Embedded SoPC Design with Nios II Processor and VHDL Examples

I started reading this book after a course on VHDL applied on the Altera DE2 (everything on VHDL the hard way), and before starting a thesis project focused on Nios II, which I had read about but hadn't seen in the classroom. To be noted, this is my second thesis project, with some 20 years of industry experience in software engineering. So I think I have some experience in well written books and the ones that are not ;)The book is perfectly written in a clear way, with a good division in four areas of interest which give progressive knowledge on how to develop embedded systems in a Nios II environment. Reader will be introduced to VHDL, then Nios II, then device drivers on the Altera DE1 development board and finally hardware accelerators. Concepts are clearly exposed and previous developments are smartly reused leading to a nice understanding of Nios II embedded development with both C language microprocessor code and VHDL hardware accelerators working together.Not as a criticism, but as suggestion for professor Chu to go further, a fifth part centered on real time operating systems (RTOS) would be much appreciated. And this means covering Ethernet usage and the TCP/IP stack (hello Interniche and OS-II). This would give a complete overview of embedded development, in my opinion and understanding this is an Altera DE1 resources centered book.Also, some chapter on how to live in the IP (open)core world would be of interest, with an actual example of using and licesing third party IP. A little overview of the FPGA marketplace and what devices and IP can be found, and a comment on the multiprocessor system-on-chip arena would be nice too.But back to what the book is, if you want to go from basic understanding of programming (no previous VHDL required) to mastering Nios II on Altera development boards, go for it.

The book is great for VHDL programming along with C, I've used this book multiple times and am now in my second class that has this book as the requirement.

Scritto con una semplicita' disarmante (soggetto + verbo + complemento), la lettura e' molto leggera nonostante i contenuti impegnati.Molti errori del tipo: SOCP invece che SOPC, anche nelle estensioni dei file... dunque ci saranno anche nei listati del libro, che pero' si possono scaricare.Ottima introduzione alla tematica dei processori soft core per fpga hardare e software... primo passo obbligato per chi viene dall'hardware VLSI.Sono piu' che soddisfatto, sicuramente l'autore merita di essere seguito sugli altri libri che ha scritto.Le bibliografie alla fine dei vari capitoli sono un manna per chi necessita di approfondire l'argomento: passo obbligato anche questo...

This book sets the bar of how a well-written book on a complex subject should be presented. I'm very grateful to the author for his diligence he applied to create this masterpiece. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any interested in the subject.