In preparing such a book, it is obvious that I received help from several people in the industry and academia (too many to name here). Friends and colleagues helped me with their time as well as shared an abundance of information, expertise, and insight with me. I particularly appreciate the kindness of the many reviewers of multiple parts of my evolving manuscript and the persistent communication back and forth even at crazy times of the night. However, I want to single out some individuals to whom I am grateful for their kindness, help, and support.

First and foremost and through some very tough times, I want to thank Marjorie Spencer, my acquisitions editor at McGraw-Hill, and Jessica Hornick, her tireless assistant, as well as the rest of the top-notch editing and production crew. Special thanks go to Steve Chapman, Editor-in-Chief and Pamela Pelton, Production Supervisor, at McGraw-Hill. I also want to thank Beth Brown at MacAllister Publishing Services and her superb team that made this book possible. More specifically, my thanks go to Jeanne Henning, Angela Isner, Nonie Ratcliff, and Joann Woy.

From the industry, among many people, I want to especially acknowledge the help of Jeff Pauza, Gilles Garcia, and Rene Glaise at IBM; Rob Mu oz, Wei Li, and Venkata Krishna Mallampati at Agere Systems; George Taglieri from Tensilica and now back with Synopsys; Dr. Srinivasan Keshav from Ensim Corp.; Simon McIntosh-Smith at ClearSpeed; and Amir Eyal and Kosta Sidopoulos at EZchip. Despite all the help I have received,...