Review of Digital Electronics 9th Edition by William Kleitz

Created on: 6 December 2012

Digital Electronics A Practical Approach with VHDL 9th edition by William Kleitz is a digital electronics text book suitable for students in engineering and technology curricula.

This book is well written and contains all the material that one would expect in a digital electronics course. As is typical with this kind of book, it starts with fundamentals of digital systems and binary code, introduces logic gates and then logic elements built from gates such as comparators, encoders, ALU, memory, etc. and finishes with an explanation of how a microprocessor works.

The book contains both fixed gate (7400 series ICs) and VHDL examples. It is possible to skip the sections of the book containing VHDL and use the book for a digital electronics course without affecting the continuity of the text. The VHDL sections of the book are well marked down the side of each page.

Some of the features of the book are:

• Digital systems text book using 7400 series logic ICs
• Optional implementation of the logic gates and elements in VHDL on CPLDs or FPGAs
• Software simulation of logic circuits
• The free version of the Altera Quartus II software is used for VHDL development
• Practical examples, problems and fault finding throughout the text

Hardware and Software Used

Hardware

The book uses the 7400 series of logic ICs. Circuits can be built on a breadboard using these ICs. Altera CPLDs and FPGAs are used in examples.

For implementing the optional VHDL examples, the Altera DE2 Development and Education board is used (contains the Altera Cyclone II 2C35 FPGA). It should be no problem to use an alternate FPGA board with the text.

Software

Multisim software from National Instruments is used in the software simulation examples and exercises.

Quartus® II Web Edition version 9.1 sp2 software is used as the VHDL development package in the book – this is a free download.

Book Contents

Each chapter in the book starts with a chapter outline and objectives. Each chapter ends with review questions, a summary of what was covered in the chapter, a glossary of terms used in the chapter and various exercises and problems to be solved by the student – the problems cover design, troubleshooting, simulation and VHDL.

Side notes in the book provide extra information on the work being covered. There are four kinds of side notes:

• Common Misconception - misconceptions that are often made by students
• Helpful Hint - extra information and hints
• Team Discussion - interesting discussions that can be made in the class
• Inside Your PC - explains where the topic being covered applies to a PC

Book Chapters

The book consists of the following chapters:

Chapter 1 – Number Systems and Codes

Chapter 2 – Digital Electronic Signals and Switches

Chapter 3 – Basic Logic Gates

Chapter 4 – Programmable Logic Devices: CPLDs and FPGAs with VHDL Design

Chapter 5 – Boolean Algebra and Reduction Techniques

Chapter 6 – Exclusive-OR and Exclusive-NOR Gates

Chapter 7 – Arithmetic Operations and Circuits

Chapter 8 – Code Converters, Multiplexers and Demultiplexers

Chapter 9 – Logic Families and Their Characteristics

Chapter 10 – Flip-Flops and Registers

Chapter 11 – Practical Considerations for Digital Design

Chapter 12 – Counter Circuits and VHDL State Machines

Chapter 13 – Shift Registers

Chapter 14 – Multivibrators and the 555 Timer

Chapter 15 – Interfacing to the Analog World

Chapter 16 – Semiconductor, Magnetic and Optical Memory

Chapter 17 – Microprocessor Fundamentals

Chapter 18 – The 8051 Microcontroller

Appendix A – Web Sites

Appendix B – Manufacturers’ Data Sheets

Appendix C – Explanation of the IEEE/IEC Standard for Logic Symbols (Dependency Notation)

Appendix D – Answers to Odd-Numbered Problems

Appendix E – VHDL Language Reference

Appendix F – Review of Basic Electricity Principles

Appendix G – Schematic Diagrams for Chapter-End Problems

Appendix H – 8051 Instruction Set Summary

Conclusion

The book makes the subject of digital electronics interesting and exciting with its easy to read and understand text, and by using practical examples.

The student using this book will be taking advantage of the experience that Professor Kleitz has gained from the previous 8 editions of the book as well as the feedback and insights that he has obtained by working with students.