Steven W. Smith

Once you decide that a Digital Signal Processor is right for your application, you need a way to get started. Many manufacturers will sell you a low cost evaluation kit, allowing you to experience their products first- hand. These are a great educational tool; it doesn't matter if you are a novice or a pro, they are the best way to become familiar with a particular DSP. For instance, Analog Devices provides the EZ-KIT Lite to teach potential customers about its SHARC family of Digital Signal Processors. For only $179, you receive all the hardware and software you need to see the DSP in action. This includes "canned" programs provided with the kit, as well as applications you can write yourself in assembly or C. Suppose you buy one of these kits from Analog Devices and play with it for a few days. This chapter is an overview of what you can expect to find and learn.