

Hardcover: 957 pages
Publisher: Pearson; 2 edition (August 16, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0138147574
ISBN-13: 978-0138147570
Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 1.5 x 9.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #16,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Telecommunications & Sensors > Signal Processing #6 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Systems Analysis & Design #7 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Electrical & Electronics > Circuits

I have just used this text in teaching a second-year Signals and Systems course. Yes -- the students have struggled with the course, and several of them have grumbled about the book. However, none of the adverse comments I've received about the book either from my students or other reviewers here seem to be valid. The possible exception is the lack of more worked examples or at least answers to end of chapter problems.The book is an excellent basic introduction to the subject. It takes what can be a very difficult subject for students and provides a relatively clear path through the material. It doesn't assume very much mathematical background in the sense that there are plenty of very elementary problems in chapter one to remind you of the basics that you need for the rest of the book. Obviously if students have trouble with these problems they need to consider additional study to fill in some of the gaps in their knowledge on the mathematics side.The worked examples in the chapters are excellent, although sometimes you have to ask yourself what you are supposed to be learning from each example or end of chapter problem. The first 20 problems at the end of each chapter really cover the chapter material, and subsequent problems delve into the material in a little more depth or in relation to more real-world problems. If you understand the chapter you should have no great difficulty in doing the first 20 problems in each chapter, and the answers are provided to help you make sure you aren't missing the point. I found some of the other problems a little less clear, and certainly the students had difficulties here. I provided well over a hundred pages of written solutions for my students to try to overcome this deficiency.
This book presents basic concepts related to linear systems. When I studied the book, I did not have time to work the problems, but the problems form a very large part of the book. On the other hand, I did work to understand the book, and found that, for the most part, I was able to do this adequately. I did find that Chapter 7 on sampling was difficult, and I had to expend a fair amount of effort to understand it.The text discussed Fourier series, Fourier transforms, the Laplace transform and the z-transform. I have had some previous exposure to all of these topics, but still found their discussions interesting and useful. My previous experience was from the viewpoint of pure mathematics, and an applied perspective like this can bring additional insight over purely mathematical treatments.The authors placed the discussion in the context of both continuous and discrete systems. I have had a fair amount of experience working with discrete systems, so this posed no great problem to me.Completely new to me were sampling, communications, and linear feedback systems. I really enjoyed their treatment of these subjects.They present numerous examples, which I found to be very helpful. In addition, although they would discuss continuous and discrete situations side by side, they were very clear, and I did not find this confusing.My overall assessment is that, with my background, this was suitable for self-study. I would place its intellectual level at about the sophomore or junior level, but I believe many people who come to this book with a less extensive background than I would find it very difficult to read, as there would be many new concepts and principles to digest.
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