The book is based on my lecture notes "Infinite dimensional Morse theory and its applications," 1985, Montreal, and one semester of graduate lectures delivered at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1987. Since the aim of this monograph is to give a unified account of the topics in critical point theory, a considerable amount of new materials has been added. Some of them have never been published previously. The book is of interest both to researchers following the development of new results, and to people seeking an introduction into this theory. The main results are designed to be as self-contained as possible. And for the reader's convenience, some preliminary background information has been organized. The following people deserve special thanks for their direct roles in help ing to prepare this book. Prof. L. Nirenberg, who first introduced me to this field ten years ago, when I visited the Courant Institute of Math Sciences. Prof. A. Granas, who invited me to give a series of lectures at SMS, 1983, Montreal, and then the above notes, as the primary version of a part of the manuscript, which were published in the SMS collection. Prof. P. Rabinowitz, who provided much needed encouragement during the academic semester, and invited me to teach a semester graduate course after which the lecture notes became the second version of parts of this book. Professors A. Bahri and H. Brezis who suggested the publication of the book in the Birkhiiuser series."

K.C. Chang presents an integrated approach to digital design principles, processes, and implementations to help the reader design increasingly complex systems within shorter design cycles. Chang introduces digital design concepts, VHDL coding, VHDL simulation, synthesis commands, and strategies together.

"Digital Systems Design with VHDL and Synthesis" focuses on the ultimate product of the design cycle: the implementation of a digital design. Many of the design techniques and considerations illustrated in the text are examples of actual real-world designs.

Unique features of the book include the following:

• VHDL code explained line by line to capture the logic behind the design concepts
• Simulation waveforms, synthesized schematics, and results are shown, verified, and analyzed
• VHDL code is synthesized and commands and strategies are discussed
• Variations on the design techniques and common mistakes are addressed
• Demonstrated standard cell, gate array, and FPGA three design processes, each with a complete design case study
• Test bench, post-layout verification, and test vector generation processes are illustrated

The book is based on my lecture notes "Infinite dimensional Morse theory and its applications," 1985, Montreal, and one semester of graduate lectures delivered at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1987. Since the aim of this monograph is to give a unified account of the topics in critical point theory, a considerable amount of new materials has been added. Some of them have never been published previously. The book is of interest both to researchers following the development of new results, and to people seeking an introduction into this theory. The main results are designed to be as self-contained as possible. And for the reader's convenience, some preliminary background information has been organized. The following people deserve special thanks for their direct roles in help ing to prepare this book. Prof. L. Nirenberg, who first introduced me to this field ten years ago, when I visited the Courant Institute of Math Sciences. Prof. A. Granas, who invited me to give a series of lectures at SMS, 1983, Montreal, and then the above notes, as the primary version of a part of the manuscript, which were published in the SMS collection. Prof. P. Rabinowitz, who provided much needed encouragement during the academic semester, and invited me to teach a semester graduate course after which the lecture notes became the second version of parts of this book. Professors A. Bahri and H. Brezis who suggested the publication of the book in the Birkhiiuser series."

"Digital Systems Design with VHDL and Synthesis" presents an integrated approach to digital design principles, processes, and implementations to help the reader design much more complex systems within a shorter design cycle. This is accomplished by introducing digital design concepts, VHDL coding, VHDL simulation, synthesis commands, and strategies together.

The author focuses on the ultimate product of the design cycle: the implementation of a digital design. VHDL coding, synthesis methodologies and verification techniques are presented as tools to support the final design implementation. Readers will understand how to apply and adapt techniques for VHDL coding, verification, and synthesis to various situations.

"Digital Systems Design with VHDL and Synthesis" is a result of K.C. Chang's practical experience in both design and as an instructor. Many of the design techniques and considerations illustrated throughout the chapters are examples of viable designs. His teaching experience leads to a step-by-step presentation that addresses common mistakes and hard-to-understand concepts in a way that eases learning.

Unique features of the book include the following:

• VHDL code explained line by line to capture the logic behind the design concepts
• VHDL is verified using VHDL test benches and simulation tools
• Simulation waveforms are shown and explained to verify design correctness
• VHDL code is synthesized and commands and strategies are discussed. Synthesized schematics and results are analyzed for area and timing
• Variations on the design techniques and common mistakes are addressed; Demonstrated standard cell, gate array, and FPGA three design processes
• Each with a complete design case study
• Test bench, post-layout verification, and test vector generation processes.

Practical design concepts and examples are presented with VHDL code, simulation waveforms, and synthesized schematics so that readers can better understand their correspondence and relationships.

A leading scholar in the United States on Chinese archaeology challenges long-standing conceptions of the rise of political authority in ancient China. Questioning Marx's concept of an "Asiatic" mode of production, Wittfogel's "hydraulic hypothesis," and cultural-materialist theories on the importance of technology, K. C. Chang builds an impressive counterargument, one which ranges widely from recent archaeological discoveries to studies of mythology, ancient Chinese poetry, and the iconography of Shang food vessels.