a Table of Contents as an afterthought. There is, however, a useful interfaces.

A section on synchronous interfaces describes the BI-

Index. It is difficult to say whichgroup of professionals would SYNC and HDLC protocols.Othertopics related to serial data
benefit most from this book,but students, practicing engineers, transmission such as crosstalk, isolation, and data buffering also are
hospital architects, and physicians all might find some useful infor- presented here. As with the chapter on parallel interfacing, a few
mation. specific interface devices are described including the MC6850 and
i8251, which provide the RS-232-C interface for the 6800 a n d 8 0 8 X
Reprinted from €ngineeringin Medicine and Bio/ogyMagazine, vol. 2, families, respectively.
no. 2, pp. 4-47, June 1983.
Chapters 7 and 8 cover basic techniques used in two common
peripherals: magnetic storagedevices and CRT terminals. Though
the treatment i s general and the topics are somewhat off the thread
of the preceding chapters (particularly an involved discussion of
phase-locked loops in magnetic recording techniques), the chapters
provide an informative overview of the major problems and popu-
Microprocessor interfacing-Harold Stone. (Reading, MA: Addison-
lar solutions associated with these ubiquitous peripherals.
Wesley,1982,ISBN:0-201-07403-6,383 pp., $32.95,) Reviewed by The final chapter is on programming with emphasis on “top-
john I. Semmlow, Electrical Engineering, Rutgers Univ., New down” design, a highly structured methodology inwhichthe
Brunswick, N]. problem is initially coded into a high-level language, followed by
While the microprocessor revolution may touchthe lives of hand compilation down to assembly language. Examples are given
everyone, it touches some harder than others. The growing use of using PASCAL as the high-level language with assembly code from
microprocessors and microcomputers i n medical devicesmeans the Intel 808X family.
that many bioengineers must become fluent in this technology, and Any new book on interface techniques invites comparison with
this usually requires some form of self-study. Though there are an the popular book by Zaks and Lesea, Microprocessorinterfacing
increasing number of formal workshops and seminars dealing with Techniques (3rd edition, Sybex, Inc., 1979).Thissemi-classic (cur-
microprocessor applications, numerous cookbook-typepublica- rently available in paperback and seven languages), with its greater
tions, and a wealth of manufacturer’s literature, these sources often emphasis on specific hardware implementation, is probably more
are restricted to one microprocessor family. Thus these sources do useful to the professional bioengineer who must quickly master
not provide a broad overview of the microcomputer area, a particu- both the fundamentals and applicationof interface technology.
larly annoyinglimitationwhenworkingwith devices featuring However, the newer Microprocessor Interfacing does have unique
different microprocessor families or when choosing a microcom- strengths. By stressing principles (somewhat at the expense of
puter family, as in an initial design situation. specific applications), the reader receives a broader overview of the
Microcomputer Interfacing was designed primarily as an under- area and a more thorough presentation of background material.
graduate textbook for students in electrical or computer engineer- Additional readingsare cited at the end of each chapter and are
ing,but is also is intendedfor professional readers with diverse valuable references to more detailed readings on chapter topics.
skills and backgrounds. In a reader’s preface several different ap- Additionally, the sections on shielding and grounding, the IEEE-488
proaches to the material are suggested, each related to a specific set instrument bus, and serial synchronous protocols are particularly
of backgrounds and goals. An instructor’s preface offers similar detailed and useful. Finally, the book is clearly written and accessi-
options for a formal course and also recommends prerequisites. In ble throughout.
general, a workingknowledge of digital electronics and some Reprinted from Engineeringin Medicine and Biology Magazine, vol. 2,
exposure to microprocessors and basicassemblylanguage is ade- no. 2 , pp. 47-48, June 1983.
quate. Texts providing this background are cited.
Each chapter is organized into three major sections: basic princi-
ples, current applications, and specific examples. Chapter I - M i -
crocomputer Structures-covers the basics of data and control flow
in microcomputer systems. Both isolated and memory-mapped ap- Developing a DataDictionary System--].Van Duyn. (Englewood
proaches to 1/0 port addressing are discussed, as are interrupt and Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982, 204 pp., $25.00.) Reviewed by Chris
program control 1/0 servicing. A brief explanation of DMA inter- N. Napjus, Department o f Defense, Washington, DC.
facing also is given. These concepts are presented using generalized
terminologyfor the necessary control lines, without regard to This slim volume is actually slimmer than its page count suggests.
specific hardware or timing protocols. Such timing and hardware The pages are 9” X 5;” with substantial spacing and indenting, and
examplesare presented in the chapter on bus interconnections the book really has only 82 pages of text. The remainder consists of
(Chapter 3) and, for DMA interfaces, in the chapter on memories sample applications (i.e., selected real-world examples) and tables.
(Chapter 4). Also, the final section of this chapter provides specific O f the 11 chapters, only twoexceed 10 pages of text and four have
descriptions ofcontrol lines employed in several popularmicro- five or fewer pages. With judicious skimming a reader can easily
computer families (6800,6500, 808X, and 280). absorb the main ideas of the book in a few hours.
Problems associated with signal transmission are discussed in the Fortunately, the book‘s small sizedoes not translate into a
second chapter. Principles of shielding, grounding, and transmis- superficial treatment of the topic. Van Duyn describes the motiva-
sion line techniques are presented emphasizing concepts relevant tion for data dictionary systems, their principal elements, and most
to digital signal transmission at microprocessor rates (IO MHz and important, major considerations for a potential user. In this well-
less). Specific topics include cabling, balanced lines, sources,re- thought-out presentation, he takes the view-and quite correctly, I
ceivers, and linetermination.In the last section, applications of believe-that the details of a DDS implementation are too applica-
these concepts are provided for intraboard, backplane, and board- tion and environment specific to be dealt with meaningfully in a
to-board connections. general manner. Consequently, in his text, he deals only with
Two chapters provide information onbus structures. In Chapter 3 concepts, not details, and uses well-chosen sample applications to
-Bus Interconnections-topics covered are common to all bus illustrate the details necessary for a specific application. Given this
structures: basic liming, handshake protocols, and arbitration tech- intention, the book is well organized and largely successful.The
niques. Approaches employed i n synchronous, asynchronous, and only real deficiencies I seeare its reliance on commercial data
semisynchronous busesare covered in turn. Specific examples of processing for all sample applications, the minor treatment of DDS
timing, handshaking, and arbitration are given for the 6800 family, use i n supporting the analysis and design phases, and the omission
PDP-11 (Unibus), LSI-11 (Q-bus), and 8 0 8 X family. The IEEE Stan- of issues pertaining to distributed databases. Nonetheless, the book
dard version of the 5-100bus(IEEE-6%)also is discussed briefly. is oriented towards aspects of DDSs that most interest the general
The most popular external interface bus, the IEEE-488, is treated user community.
extensively i n the chapter on parallel interfacing (Chapter 6). This The 11 chapters can be broken into a logical progression of five
chapter also includes examples of integrated I/O ports such as units. Van Duyn begins by presenting fundamental information that
Motorola’s 6820/6821 and Intel’s i8255. most computer professionals willview as extraneous, although
Serial interfacing is covered in Chapter 5 . Asynchronous protocols some distinctions between file and database systems may be worth
include the popular RS-232-C Interface Standard and 20 mA current reviewing. Chapters 3 through 5 describe a DDS and present its
loop (teletype) along with the high bandwidth RS-422, 423, and 449 rationale. I found elements of “oversell” in these chapters, includ-

PROCEEDINGS OF THEIEEE, VOL. 72, NO. 8.AUGUST 1984