{"product_id":"9781489904812","title":"Real-Time Software Design: A Guide for Microprocessor Systems","description":"\u003ch1\u003eReal-Time Software Design: A Guide for Microprocessor Systems\u003c\/h1\u003e \u003ch2\u003eHELLER\u003c\/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eComputers these days spend a fairly low fraction of their time computing. In fact, the very word \"computer\" has become something of a misnomer. In the American History museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Wash­ ington, D.C., there is an exhibit of early computers. Three features of these machines are striking. First, they are enormous, especially in com­ parison to their capabilities. The museum visitor who has just come from the Natural History building next door may be reminded of fossilized di­ nosaur bones. Second, they don't look at all like modern computing ma­ chines. The cases are made of crude metal or beautifully worked wood, recalling an approach to the design of scientific apparatus which belongs to a previous generation. Lastly, the function of these machines is mainly to compute-to perform rapid arithmetic. The computer of today bears little resemblance in size, form, or function to its ancestors. It is, most obviously, smaller by several orders of mag­ nitude. Its form has changed from the carefully crafted one-of-a-kind in­ strument to the mass-produced microchip. But the change in its function is perhaps the most dramatic of all. Instead of being a computing engine, it is a machine for the processing of information. The word \"processor\" has come into common usage. A processor used to be a central processing unit-a set of wires and vacuum tubes, or later a set of printed circuit boards-which was nestled deep within the computer. Today a processor is an off-the-shelf component.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ch3\u003eDetails\u003c\/h3\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublished by: Birkhäuser\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublication Date: 2013-06-29\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eISBN-13: 9781489904812\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDOI: 10.1007\/978-1-4899-0479-9\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDimensions: 235cm x155cm\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePages: 116\u003c\/p\u003e ","brand":"Birkhäuser Boston","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44421884149900,"sku":"9781489904812","price":49.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9781489904812.jpg?v=1776534603","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781489904812","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}