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Search in Book Reviews

The ACCU passes on review copies of computer books to its members for them to review. The result is a large, high quality collection of book reviews by programmers, for programmers. Currently there are 1949 reviews in the database and more every month.
Search is a simple string search in either book title or book author. The full text search is a search of the text of the review.
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Title:
Programming in the OSEK/VDX Environment
Author:
Joseph Lemieux
ISBN:
1 57820 081 4
Publisher:
CMP Books
Pages:
359pp+CD
Price:
£36-95
Reviewer:
Chris Hills
Subject:
embedded systems
Appeared in:
14-5
This book is aimed at professional engineers. The targets discussed are the 500 series PPC board from AXIOM and Windriver OSEK Works, neither of which are inexpensive.

On the CD are the official OSEK standards. This makes the book useful, although these are also available from the OSEK web site, but it begs the question as to why the API takes up 100 pages in the book when it is on the CD. Also on the CD are all the sources of the application described in the book. NB There is no OSEK implementation on the CD. OSEK is not a 'free' OS.

It is difficult to know where the audience for this book will be found, since it requires an OSEK compliant OS (not an inexpensive item) if you want to use the software on the CD. Anyone who has access to an OSEK compliant OS will have plenty of examples and manuals. The specific OSEK OS used as a target in the book (OSEKWorks from Wind River) comes with a lot of support anyway.

There is enough free generic OSEK information available and the vendors will fall over themselves to provide information on their own implementations. Half the book is the API that is in the standards and freely available from

www.oesk.org
.

Whilst its aims are good, I find little useful material in this book that is not free elsewhere or requires a lot of money to use. It you have no money download the standards. If you have the cash the OSEK vendor will provide the docs and support. Not recommended.