-centered solutions, etc., that the clear-cut path foward is impossible to find. It seems like the Roger Session reader is a lone wolf crying in the forest. The organization around them is not interested.

Yes, the book finishes with the path forward, but, for me anyway, does not give the arguments needed for change.

There needs to be the simplistic points to wake up the ITD departments. That is what I see missing in Roger's books. BUT, I AGREE WITH HIS REASONING AND SOLUTIONS, COMPLETELY!

Now on to this book.

The first part of the introduction is probably the key to the rest of the book and best addresses the general complaint listed above. Everyone, in every IT department, should read this section.

The first chapter is an overview of system architecure in general. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book, to me at least. Too many organisations focus on a very small part of architecture and that small part as the enterprise solution. This chapter encapsulates the what, why, and failure of enterprise architecure methodology.

The next couple of chapters discuss complexity and proofs of complexity. After that, he discusses partitioning, why partitioning is benefical, and explains his partitioning process.

I appreciate Roger Sessions thought process and encourage all computer professionals to read. ... Read more

Product Description
"Markov modeling has long been accepted as a fundamental and powerful technique for the fault tolerance analysis of mission-critical applications. However, the elaborate computations required have often made Markov modeling too time-consuming to be of practical use on these complex systems. With this hands-on tool, designers can use the Markov modeling technique to analyze safety, reliability, maintainability, and cost-effectiveness factors in the full range of complex systems in use today.

Featuring ground-breaking simulation software and a comprehensive reference manual, MARKOV MODELING FOR RELIABILITY ANALYSIS helps system designers surmount the mathematical computations that have previously prevented effective reliability analysis. The text and software compose a valuable self-study tool that is complete with detailed explanations, examples, and a library of Markov models that can be used for experiments and as derivations for new simulation models. The book details how these analyses are conducted, while providing hands-on instruction on how to develop reliability models for the full range of system configurations.

Computer-Aided Rate Modeling and Simulation (CARMS) software is an integrated modeling tool that includes a diagram-based environment for model setup, a spreadsheet like interface for data entry, an expert system link for automatic model construction, and an interactive graphic interface for displaying simulation results." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Software is free
Sorry Larry for the lack of response. Such is the life-cycle of free software. However, finally a new downloadable software package which supports recent Windows releases is available from HERE.

Modeling for Reliability Analysis
1. Book is for new complex computer systems. However I use in support of an aging Naval Aviation Aircraft ( A/C ). I am no mathematician, however with my trusty ERA books on Calculus, Statistics, and Vector Calculus, I was able to " tread the waters ". I have performed many, many Reliability & Support Analysis, and CARMS provides another very usefull tool. Math majors should have no difficulty with the subject matter, however applying this is the high light of the book;
2. I have been very unsucessfull in trying to reach the authors to make recommendations on the next revision. I request assistance, and will leave my employment phone number below. Thanks.

V/R,
Larry Tyson///904-542-5454X122P-3C FST-6 ( Avionics ) NADEP Jacksonville, Fl.
... Read more

Product Description
Detailed and comprehensive guide to the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Bus Specification. Thoroughly updated, reorganized, and expanded to cover the PCI Local Bus Specification version 2.2 and other recent developments.Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Great for filling in the gaps!!!!!
I have recently had to undertake a PCI project that required detailed information on PCI configuration of devices, including P2P bridges. I have a couple of other resources, however, this book bridges the gap between software and hardware. Especially the chapters on configuration (Chaps 17, 18 and 19). I highly recommend it!!!!

Not for Software Developers
Basically, this book is very similar to the PCI SIG specification in many respects (without the hefty PCI SIG membership fee).

I was surprised to find that Hot-Plug PCI is given some treatment, but as with most of the material it was generalized and skewed towards the hardware design audience.

This book does do a good job of laying out the registers and explaining them.After I finished reading this book, I was able to do what I need to do, but didn't have a great idea of how the whole system worked.

There are plenty of timing diagrams and lots of good information, but most of it useless for a software developer.For example, the entire chapter of Hot-Plug PCI was well written, but it described what needed to be done to the various control lines-- something that would be implemented by the Hotplug PCI chipset controller.As a result, it is nice to know, but ultimately, useless.

Simply stated, if you are looking for a book to help write a device driver for a PCI-based device, this isn't it. On the other hand, if you are software developer looking for a primer on PCI, I would still look elsewhere.

Not too different from the PCI Spec from PCI-SIG
Hi,
Bought this book under the assumption that the coverage would be better than the PCI Specification from PCI-SIG, but the book is pretty much an exact copy of the specification document. If you can get your hands on the original PCI spec., you will be better off. The only saving grace for this book was that it covered all the stuff from the spec., so if you don't have access to the spec., the book does an ok job covering the whole PCI area.

Software engineer
I agree with other reviewers that said the book is not very helpful if you are writing a PCI device driver.It's full of register definitions and timing diagrams but I never got a feel for how to put it all together.This book may be useful for hardware designers but it is largely worthless for software engineers.If you're writing a driver and you want more info, don't waste your money here.

Great Introduction to the World of PCI
When I opened this book, I had maintained a few PCI drivers, and done off and on hacking at PCI support code, but I didn't fully understand the semantics of PCI. Within a few dozen pages, I had attained infinitely more clue on PCI, and having not even _finished_ the book yet, I can confidently say it's a great great text on PCI, and makes sense of what usually looks like a house of cards with spaghetti strewn over it in code form. ... Read more

Product Description
This solution manual for the second edition of Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach provides example solutions for many of the problems in the text. The manual covers all eight chapters of CA:AQA in addition to the two appendices that include exercises. In most instances, additional explanation is provided so that the reader can understand the process by which the exercise was solved.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great helper for gaining highest score
It is the best book because it helped me to get the highest score of my class.If you got one you won't be disappointed.

good
good fine excellen ... Read more

Product Description
Software architecture is critical to the success of software development projects. Unfortunately, many projects are unsuccessful in their attempts to leverage architecture-based development, especially large-scale projects. Lost in a myriad of possible UML diagrams, project teams often resort to ineffective ad-hoc techniques.

The purpose of this book is to enable software architects, their managers, and other development team members to become more effective in directing the course of large-scale software development projects. Written by two experienced architects that have worked in the trenches on many projects, this book provides practical advice for all software teams about developing and capturing critical software architectural concerns.

Leveraging the recent IEEE standard on software architecture and using UML compatible with versions 1.4 and 2.0 this book describes a series of viewpoints for capturing the software architecture and related concerns. These viewpoints convey essential information to users, stakeholders and other members of the development team.

Large-Scale Software Architecture covers:

• a series of UML based viewpoints for capturing software architecture and related concerns

• useful techniques for development of software architectures

• the roles and responsibilities of the software architect and the architecture team

• traps and pitfalls of architecture development

• utilization of reusable and off-the-shelf software frameworks and components

Customer Reviews (4)

Brief and to the point
This book is not pretentious about what it tries to do.It has no grandiose notions of explaining theories behind architecture, capturing history of the field, how to select architecture to enhance certain architectural qualities, trade offs to consider or patterns to choose from.

It is simply a guide on what architectural views are more relevant than others when trying to build large scale systems, what the view points guiding the generation of those views are, how to use these views effectively when guiding software projects.This it does admirably well, to the point.

It does point to other reference material of relevance for other topics on architecture that is useful for deeper knowledge.

Apart from avoiding pitfalls, this is a good book to help train senior developers and leads who want to move to architect roles.Also helps in developing shared vision on architectural deliverables to be generated among stakeholders.

4 Stars since it is rather pricey.

Practical, thorough and accessible
[Review duplicated from Amazon.co.uk]

Jeff Garland and Richard Anthony have written a very practical and accessible explanation of the process of designing and describing the software architecture for a large information system. All of the major architectural structures are covered and the depth of experience of the authors is evident from the solid, practical advice given throughout. There is also a huge amount of practical advice as to how architectural structures can be described using UML, which is particularly valuable.

The only significant criticism I've have is that they don't talk about the quality properties of the architecture all that explicitly. The focus in most of the book is about capturing architectural structures rather than talking about the required architectural qualities that led to the structures being selected. The reader is left to discern this for themselves.

This said though, I'd still recommend the book to any practicing information systems architect.

Excellent guide to designing large software systems
This book presents a very practical guide to designing and developing large-scale software systems. I've been involved in a number of large-scale projects and this is the first book I've found that includes many of the things you usually find out the hard way. Things like how to effectively communicate the design to the team, how to manage iterations and how to document designs and changes to the design.

Since the topic is large-scale systems, the book focuses more on techniques than on specific examples, but it more than makes up for that by providing practical tips and recommended reading references. If you are leading a software development team or plan to, this book will help you on a very practical level.

Excellent ref. on communicating large-scale software design
An excellent reference on what UML diagrams to use to capture the achitecture of a large software project. And this isn't based on the authors' ivory-tower opinions, but on their actual experience of using these diagrams in the real world. We have since used their approach to successfully capture (and thereby communicate to others) the architecture of software projects at our company.

The writing style is a bit dry (there are no humorous anecdotes), but this is more than made up for by being concise.

The book also includes an excellent primer of the various roles a software architect (and other software managers) should take within a large project. ... Read more

Product Description
In this textbook Harvey Cragon provides a clear introduction to computer architecture and implementation. He interweaves two important themes throughout: the major concepts and design philosophies of computer architecture and organization, and analytic modeling of computer performance. The author begins by describing the classic von Neumann architecture, and then details a number of performance models and evaluation techniques. He goes on to cover user instruction set design--including RISC architecture, pipelined processors, input/output techniques, queuing modes, and extended instruction set architectures. A unique feature of the book is its memory-centric approach--memory systems are discussed before processor implementations. Each topic is illustrated with reference to actual IBM and Intel architectures. The book contains many worked examples, 259 illustrations, and over 130 homework exercises. It is an ideal textbook for a one-semester undergraduate course in computer architecture and implementation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

mostly an overview
Tries to discuss quite a lot or design rules and models, but only using Intel/IBM as examples. Not for casual readers, rather to those who is specifically studying computer architecture in college (especially with allthose excercises after each chapter) ... Read more