Jan Axelson
December, 2007
ISBN: 9-781931-448062
List Price: $39.95
What more can you ask for?
The phrase that came to mind when I read this book was, "solid foundation." It covers the basics in clear, understandable language. What more can you ask for?
This book is in a class that includes great series like the books from Mike Murach and Dan Appleman. Jan (short for Janet) Axelson decided to control of her own future and form her own company to publish her books: Lakeview Research. But don't think this is amateur hour. Axelson has published a whole series of books focused on the computer interface, especially USB, mass storage, serial (COM) ports, embedded systems, and parallel ports. With this completely revised 2nd Edition of a classic, you're getting both a solid book and the latest revisions up to the level of .NET 2.0.
A quick check of lvr.com shows a site with no flash and no frills. You don't have to worry about load time because it's just basic text. But what's there, again, is solid. For example, since this is the 2nd Edition, you can check for errata on the 1st Edition ... and it's there! That's actually more than you can say for some technical books. Some of them promise corrections, but don't deliver. I've found myself staring at a blank page and thinking, "I know this book must have corrections. So where are they?"
And check out "Serial Port Central" at the site! This is, bar none, the most complete list of links I believe I have ever seen on such a focused topic. Even if you don't buy the book, keep this site in mind if you need anything connected with serial ports. It's way better than trying to google for it.
For the VB.NET Programmer
Before I agreed to review this book, I asked one key question, "Does it include Visual Basic code examples?" Indeed it does. The examples I coded were appropriate and they worked. If you've ever looked for serial port examples online, you have probably beome very frustrated scanning through examples that were excessively complex, didn't apply anymore, or didn't really do much. The examples here won't frustrate you.
The one criticism I have is that, since the book is streamlined and mainly just covers the fundamentals, the examples are not "in depth" solutions. In most cases, the book just explains what you need to know to get started. The rest is up to you.
Chapters 9 and 10 will help the VB.NET programmer the most:
- Using .NET's SerialPort Class
- Managing Ports and Transfers in .NET
The book includes revisions for the new SerialPort class added with .NET 2.0. The chapter on "Managing Ports and Transfers in .NET" uses .NET delegates for event-driven or asynchonous (non-blocking) operations in the examples.
Axleson Versus the Rest of Them
There are two real strengths to this book. As I have already emphasized, the first is that it covers the basics very well. The second is the clear, understandable writing. To illustrate this point, here's the introduction from "The Windows Serial Port Programming Handbook" (Ying Bai) at almost three times the price. (To avoid losing your attention completely, all of the text is not included.)
What is Serial Port Communication?
In the early 1960s, a standards committee today known as the Electronics Industry Association (EIA), developed a common interface standard ... history yadda, yadda, yadda ...
Serial communications can be divided into different groups based on ... terminology yadda, yadda, yadda (for several pages ...
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Here's the same section in Axelson's book.
A serial port is a computer interface that transmits data one bit at a time. In common use, the term "serial port" refers to ports that use a particular asynchronous protocol. These ports include the RS-232 ports on PCs and many serial ports in embedded systems.
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Bai's book, of course, has a lot more information in it. But I know which one I would read first if I had a problem to solve.
A Complete Guide
A few years ago, I worked with a startup technology company that developed a GPS based security system which interfaced with a PC using a serial port. Although the programming was done by their experts, I really would have been able to use the A to Z explanations in this book to better understand what they were telling me and perform useful functions at my end of the system more efficiently. To accomplish the cable length and speeds they needed, they used RS-485 rather than RS-232 serial port communications. This book has two full chapters about it. This is just an example of how Axelson covers the subject.
With the uncluttered layout and only 362 pages, it's amazing how much Axelson has packed into this book. The title says "complete" and it doesn't lie. In addition to programming, everything from how to wire interfaces to how to buy components is included.
The only thing about the book that is not "complete" is that it doesn't go into exhaustive detail about anything. If you're looking for a comprehensive, in depth reference, this book doesn't do that. Clear writing and a focus on making sure the fundamentals are covered are the top priority. But my bottom line impression is that if you need a great fundamental guide, this is your book.
