Reviews for Practical UML Statecharts in C/C++: Event-Driven Programming for Embedded Systems

1. Best book on state machines; great for embedded systems

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2009

   I find this the best book I've ever seen on state machines. It (this and the first edition) has helped me to do my work better; both as a software architect designing systems, and as a coach for junior collegues.
   
   In this book, Miro Samek uses his (dual license and affordable) state machine implementation as a reference to explain about state machines, and especially Hierarchical State Machines (HSM). Using detailed, real world examples, how shows the ins and outs of state machine design. Step by step, he teaches how to do it yourself. I learned a lot, partly to simplify designs; after some time I was also able to teach others how to model & design reactive system control.
   
   I believe this book is very accessible, interesting to people with varying experience in development of software with state behavior. This includes embedded systems, but also user interfaces. I like the first edition a lot; I love the 2nd edition for readability.
   
   A bit on my background. For the last 17 years, I've worked on embedded systems (telecom, car intertainment, semiconductors), mostly as software architect. I've used state machines a lot of times, and I've also seen a lot of bugs caused by lausy (switch-case) implementations.
   
   I recommend this book, not only to embedded software designers, but also to people who deal with user interfaces and other state sensitive applications!