goldstei@MITRE.ARPA (Steve Goldstein) (06/10/88)
Folks, I hesitate to speak up among all you august authorities, but in all the chatter back ond forth about references on communications books, I have not noted mention of Stallings' Second Edition "Data and Communications": William Stallings, Ph.D., "Data and Computer Communications--Second Edition" Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1988; ISBN 0-02-415451-2; 653 pp.; $51.35 at the Univ of Colorado Book Store in March '88. Seems to do a magnificent job of covering the various protocols in a balanced and comparative fashion. MAY be a condensation of his three-volume set; but as I haven't gone through the set, I really do not know. At any rate, I find this chock-full of the explanations I've been searching for and a most useful extension beyond the world of TCP/IP. Material is presented at an introductory level for the first-time inquirer, and it is quite readily understandable. Still, there's considerable depth. So, if you want a good view of the world beyond Comer and can only have one additional book, I'd vote for Stallings' Second Edition.