Digital Communications: Fundamentals and Applications

I was introduced to the 1st edition of this book as an undergrad at UCLA where Sklar taught. Since then as I have worked in the wireless and telecom fields, it has remained one of my main references. I've added other comm. books such as Proakis', but Sklar remains my favorite. It is well arrange, making it easy to reference any material you may be interested in. It touches on every area of comm. theory from modulation to coding. If you are looking for a general communication theory reference book, then this should be the one. But if you are only interested in learning in detail about one particular area of commmuncation theory such as CDMA or Trellis Coding, then you should seek a book specializing in that area only. No book can cover everything in the depth.

This is one of the best books on the market for communications. As a university professor I am always looking for that special book that can take the student from the formative learning stage into maturity in the field of communication and signal processing. This book is an excellent text for such a journey. It provides a good mix of theory and practice with many worked examples. Unlike many texts in communications theory that provide their audiences with a lot of theory and abstractions that leave them confused, this book is so well written and the theory so well handled and presented, that its concepts are easily grasped. Then, to supplement this, the book has numerous worked examples showing practical applications. As an educator in the field of communications I have adapted this book for my course because its stated attributes above make my work in educating students that much easier. I recommend this book without reservation to anyone who needs a good reference in the field of communications.

I initially was introduced to the book when I took the course in undergraduate electrical engineering curriculum. A graduate curriculum and a year of engineering experience later, I still believe this book is one of the best engineering books, one of the most useful communications books, the best reference book to own and utilize as an engineer. Sklar has a clear vision of the abstract mathematics and complex concepts of the communication world and he transfers that vision into words, pictures, and crystal clear descriptions. Highly recommended even for general reading.

This particular text is extremely well organized and presents the material in a straight forward format. I recommend it to the technically inclined person who needs to learn the digital comm "big picture" quickly. It covers signals, RF, baseband, modulation, demodulation, link analysis, channel codeing, codeing trade offs, synchronization, multiplexing, spread spectrum, encryption/decryption, and much more. I have used the text to go from a mere unemployable physicist to a hot RF/Digital Communication Systems Engineer.

This is one of the best books in the market for the price. As a DSP engineer, I find myself making referance to it all the time. For a Jr. engineer this book should be consider a bible for communications; which is a fast growing field. It covers all the topics which you must learn and understand to become a good communications engineer. The topics include Signals and Spectra, Formatting and Baseband transmission, Bandpass modulation and Demodulation, Communications link Analysis, Channel Coding, Synchronization, FDMA, TDMA, Spread- Spectrum Techniques, Source coding, Encryption and Decryption and Fourier Techniques. The books covers all the above topics in a easy to read format. Which means looking at one topic per chapter - staring with baby steps and growing into a wonderful field of communications by the time you are done reading. I recommend this book to all the 3rd and 4th year electrical engineering students. It is worth spending the money;if you want to be learn about communications. Ishwar Uttamchandani DSP Engineer BSEE, MSEE, PE