ELECTRONICS & POWER SEPTEMBER 1979 653

Book Reviews
The architecture of small com-
puter systems
A.G. Lippiatt
Prentice-Hall, 1978, 173 pp. 3.95
Recent advances in microelectronics have
only accelerated the already rapid permeation
of data-processing systems and digital elec-
tronics into almost every aspect of human
activity. More and more sections of both the
social and technical communities are encoun-
tering these systems as part of their normal
working lives. As a result, many more people,
from a wide variety of backgrounds, feel the
need to discover more about the basic prin-
ciples of these systems so as to employ them
more effectively in their own particular fields.
This book would be an excellent means of
furnishing this introduction.
Almost every aspect of small-computer
structure and operation is covered in a man-
ner that is both concise and enlightening. The
emphasis is placed mainly on the hardware
aspects and covers the major components of
c.p.u., memory and control as well as prob-
lems associated with coding, addressing and
interrupts. The software side and its relation to
the hardware is not extensively covered,
which is a pity, because the real power and
influence of these systems is due to the
software provided by the manufacturer and
the programs written by the users. However,
these areas have, by tradition, been separate
disciplines, and the author is only reflecting
this trend.
Unlike many previous writers, the author
has avoided the total reliance on fictitious
'simple' machines and instead he relates his
explanations to current real minicomputers
and microprocessors.
I found this to be a very competent and lucid
work that is extremely good value at the price,
and I would recommend it to students at all
levels who wish to become familiar with small-
computer systems.
D.H. GREEN
Power system analysis
C.A. Gross
Wiley, 1979,478pp. 11.75
To students enteri ng the el ectri cal -
power-systems field, the apparent complexity
of 3-phase systems can often be over-
whelming. However, in 12 chapters this book
provides a good introduction to the mathemat-
ical representation of network elements and
the analysis of complete systems. In a logical
progression, following a brief introduction, the
text derives the symmetrical component rep-
resentation together with the per-unit system,
and subsequently shows how these concepts
can be applied to the study of network power
flow, fault analysis and system protection.
Matrix algebra is used to clarify the problem
formulation with scalar and vector quantities
clearly identified. Appropriate simplifications
are introduced to enable the basis of digital-
computer-solution techniques to be presented
and also to introduce system-stability studies.
Illustrative examples are included through-
out the text with additional problems for each
topic, but no solutions are provided. In what is
essentially an undergraduate student textbook
this is a regrettable omission. The bib-
liography sections included with each chapter
also contain too many duplicate entries and no
indication is given of which reference is most
appropriate for amplification of topics covered
in the text.
The presentation and production of the
book is good with the minor exception of the
computational results, which would have been
better typeset rather than reproduced. The
author adopts a tutorial style, which, although
unconventional, does make the material more
digestable; e.g. 'We are nearing our objective'
follows six pages of derivations and serves as
encouragement to follow the remaining three
pages. Overall the book is good value for
money and most appropriate for under-
graduate students pursuing power systems
courses.
M.J.H. STERLING
Analog and digital filters
H. Y.-F. Lam
Prentice-Hall, 1979, 632 pp. 24.05
So many books on network theory and design
have been written during the last 30 years that
the publication of yet another volume on this
subject may be treated with some reserve by
many engineers. This particular treatment,
however, which draws its material from a
course of lectures given by the author, has its
own special characteristics that include, as
might be expected, both strengths and weak-
nesses.
The book is intended to provide students
and practising engineers with a basic know-
ledge of filter design and with a solid back-
ground for more advanced study of the sub-
ject. The chapters covering basic network
theory and filter design are clearly presented
with plenty of well chosen examples. The dil-
lig'ent reader should, by the end of Chapter 7,
be able to design simple all pole filters of var-
ious forms and complexity including doubly-
terminated LC ladders, A number of more
advanced techniques, such as the derivation
of elliptic function files, inverted Chebyshev
filters and asymmetric bandpass filters are not
dealt with, so that the engineer wishing to
design these frequently used types will have
to study the numerous references given at the
end of each chapter. Filter-approximation
techniques are treated in a similar manner
with a thorough presentation of all pole trans-
fer functions and symmetrical transformations.
More space could have been allocated to
the design and use of allpass networks as
delay equalisers, while the absence of any
reference to the major role being played by the
digital computer in the application of modern
filter design methods is surprising.
Active filters are covered by the theoretical
treatment of a comprehensive selection of cir-
cuit configurations, which, although largely
historical in certain sections, provides a good
background to a subject that has produced an
enormous output of written material over the
last 20 years. In view of the crucial importance
of component sensitivity in active filter
realisations, more emphasis should have
been placed on this subject.
The last three chapters deal with design and
realisation of digital filters using ideal rather
than finite word length adders and multipliers
as network elements. We will, therefore, find
no treatment of quantisation effects in the text,
the chapter on realisation dealing mainly with
circuit configurations for subsequent
implementation. The treatment of the fun-
damentals of digital filter design is clearly and
logically presented with a good selection of
examples and references. A minor complaint
is the rather brief treatment given to f.i.r. filters,
which are widely used in many forms of signal
processing.
To sum up, although a considerable amount
of basic theoretical and practical information is
well presented in the book, details of several
important design techniques are not included.
These omissions are, however, generally
noted by the author and comprehensive lists
of references provided for further study.
A.J.L MUIR
Books Received
Control theory meets the real world of
applications Vol.1, Joint Automatic Con-
trol Conference, Instrument Society of
America, 1979, 401pp. 10
Control theory meets the real world of
applications Vol. 2, Joint Automatic Con-
trol Conference, Instrument Society of
America, 1979, 416pp. 10
Control theory meets the real world of
applications Vol.3, Joint Automatic Con-
trol Conference, Instrument Society of
America, 1979, 401pp. 10
Control theory meets the real world of
applications Vol. 4, Joint Automatic Con-
trol Conference, Instrum ent Society of
America, 1979, 283pp. 10
Service management by W.H. Blevel and
J.D. Patton, Instrument Society of America,
1979,46pp. 2
Electrical wiring residential by R.C. Mullin,
Van Nostrand Rheinhold, 1979, 266pp. 8.95
Energy usage in the eighties by A.B.
Shearer and J.A. O'Shea, Industrial News-
papers Ltd., 1979, 47pp. 1.50
Operational amplifiers by G.B. Clayton,
Newnes-Butterworths, 1979, 410pp. 9.50
Electronic countermeasures edited by J.A.
Boyd, D.B. Harris, D.D. King and H.W. Welch,
Jun., Peninsula Publishing, 775pp. 18.95
Basic control engineering by B. Yousef-
zadeh, Pitman Publishing, 1979,284pp. 4.50
Electrical machinery, transformers and
controls by H.W. Gingrich, Prentice-Hall,
1979, 352pp. 13.85
Handbook of electronic communication by
G. M. Miller, Prentice-Hall, 1979, 338pp.
12.35
Small motor, gearmotor and control hand-
book by C. Bodine (Ed.), Bodine Electric
Company, 1979, 210pp. 2.50
Electric power system components by R.
Stein and W.T. Hunt, Van-Nostrand
Rheinhold, 1979, 477pp. 16.90
Fundamentals of aerospace Instrumen-
tation: Vol. 10; and Fundamentals of test
measurement: Vol 5 by K.E. Kessel (Ed.),
Society of America, 1979, 56pp. 6.75
Industrial computer system Fortran pro-
cedures for file access and the control of
file contention, Instrument Society of
America, 1979, 7pp 2.75
International telemetering conference,
Wiley, 1979, 1137pp. 50
These books are available for loan at the IEE
Library, Savoy Place.