Electronics/Telecommunications Principles - books/tutorials

[yoozek]

Hello,

I'm a Java developer. Most the time I tend to write Java applications that have nothing to do with electronics/telecommunications when it comes to hardware.

However, Recently I've become interested in electronics and telecommunications as well as robotics.
I'd literally like to understand what actually goes on inside of the computer and other electronics devices.
I'd like learn as much as I can about those great disciplines

That's why I'd like to ask you about useful resources about principles of electronics such as: resistors, capacitors, transistors etc.

I've already bought the necessary stuff for soldering etc.

I've done a research, and so far I've discovered the book: The Art Of Electronics by P. Horowitz to be popular.
However, this book is really huge, it contains almost everything, and I'd like to start soldering and constructing as well as designing a robot as fast as it's possible.

Is this book worth reading when I want to learn about primary electronic components at the beginning?

I've also found the MIT OpenCourseWare tutorial: **broken link removed**
Do you think this course is worth taking a look at as well?

What short book/tutorial would you recommend as a resource of studying principles of electronics at the beginning of my adventure?
I'm also looking for a short book on telecommunications: wireless transmission systems etc.

I'm a programmer, so I either have to study IT & CS related subjects, so I'd like to treat electronics & telecommunications as my practical hobby.

 

[tipu_sultan]

As my opinion being programmer its take some time for you grasping concepts relating to Electronics, and Telecommunication.
You should first search and find analogy to each electronic device (resistor, capacitor, current, voltage etc). then compare it to the process in which principle they works and in which they deviating form the normal behavior.
Anyway you should first have a good concept about reading data from graph and Mathematics.
I suggest you some book which can help you by getting concepts about Electronics, and Telecom.
1). Fundamentals of physics by Halliday resnick.
2). Introductory to circuit analysis by Robert Boylested.
3). Electronics Devices by Thomas L. Floyd.
4). Digital Fundamentals by M. Morris Mano.
5). Data Communication and Networking by Behroz A frozen.

Being a programmer you can go to programming using Microcontroller like 8051, PIC18FXXX, ATMEL
and
The
FPGA Devices Language HDL (VERILOG, VDHL).

The above programming is similar to C, in other words variant of C & C++.