Strong, broad introduction

Axelson gives about the widest-ranging introduction to USB that I can imagine. Large parts of it explain the standard, from the electrical level on up. If you've ever tried to use the specification document from a standard as your introduction, you'll appreciate the extra clarity and reduced clutter of this presentation. Although it covers everything of interest to the implementer at the circuit or embedded processor level, it skips minutiae like the mechanical drawings that specify the exact shape of each plug and receptacle (important stuff, just not important to most people). And, although USB 3.0 products are only just starting to hit the streets as of this writing, he does an equally good job with the very different implementation of the multi-gigabit supers-speed protocol.

Axelson goes beyond just the standard. He also names a number of microprocessors and other hardware gadgets with built-in support for some subset of USB's wide range of capabilities. He also covers the arcana of Microsoft's USB-related APIs. Perhaps there isn't enough Windows information to write a real app using only this source - there's still plenty to get the reader oriented and ready to go into the detail that other sources provide.

Despite all the good in it, I found a few maddening flaws in this book. The biggest, and one that repeats frequently, is its tendency to use terms that have not (or not yet) been defined. OK, that has to happen at least some times when different parts of the standard depend on each other, but the index wasn't strong enough to help me find all of the mysterious terms' definitions. It's certainly a good reference for the deeply technical reader, and helps make sense of the standard (which is freely available). With just a bit more work, it could have been an outstanding reference.

-- wiredweird

Other Reviews

• Best USB Guide
• Strong, broad introduction
• This edition is a little outdated, but gives a good basis to understand USB
• USB complete
• Well written book on USB