Chapter 1. How to Use This Book

To avoid misunderstandings regarding the purpose and method of this book, here is a quick guide regarding the way in which it has been conceived and organized.

As its title suggests, this is a reference book, not a tutorial. In other words, it does not begin with elementary concepts and build sequentially toward concepts that are more advanced.

You should be able to dip into the text at any point, locate the topic that interests you, learn what you need to know, and then put the book aside. If you choose to read it straight through from beginning to end, you will not find concepts being introduced in a sequential, cumulative manner.

My book Make:Electronics follows the tutorial approach. Its range, however, is more circumscribed than that of this encyclopedia, because a tutorial inevitably allocates a lot of space to step-by-step explanations and instructions.

This book is oriented toward practicality rather than theory. I am assuming that the reader mostly wants to know how to use electronic components, rather than why they work the way they do. Consequently I have not included any proofs of formulae, any definitions rooted in electrical theory, or any historical background. Units are defined only to the extent that is necessary to avoid confusion.

Many books on electronics theory already exist, if theory is of interest to you.

The encyclopedia is divided into entries, each entry being devoted to one broad type of component. Two rules determine whether a component has an entry all to itself, or is subsumed into another entry:

Inevitably, these guidelines required judgment calls that in some cases may seem arbitrary. My ultimate decision was based on where I would expect to find a component if I was looking for it myself.

Entries are not organized alphabetically. Instead they are grouped by subject, in much the same way that books in the nonfiction section of a library are organized by the Dewey Decimal System. This is convenient if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for, or if you don’t know all the options that may be available to perform a task that you have in mind.

Each primary category is divided into subcategories, and the subcategories are divided into component types. This hierarchy is shown in Figure 1-1. It is also apparent when you look at the top of the first page of each entry, where you will find the path that leads to it. The capacitor entry, for instance, is headed with this path:

power > moderation > capacitor

Any classification scheme tends to run into exceptions. You can buy a chip containing a resistor array, for instance. Technically, this is an analog integrated circuit, but should it really be included with solid-state relays and comparators? A decision was made to put it in the resistor section, because this seemed more useful.

Some components have hybrid functions. In Volume 2, in the integrated circuit subcategory, we will distinguish between those that are analog and those that are digital. So where should an analog-digital converter be listed? It will be found under analog, because that category seems better associated with its primary function, and people may be more likely to look for it there.

There is also the question of what is, and what is not, a component. Is wire a component? Not for the purposes of this encyclopedia. How about a DC-DC converter? Because converters are now sold in small packages by component suppliers, they have been included as components.

Many similar decisions had to be made on a case-by-case basis. Undoubtedly, some readers will disagree with the outcome, but reconciling all the disagreements would have been impossible. Speaking personally, the best I could do was create a book that is organized in the way that would suit me best if I were using it myself.

Throughout this encyclopedia, the names of components that have their own entries are presented in bold type. Other important electronics terms or component names are presented in italics where they first appear in any one section.

The names of components, and the categories to which they belong, are all set in lower-case type, except where a term is normally capitalized because it is an acronym or a trademark. Trimpot, for instance, is trademarked by Bourns, but trimmer is not. LED is an acronym, but cap (abbreviation for capacitor) is not.

Where formulae are used, they are expressed in a format that will be familiar to computer programmers but may be unfamiliar to others. The * (asterisk) symbol is used in place of a multiplication sign, while the / (slash symbol) is used to indicate division. Where pairs of parentheses are nested, the most deeply nested pair identifies the operations that should be performed first.

Practical considerations relating to book length influenced the decision to divide The Encyclopedia of Electronic Components into three volumes. Each volume deals with broad subject areas as follows.

At the time of writing, volumes 2 and 3 are still in preparation, but their contents are expected to be as described above.

With a subscription, you can read any page and watch any video from our library online. Read books on your cell phone and mobile devices. Access new titles before they are available for print, and get exclusive access to manuscripts in development and post feedback for the authors. Copy and paste code samples, organize your favorites, download chapters, bookmark key sections, create notes, print out pages, and benefit from tons of other time-saving features.

O'Reilly Media has uploaded this book to the Safari Books Online service. To have full digital access to this book and others on similar topics from O'Reilly and other publishers, sign up for free at http://my.safaribooksonline.com.

Please address comments and questions concerning this book to the publisher:

MAKE
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472
800-998-9938 (in the United States or Canada)
707-829-0515 (international or local)
707-829-0104 (fax)

MAKE unites, inspires, informs, and entertains a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages. MAKE celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your will. The MAKE audience continues to be a growing culture and community that believes in bettering ourselves, our environment, our educational system—our entire world. This is much more than an audience, it's a worldwide movement that Make is leading—we call it the Maker Movement.

For more information about MAKE, visit us online:

MAKE magazine: http://makezine.com/magazine/
Maker Faire: http://makerfaire.com
Makezine.com: http://makezine.com
Maker Shed: http://makershed.com/

We have a web page for this book, where we list errata, examples, and any additional information. You can access this page at:

http://oreil.ly/encyc_electronic_comp_v1

To comment or ask technical questions about this book, send email to:

For more information about our books, courses, conferences, and news, see our website at http://www.oreilly.com.

Find us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/oreilly

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/oreillymedia

Watch us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/oreillymedia