TTL Cookbook

This book was current and hot in the mid-'70s, when I was new to computing, but had a ham radio license (so I knew a bit about basic electronics). It was like a grimoire or spell-book: each example made me say "Wow!" in a way no non-fiction book had or has, before or since. It made logic _real_. I even built TTL gizmos that were more advanced than the book's examples, simply because I learned enough from reading to be able to do so (and I was 15 years old at the time). It made me realize I _could_ turn ideas into hardware. It made me understand what "if/then" was all about. It gave me confidence. As another reviewer beautifully put it, "If I had not read this book, I don't think I would have succeeded as a programmer." Well said, bro'.

TTL Cookbook is a crucial electronics text. It will have you understand semiconductors, digital logic, and computers at a fundamental level. I've been in IT for 25 years now. TTL Cookbook is the best technical book I've ever read. If I had not read this book, I don't think I would have succeeded as a programmer. TTL Cookbook opens up the black box. I read this book when it came out and immediately started building my own homebrew computers from scratch.

I have had a copy of Don's TTL Cookbook around and handy ever since 1984. During one digital electronics course I took, it just happened to be the textbook used for the course.This book is by far the most practical and well written electronics book I have ever seen, or run across. The methods and rules to follow for using TTL are spelled out so that one can build reliable circuits. The examples given are explained so that one may draw their own conclusions, and use the examples as building blocks or teaching aids to develop one's own circuits.Time and again, I return to this text as reference. It, along with the CMOS Cookbook, make a powerful set of tools for anyone who wants to build high-reliablility digital circuits.

I learn about this book from the technician at my university. The book contains many "ready to use" circuit (well, it is a cookbook) and they are very useful and handy for projects. (It is great for a "digital person" who needs to work on analogue circuits.) One can use theses as examples, or modify them as needed. It convers clocking, flipflops and other topics. For example: how to use a 555 chip to create a 10kHz TTL signal.It serves well as a reference book. The first few sections of the book gives some introduction of logic and circuit theory. However, if you are new to electronics, then look for an actual circuit theory book.