Customer comments on this selection.
 Some good information, but seriously overpriced
This book has some good information on programming AVR microcontrollers in c, but in my opinion it is ridiculously over-priced for what you get. The whole second half of the book is worthless to me because I am using a different c compiler. If one is not using the CodeVision c compiler, then I think the same information can be gotten a lot less expensively from other books, the device datasheets, Atmels application notes, and other users on the internet.
 Excellent course on AVR
Very good guide. If you need to program for AVR fast. This book is for you. Expensive, I don't know why. But, it's really good. 4 stars only because too much expensive.
 What an excellent book ...
I have only just started programming with AVR and was looking for a book that would help me. After reading other reviews I decided to buy this book - and I'm glad that I did.
It starts off with an introduction to embedded C, moves on to discuss the Atmel AVRs and concludes with a chapter on developing a project from scratch. But, what's good is that it starts off from the basics with plenty of explanations (so if you've never done anything with AVRs before, then this is for you), and moves on to the complex stuff later.
The book covers almost every topic you would want, so you can always use the book as a reference later. There is a comprehensive Appendix in the back too which lists the various C functions and Atmel instruction sets.
My only complaint is that the book dedicates to much space on the CodeVision C Compiler (there is a whole chapter on using the IDE, and several references are made to it throughout the book). It's a pity that there is no mention of the AVR-GCC Compiler - since it's free!!
Overall, this is an excellent book, that I would definately recommend to anyone starting off with programming the Atmel AVR microprocessors.
Read these reviews for general info as they may refer to the first edition!
Hi folks!
It's amazing how reviews dated months (or years) prior to the publication date of a new edition got added here. I do own the earlier edition and find it to be *exactly* what I needed to both ramp up my knowledge of embedded C processing and learn the AVR micro.
Now we have this new edition that just might overcome some of the valid criticisms of the reviewers as well as bring the explanations up to date for the newer processors. Or it might not. . .. An update review would be helpful as I don't want to spend $90 to get the same book with a different cover. Ahhh! Amazon's return policy. I'll order the new one and either write an update review or send it back. Nice!
UPDATE!
Well, I ordered the new edition. . .. Here's the scoop: the authors have updated the chip used in the examples to the Mega16 (and sometimes the Mega128) so this is a good thing as there have been significant changes in the naming of internal registers, etc. since the first edition was written. There are some short additions here and there (e.g. a two-page section on I2C) and "Lab problems" in addition to the exercises at the end of each chapter. The new book is thirty pages longer, but somewhat thinner than the first ed.
So, if you're a bit of a newbie (like me) and are using a particular chip (like the Mega16 as I was) this edition is well worth the cost as it tracks the chip internals closely in the descriptions. If you are "just looking," maybe a used first edition will answer 99% of your questions for 50% of the price. In either case, the explanation of embedded C in the first 80 pages of the book is superb! There is also an excellent project example--start to finish--that ties it all together.
Great for Beginners and as a reference for Advanced Programmers
In a word, this book is Awesome! It takes the reader through beginner to advanced programming of the AVR in C and provides an extensive list of projects while remaining just abstract enough to allow the reader to translate the code and concepts into many different but similar real-world problems. The first section also provides a quick recap on basic C programming for people (like me) who program infrequently enough in C to forget basic concepts.
You can find more AVR info at http://www.hobbyrobotics.org/avr.htm
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