To write this particular chapter, I was getting prepared to painfully sift through, collect, and analyze any relevant data available. I had told myself I was not going to be the one sitting in an ivory tower blindly guessing what the real-world issues are. This really had to be as real as it gets. So in my ensuing search for information (data collection phase), I chanced upon a popular online discussion forum where real engineers talk about the actual issues plaguing them concerning switching power supplies. Aha! What better repository of real-world problems can there be than that? Though I realized that that particular site was started by an analog company with the intention of supporting its specific products, I also realized that if you take the trouble of looking past their part numbers, you would arrive at the crux of the matter the engineering aspects of some of the key issues being faced in switching power supplies in general.

The very idea of a company starting a forum such as this one is essentially brilliant and thoroughly laudable. It also imparts a perception of transparency to their operations from the get-go. But as mentioned, being a die-hard engineer at heart, I first needed to collect and analyze the emerging data, before reaching any conclusions. I delved deep into their forum, and also followed up on their directions and suggestions, to see where that would lead me. But slowly a sense of...