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Programming and Customizing the Propeller Multicore - order today at $32.97 (sa — Parallax Forums

Programming and Customizing the Propeller Multicore - order today at $32.97 (sa

Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
edited 2010-02-18 00:06 in Propeller 1
Hey there!

I see that our marketing team has put this book up for sale.

www.parallax.com/tabid/768/ProductID/637/Default.aspx

It arrives in stock today or tomorrow.

We have matched the Amazon price, too.

Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
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Comments

  • hover1hover1 Posts: 1,929
    edited 2010-01-13 19:10
    Bummer. I preordered with Amazon in Sept. and they will not be shipping until Feb.9th. I'm sure it will be worth the wait!

    Jim
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2010-01-13 19:11
    Why was "Multi-core" used instead of "Multi-Processor"? Just curious. Congrats on the release too.

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  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2010-01-13 19:34
    @potatohead: seems like the fairly new industry has adopted the word "Multi-core" more readily than "Multi-processor" so we chose the former title for this book. We felt it would generate more activity in search engines, too, and help us find new customers with a title they're more likely to search. The purpose of this book was to gather up some of the best Propeller developers and write the book, completely with correct information and a span of projects covering common applications. We wanted the Propeller to be portrayed from the perspective of chip designers, software developers, users, hobbyists and newbies (the authors of this book).

    Ken Gracey
    Parallax Inc.
  • heaterheater Posts: 3,370
    edited 2010-01-13 20:33
    "core" is in quite common usage in multi processor circles now a days. Like these guys www.xmos.com/technology/xcore or these guys www.intel.com/support/processors/mobile/coreduo/

    It's a term that been in use for processors implemented in programmable gate arrays for a long time www.1-core.com/library/digital/soft-cpu-cores/

    For me "core" has always carried the connotation of being the guts of a processor i.e. it may not have any external memory bus interface or I/O or clocks etc by itself. Especially so for soft cores in FPGA's etc.

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  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2010-01-13 23:37
    No, lay-flat perfect bound. Similar to other books you find at Borders - B&N, etc.

    It's less of a tutorial and more of a project book. Instead of keeping it on your desk, maybe it'll do well at other reading locations in your home.

    Ken Gracey
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2010-01-14 00:47
    Ken,

    Great! This will be fun...

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    Whit+


    "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
  • CannibalRoboticsCannibalRobotics Posts: 535
    edited 2010-01-14 02:39
    So, the term "core-memory" is now dead?

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  • John R.John R. Posts: 1,376
    edited 2010-01-14 04:23
    Ken Gracey (Parallax) said...
    No, lay-flat perfect bound. Similar to other books you find at Borders - B&N, etc.

    It's less of a tutorial and more of a project book. Instead of keeping it on your desk, maybe it'll do well at other reading locations in your home.

    Ken Gracey

    Just make sure you have the other type of paper in the "other reading locations" so that you don't have to tear pages out of the book.

    How about getting the book available at Safari Books? I don't have room for dead trees, and prefer them (trees) with the leaves/needles still on.

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  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2010-01-14 04:47
    Hey John R. interesting idea. The objective of this book was a bit different - to capture the interest of new customers who buy books before hardware. Every microcontroller has to have a book about it, as does the Propeller. And we wanted something IN PRINT, on the bookstore shelves.

    I like the idea of making it available at Safari books, but it's far too complex of a royalty & copyright situation for me to do that. While dealing with Safari could be super easy, this book has seven authors and a publishing company already involved with a contract. It would take at least a few hundred e-mails and a lot of negotiating to make that happen at this stage. To be honest I simply haven't got the interest (or energy) in making that happen. After the book runs its course for a while it will become much easier, but right now everybody will want to recover some [noparse][[/noparse]a small tidbit] of their investment.

    Had we set out initially with the idea of Safari being a target we would have not approached a traditional publisher like McGraw Hill.

    On the other hand, I recognize that Safari could increase distribution significantly. A solid print run of a microcontroller book is 5K units per time, or a lifespan of 20K units. I'm sure that the on-line community would be much larger than that, but they were not our target.

    Ken Gracey
  • heaterheater Posts: 3,370
    edited 2010-01-14 08:51
    I don't get the part a about "customizing". I haven't managed to customize any of my Props except if you count over-voltage damage or breaking the legs off[noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Looks to be a great resource though.

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  • hover1hover1 Posts: 1,929
    edited 2010-01-14 19:40
    I surely hope not! I have one to sell on ebay!

    Jim


    CannibalRobotics said...
    So, the term "core-memory" is now dead?

    ManyCores.png
    998 x 378 - 798K
  • John R.John R. Posts: 1,376
    edited 2010-01-14 19:44
    @heater: Break out the nail polish! Racing stripes make it go faster...

    @Ken: I fully understand and appreciate the complexities of getting this to Safari anytime soon. I also appreciate your comments about the target audience. I will likely buy some dead trees with my next order in a month or two.

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  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2010-01-14 19:49
    @zicog: agreed - the "customizing" part of the title was injected by MGH. They have a whole series of "Programming and Customizing the" [noparse][[/noparse]whatever microcontroller] and they wanted this book in that series because they knew it would breathe life into all of their other microcontroller books. Guess you could chalk it up to a "committee decision" or something like that. It didn't really detract from our goal so we accepted the request.

    Ya know, I've got to hand it to the authors and editors of this book. They deserve huge recognition. We hatched this idea last February and assembled a group of authors in March/April. By mid-June all of their work was totally done and Stephanie submitted the complete manuscript to MGH on June 15th (our deadline). MGH was certain we wouldn't make it, but Stephanie kept our group organized and inspired with her efforts. Stephanie made MGH's job really easy - instead of having to deal with all authors individually they only had to communicate with one person.

    Ken Gracey
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2010-01-14 20:26
    Is this already out of stock or just not showing up as in-stock yet?

    C.W.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2010-01-14 21:34
    The latter - just not in stock yet. These arrive today or tomorrow. . . our buyer says they have shipped so I'd expect to see them pretty quickly.

    250 units to start but we'll order the second batch once we sell a few.

    Maybe place an order and get the XBee modules you've been waiting for at the same time? [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Ken Gracey
  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2010-01-15 00:05
    I'm curious, what is the IC used in the chapter "Using multicore for Networking Applications using an Off-the-shelf Ethernet Chip - Shane Avery"?

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  • hover1hover1 Posts: 1,929
    edited 2010-01-15 00:56
    Tim,

    Just ftp'd the docs and it looks like W5100.

    Jim
    Timothy D. Swieter said...
    I'm curious, what is the IC used in the chapter "Using multicore for Networking Applications using an Off-the-shelf Ethernet Chip - Shane Avery"?

  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2010-01-15 01:01
    hover1 - Good idea looking at the sample code to see what was there! I will probably go ahead and get the book soon. I need to see what else is on my list to buy from Parallax.

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    Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
    www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT
    www.tdswieter.com
  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2010-01-15 10:30
    OK - I have placed my order for the book along with a couple other goodies. If this book is of similar quality content as the Hydra book, then I suspect it is well worth the money. The first couple chapters may be elementary items, but I bet I will pick up a tip or two. I am very eager to read the book, I hope Parallax receives their shipment soon.

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    Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
    www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT
    www.tdswieter.com
  • evanhevanh Posts: 16,149
    edited 2010-01-16 08:08
    cannibalrobotics said...
    so, the term "core-memory" is now dead?
    mram. [noparse]:d[/noparse]
  • hover1hover1 Posts: 1,929
    edited 2010-01-27 22:09
    Amazon started shipping early. Got mine today. Put on the coffee.!

    Jim
  • Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL) Posts: 1,720
    edited 2010-01-28 00:00
    Somebody said...
    I'm curious, what is the IC used in the chapter "Using multicore for Networking Applications using an Off-the-shelf Ethernet Chip - Shane Avery"?

    From the code online:

    W5100_drv_011.spin

    Code for that Chapter
    tp.propeller-chip.com/PCMProp/Chapter_08/Source/

    All Code for the book:
    tp.propeller-chip.com/PCMProp/
  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2010-01-28 00:18
    ohhhh....I am eager. I haven't heard any updates from Parallax so I am guessing they haven't gotten their shipment yet to fulfill preorders.

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    Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
    www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT
    www.tdswieter.com
  • charleyshfcharleyshf Posts: 165
    edited 2010-01-28 00:22
    I had·called them yesterday to see if they had arrived yet and they said that they were shipping books out yesterday [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    ·
  • hover1hover1 Posts: 1,929
    edited 2010-01-28 00:23
    Hey Tim,

    As of yesterday, or was it today, it was in stock at Parallax. Yea!

    (Wish you had some more of the uOLED-IOC kits, they are great!)

    Jim


    Timothy D. Swieter said...
    ohhhh....I am eager. I haven't heard any updates from Parallax so I am guessing they haven't gotten their shipment yet to fulfill preorders.

  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2010-01-28 00:41
    Hey - I see I got an e-mail saying the order shipped. Strange, it went to an e-mail address I didn't expect - oh well, it shipped none the less. Thanks for pointing out that Parallax was shipping.

    hover1 - the uOLED-IOC was nice, a bit difficult to solder. I just checked, I only have a couple damaged board laying around. Since the uOLED-Prop isn't being made any more, I haven't bought the PCB in some time and ran completely out.

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    Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
    www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT
    www.tdswieter.com
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2010-01-29 06:45
    Got my book in the mail from Amazon today, I've only had a chance to thumb through it but it looks very good.

    The first few chapters are pretty basic, but it ramps up and a lot of the chapters are right at (or a bit beyond) my sklll level - Andy's chapter on Debugging is looks very useful.

    Good Stuff!

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  • wyzard28wyzard28 Posts: 24
    edited 2010-01-29 07:23
    My orders in and I'm pacing at the front door for the postman. I'm very excited about this book as there's so much I want to learn about the Propeller's perfect fit with robotics. I really think it's all about compartmentalizing functions and offloading work from the central Propeller 2 CPU to localized microtrollers and other slave Propeller 1s. Soon, Stingraye and her bodyguard, Jellyfish will begin helping me work on some of these dual and quad CPU brain setups.

    How I hate it when I have to rob from one hobby to pay for another hobby. Sigh.
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2010-02-01 01:53
    I got My order in for the Book, I can't wait to get it.

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  • Jim FouchJim Fouch Posts: 395
    edited 2010-02-01 02:03
    I got mine Friday from Amazon. Haven't read anything completely yet. I have flipped through it several times and I can see it is well done. I haven't seen any books quite like this with real world examples of what people are doing with the Propeller (or any chip for that matter). I love all the detail and code examples.

    It's also nice to see a book written by so many different people all pulled into on useful source.

    In my opinion, this book is worth way more then the asking price.

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    FOUCH SOFTWARE
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