Another ground up manual though this time for control theory. Aimed as a student text, the book gives a readable introduction to the subject relating most of the theory covered to practical applications. The book is supplied with a cut down version of the CODAS‐II control CAD package and allows a graphical exploration of systems with and without compensators. The software offers time, frequency and root locus environments for single input/output systems, the system under investigation being described by its transfer function.
The material covered by the book is the stuff of fundamental control theory, moving from modelling in time and frequency domains, into the concepts of the root locus. Examples and case studies along the way are amply illustrated with screen shots from the software which forms an important part of the learning process if one is to use the book as is intended. The subject matter continues through process control, with a further chapter given both to discrete time systems and computer control systems. The book is rounded off with a chapter on nonlinearities.
Although the book offers an approachable treatment of control system design and the opportunity to experiment with the simulation software, the latter is looking somewhat dated as a six‐year‐old DOS‐based program. It should also be noted that the version of the software supplied with the text will not deal with the discrete time and nonlinear systems examples of the book; for that the reader is invited to contact the authors’ software firm to purchase the unabridged version.
