Embedded Systems Design Using the Rabbit 3000 Microprocessor : Interfacing, Networking, and Application Development

"This book is essential for anyone working with the Rabbit series of processors, boards, or core modules. ...The book covers firmware from soup to nuts, from assembly language to C, including real time OSes and even modern networking." --Jack Ganssle

Systems Design using the Rabbit 3000 Microprocessor, by Kamal Hyder and Bob Perrin, (ISBN: 0750678720) is a complete introduction to programming with this popular microprocessor.

Rabbit Semiconductor (http://rabbitsemiconductor.com/ ) sells a popular
range of 8 bit microprocessors that offer quite high-end performance. My son and I just finished a project for his high school with one, and I've used them for a number of other applications. The R3000 is sort of like a Z80 on steroids, with many new instructions, wider address bus and a wealth of on-board peripherals.

Like any modern high-integration CPU the Rabbit offers so much it's
sometimes hard to get a handle on managing all of the I/O. This book will get you started, and is a must-read for developers using the part.

The first few chapters describe the CPU in general and the development
environment provided by Rabbit (Dynamic C).

Chapter 5, though, is a description of interfacing to the real world, using all sorts of devices. It's aimed at engineers, not raw newbies, but, for an engineer at least, is an easy and descriptive read.

The chapter on interrupts is one of the best I've seen in any book. It
covers the hard stuff, like writing ISRs in C and assembly, with real-world examples. If you're using the R3000 just cut and paste the code into your application.

It seems today that if there's a transistor in a product then it needs an Internet connection. Rabbit has several development kits that include everything needed to connect to the 'net. The authors devote considerable space to networking, but thankfully with only a cursory explanation of protocols. Rather, they give step-by-step instructions on implementing a working network, and conclude with a complete web
server for monitoring water sprinklers.

The final chapter covers an alternative toolchain from Softools. Dynamic C is a single-module compile-it-all paradigm that's highly interactive. Softools (http://www.softools.com/ ) sells a well-supported, reasonably-priced conventional C compiler, assembler and IDE. I only recommend products I've used and like, and the Softools products are first-rate.

Systems Design using the Rabbit 3000 Microprocessor is required reading for users of the R3000, and a pretty darn good introduction to the entire realm of embedded systems development as well. - Jack Ganssle, The Embedded Muse 109