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We are
frequently asked to recommend books for more information on data storage
and turbo coding. The following are Chuck's brief thoughts on several
popular titles. However, the most current technical information is usually
found in journals, magazines and, to a lesser extent, patents.
We have
an affiliate program with Barnes and Noble (formally FatBrain). Just click
on a book jacket below to go directly to their site to place your order.
If you place the order by clicking through from this page, we get a small
referral fee. However, this does not affect your price.
We chose
FatBrain after comparing several sources on availability, delivery speed
and price of the titles we mention here. However, if you would like to
verify that you are getting a good price, we have enjoyed using www.nextag.com
(we do not get a referral fee from Nextag). Their site searches many internet
retailers for the book (CD, DVD, electronics, etc.) that you are looking
for and lists the available prices. Be aware that sometimes the lowest
price provider does not have very efficient shipping or customer service.
Authors:
If you would like Chuck to add a quick review of your book to the table
below, send a copy of the book to Chuck Sobey at ChannelScience; 7300
Cody Court; Plano TX 75024-3839 USA.
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Adaptive
Filter Theory 3rd Edition,
ISBN: 013322760X
Haykin,
Simon
Published
by Prentice Hall
Date
Published: 12/1995
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A
popular college textbook on adaptive filtering, including LMS (least
mean square) adaptation. Haykin is one of the most respected authors
in this field.
Pro: If you want to learn the foundations and advanced concepts of
adaptive filtering, this is a good book to get started with.
Con: Not for
math-novices. Expect to encounter calculus and eigenvalues. No practical
data storage examples.
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Coding
and Iterative Detection for Magnetic Recording Channels,
ISBN: 0792377176
Wu,
Zining
Published
by Kluwer Academic Publishers
Date
Published: 2000
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This
book grew out of the Ph.D. dissertation of one of Prof. John Cioffi's
students. It is the only book that we know of that covers turbo coding,
turbo equalization and low-density parity check codes for data storage.
Pro: Concise well-written chapters get to the heart of each matter.
Key aspects of modern hard disk drive read channels are described
in one place.
Con: Not an
introduction to turbo codes or magnetic recording. Opportunities
to provide insight are sometimes skipped.
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Digital
Baseband Transmission and Recording,
ISBN: 0792397754
Bergmans,
Jan W. M.
Published
by Kluwer Academic Publishing
Date
Published: 06/1996
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This
is Chuck's favorite college/grad-level textbook on hard disk drive
read channel detection. It is also the ONLY college/grad-level textbook
on the subject.
Pro: Very complete and authoritative. Includes many practical considerations.
Con: A lot of
math to go through to get the practical advice. Quickly dated --
no post-processors or turbo codes.
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Digital
Communication, 2nd Edition,
ISBN: 0792393910
Lee,
Edward A. / Messerschmitt, David G.
Published
by Kluwer Academic Publishing
Date
Published: 01/1994
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Often
considered the standard reference for digital communications (note,
the read channel is considered a baseband digital communication system).
Pro: Clear and complete. Best index Chuck has seen. A great book
Con: No examples
directly related to data storage read channels. Non-electrical engineers
will probably have trouble getting useful information from the book.
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Digital
Communications 4th Edition,
ISBN: 0072321113
Proakis,
John G.
Published
by McGraw Hill Companies
Date
Published: 08/15/2000
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Useful
as a companion reference book to Lee and Messerschmitt above. It provides
a different perspective on most of the same topics. Author is quite
famous in digital communications.
Pro: Complete and authoritative. Good alternative perspective on communications
issues.
Con: No examples
directly related to data storage read channels. Non-electrical engineers
will probably have trouble getting useful information from the book.
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Digital
Communications: Fundamentals and Applications 2nd Edition,
ISBN: 0130847887
Sklar,
Bernard
Published
by Prentice Hall
Date
Published: 01/11/2001
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ANOTHER
useful companion reference book to Lee and Messerschmitt above. It
is more of an introductory text, but still is only for electrical
engineers.
Pro: A very good value. Good insight offered throughout. Includes
a good introductory section to turbo codes. Comes with SystemView
simulation software by Elanix(R).
Con: No examples
directly related to data storage read channels. The turbo code section
only covers the most basic issues
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Envisioning
Information,
ISBN: 0961392118
Tufte,
Edward R.
Published
by Graphics Press
Date
Published: 04/1990
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Second
of three books by Edward Tufte on communicating data graphically.
If you make presentations, create charts, tables and graphs, or design
user interfaces or websites, you need to expose yourself to his research
and ideas.
Use multiple dimensions properly, steal ideas from Galileo, learn
by example from a visually superb book.
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Error-Correcting
Codes, 2nd Edition,
ISBN: 0262160390
Peterson,
William Wesley / Weldon, E.J. Jr.
Published by MIT Press
Date
Published: 08/1972
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This
classic book is often cited in discussions of ECC. It deserves a place
on the bookshelf of everyone involved with error correction codes.
Pro: Classic reference. Complete and well-regarded.
Con: No direct
data storage ECC examples. The information and concepts are buried
in dense text and extensive linear algebra.
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The
Foundations of Magnetic Recording, 2ndEdition,
ISBN: 0124666264
Mallinson,
John C.
Published
by Academic Press
Date
Published: 02/1993
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John
Mallinson is an industry veteran who writes good concise books for
the practicing engineer.
Pro: Covers all the basic physics. Short, meaty chapters.
Con: The examples
are more relevant to tape recording systems than to current hard
disk drives. No mention of MR heads. (Note, these comments are based
on the 1st edition from 1987.)
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Magnetic
Storage Handbook, 2nd Edition,
ISBN: 0070412758
Mee,
C. Denis / Daniel, Eric D
Published
by McGraw Hill
Date
Published: 08/1996
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This
often-cited reference contains a good overview of most types of magnetic
storage systems (hard disk, floppy, tape, instrumentation, etc.).
Pro: Broad coverage. Rare information on ECC for data storage. Includes
excerpts from some of Chuck's published work ;-)!
Con: The hard
disk drive industry moves so quickly that the material is dated
rapidly.
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Magneto-Resistive
Heads : Fundamentals andApplications : Electromagnetism
Series,
ISBN: 0124666302
Mallinson,
John C.
Published
by Academic Press
Date
Published: 09/1995
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John
Mallinson is an industry veteran who writes good concise books for
the practicing engineer.
Pro: A one-stop source for the basic physics of (G)MR heads. Short,
meaty chapters. Key concepts not obscured by deep math.
Con: Needs updating
to include more practical problems of GMR heads and some of the
newer head structures. A chapter on preamp issues and read channel
head anomaly compensation schemes would be a great addition.
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Noise
in Digital Magnetic Recording,
ISBN: 9810208650
Arnoldussen,
T. C. / Nunnelley, L. L.
Published
by World Scientific Publishing
Date
Published: 08/1992
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A
college-level textbook on media noise.
Pro: A broad, deep reference on media noise and media modeling.
Con: The material
is dense and assumes the reader has good math and physics skills
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Peter
Norton's Inside the PC,
ISBN: 0672315327
Norton,
Peter,
Published
by Sams
Date
Published: 06/1999
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Big
book (700+ pages) describing the history and inner workings of all
things PC: software, hardware, BIOS, protocols, ...
Pro: Easy-to-understand. Good descriptions of how the disk drive functions
within the larger framework of the PC. Many mysteries, such as the
FAT, are revealed.
Con: So many
topics, it can be overwhelming
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Sequence
Detection for High-Density Storage Channels,
ISBN: 0792392647
Moon,
Jaekyun / Carley, L. Richard
Published
by Kluwer Academic Publishing
Date
Published: 08/1992
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Jae
Moon and Rick Carley are well known in hard disk drive data detection
circles. They have made many contributions to the state-of-the-art.
Pro: If you need to model or mathematically describe read channel
detection methods, this book is a useful guide.
Con: Dated because
of an emphasis on feedback detectors (such as FDTS/DF), that the
industry did not embrace.
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Theory
of Magnetic Recording,
ISBN: 0521449731
Bertram,
H. Neal
Published
by Cambridge University Press
Date
Published: 03/1994
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College-level
textbook for those who want to take their understanding of recording
physics to a deeper mathematical level.
Pro: Complete and authoritative for modelers. Describes the physics
and math of most magnetic recording phenomena.
Con: Get ready
for triple integrals!
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Turbo
Codes: Principles and Applications,
ISBN: 0792378687
Vucetic,
Branka / Yuan, Jinhong
Published
by Kluwer Academic Publishers
Date
Published: 06/2000
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A
good textbook for turbo codes and iterative detection.
Pro: Complete (as of 2000), well-written and insightful.
Con: All but
the most fundamental material is bound to be dated quickly in this
incredibly rapidly developing field. A strong math background is
a prerequisite and familiarity with ECC concepts is assumed.
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The
Visual Display of Quantitative Information,
ISBN: 096139210x
Tufte,
Edward R.
Published
by Graphics Press
Date
Published: 11/1983
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First
of three books by Edward Tufte on communicating data graphically.
If you make presentations, create charts, tables and graphs, or design
user interfaces or websites, you need to expose yourself to his research
and ideas.
Get rid of "chart junk," maximize your data to ink ratio,
facilitate decision making.
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Visual
Explanations : Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative
ISBN: 0961392126
Tufte,
Edward R .
Published
by Graphics Press
Date
Published: 03/1997
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Third
of three books by Edward Tufte (see above).
Borrow from art, nature and magic.
The section
on the space shuttle Challenger will make you forever look at data
differently. Did you know that the night before the explosion, the
engineers tried to stop the launch because they thought the O-rings
would fail? This tragically shows, when it comes to data, its not
only what you say but how you say it.
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Characterization
of Magnetic Recording Systems: A Practical Approach
(an extension
of "PRML: A Practical Approach, Introduction to PRML Concepts
and Measurements," published in 1995)
Taratorin,
Alexander
Guzik
Technical Enterprises
Guzik
Part Number: 99-900000-01
Must
be requested from Guzik via email
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Alex
Taratorin, a well-respected researcher, has written the only book
we have found that tries to address the basics of what one sees at
the spin-stand tester.
Pro: Most of the common phenomena one encounters in standard PRML
channels is well described.
Con: Needs to
be updated to reflect current channels and heads. May be too math-intensive
to serve as an introduction.
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Please
contact us for a free initial consultation.
e-mail:
connect@ChannelScience.com
972-814-3441 (Voice)
972-208-9095 (FAX)
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