Should I start reading the book and doing peojects now, or wait for the 2nd edition book?

[VitalyR]

There will be a 2nd edition of the textbook at July 2021.
Should I start now or wait?
Will the projects change a lot?

[WBahn]

I don't have a good answer to that question, although I was a reviewer for the new edition.

From what I saw, there might be some changes that make the new tools not be backward compatible with all of the old specifications. This is because the first edition had a couple of inconsistencies in the specifications that the authors were correcting. I don't know how it all came out in the end.

Thinks could get interesting as people come here, some with 1st ed and others with 2nd.

Having said that, I don't think that time spent working on the 1st ed projects will be time wasted.

[VitalyR]

Thanks! Then I start this journey today! Looks promising!

[WBahn]

Enjoy the journey. This is possibly the best written 1st edition book I've ever encountered. It's got very few errors and only a few spots where it misses the mark on getting the point across.

[ivant]

WBahn wrote

I don't have a good answer to that question, although I was a reviewer for the new edition.

From what I saw, there might be some changes that make the new tools not be backward compatible with all of the old specifications. This is because the first edition had a couple of inconsistencies in the specifications that the authors were correcting. I don't know how it all came out in the end.

Now I'm hyped for the second edition!

Do you have any info about the new tools? Like did they base them on the existing ones, or were they created from scratch?

[WBahn]

My understanding is that they were created from scratch. I got a copy of them to look over and comment on, but I was just so busy that I never got a chance to even unzip them. I've made several suggestions over the years, but I don't know which, if any, were adopted. However, the authors are certainly aware of many of the issues and shortcomings, so I anticipate the new tool set to be a significant improvement. But I don't expect to see a whole lot of additional capability -- they will likely stick with the minimalist mentality and include little more than is absolutely necessary to complete the projects. I doubt many folks appreciate just how easy these tools, warts and all, are to use compared to any "real" simulator or emulator.