The object of this book is to cover most of the currently relevant areas of data communications and networks. These include:
- Communications protocols (especially TCP/IP)
- Networking (especially in Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, FDDI and ATM)
- Networking operating systems (especially in Windows NT, Novell NetWare and UNIX)
- Communications programs (especially in serial communications, parallel communications and TCP/IP)
- Computer hardware (especially in PC hardware, serial communications and parallel communication)
The book thus splits into 15 different areas, these are:
- General data compression (Chapters 2 and 3)
- Video, images and sound (Chapters 4-11 )
- Error coding and encryption (Chapters 12-17)
- TCP/IP, WWW, Internets and Intranets (Chapters 18-20 and 23)
- Electronic Mail (Chapter 21 )
- HTML (Chapters 25 and 26)
- Java (Chapters 27-29)
- Communication Programs (Chapters 20, 29 and 49)
- Network Operating Systems (Chapters 31-34)
- LANs/WANs (Chapters 35, 38-46)
- Serial Communications (Chapters 47 and 48)
- Parallel Communications (Chapters 50-52)
- Local Communications (Chapters 53-57)
- Routing and Protocols (Chapters 36 and 37)
- Cables and connectors (Chapters 58--60)
Many handbooks and reference guides on the market contain endless tables and mathematics, or are dry to read and contain very little insight in their subject area. I have tried to make this book readable, but also contain key information which can be used by professionals.