Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
- Downloads：6392
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-05 03:16:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Charles Petzold
- ISBN：0735611319
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
What do flashlights， the British invasion， black cats， and seesaws have to do with computers？ In CODE， they show us the ingenious ways we manipulate language and invent new means of communicating with each other。 And through CODE， we see how this ingenuity and our very human compulsion to communicate have driven the technological innovations of the past two centuries。
Using everyday objects and familiar language systems such as Braille and Morse code， author Charles Petzold weaves an illuminating narrative for anyone who’s ever wondered about the secret inner life of computers and other smart machines。
It’s a cleverly illustrated and eminently comprehensible story—and along the way， you’ll discover you’ve gained a real context for understanding today’s world of PCs， digital media， and the Internet。 No matter what your level of technical savvy， CODE will charm you—and perhaps even awaken the technophile within。
Using everyday objects and familiar language systems such as Braille and Morse code， author Charles Petzold weaves an illuminating narrative for anyone who’s ever wondered about the secret inner life of computers and other smart machines。
It’s a cleverly illustrated and eminently comprehensible story—and along the way， you’ll discover you’ve gained a real context for understanding today’s world of PCs， digital media， and the Internet。 No matter what your level of technical savvy， CODE will charm you—and perhaps even awaken the technophile within。
Reviews
Yordanov
，
Amazing book。 Modern computer technologies explained perfect - starting from the atom， throughout telegraphs and relays， logic gates， simple builds like RAM， microprocessors， operating systems and ending at the most abstract levels - Internet and multimedia as we know them。 All that is followed by history of the explained concepts and real life applications of them。
Ben Panulo
，
A friend recommended this book when I was considering a career in IT。 I came to the book with a complete beginners mind and I wasn't disappointed。 Since then I have read the book a few times over。It's one of the most approachable books on the subject。 I highly recommend it。 A friend recommended this book when I was considering a career in IT。 I came to the book with a complete beginners mind and I wasn't disappointed。 Since then I have read the book a few times over。It's one of the most approachable books on the subject。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Martin Lumiste
，
What an absolute gem I found in some Stack Overflow comments！ Deriving modern computers from first principles such as Morse code and electromagnets， it's a rare book that can connect with you regardless of prior technical expertise。 Would mostly recommended for software professionals looking to ground themselves in how it all started。 This doesn't mean it's a history book: the insight into hardware and software components is as relevant today as it was in 2000。 Truly enjoyable read throughout。 What an absolute gem I found in some Stack Overflow comments！ Deriving modern computers from first principles such as Morse code and electromagnets， it's a rare book that can connect with you regardless of prior technical expertise。 Would mostly recommended for software professionals looking to ground themselves in how it all started。 This doesn't mean it's a history book: the insight into hardware and software components is as relevant today as it was in 2000。 Truly enjoyable read throughout。 。。。more
Bert Bertson
，
This book is a very thorough introduction into what computers are， what they consist of and how they work。 Especially the earlier chapters provide a solid explanation of the fundamentals。 Unfortunately due to the age of book and the rapid pace of development of technology many of the later chapters feel a little dated， however this did not impact my overall enjoyment of the book。 Today these chapters can be seen as insights into the past。 I can recommend this book for everyone who wants to read This book is a very thorough introduction into what computers are， what they consist of and how they work。 Especially the earlier chapters provide a solid explanation of the fundamentals。 Unfortunately due to the age of book and the rapid pace of development of technology many of the later chapters feel a little dated， however this did not impact my overall enjoyment of the book。 Today these chapters can be seen as insights into the past。 I can recommend this book for everyone who wants to read a deep but non academic introduction into computers and doesn't mind the shortfalls of the book that solely exist due its age。 。。。more
Alex Shmyga
，
I would recommend this book to anyone that has any relation to the IT/software industry。 I don't expect experienced software engineers to find a lot of new stuff in there， but it will definitely remind them why they came into the IT world at the beginning of their professional path and why they have a passion for this topic。 At the same time， it would be a nice holistic recap of everything that they have probably studied at university a long/some time ago。For students， this book can give an over I would recommend this book to anyone that has any relation to the IT/software industry。 I don't expect experienced software engineers to find a lot of new stuff in there， but it will definitely remind them why they came into the IT world at the beginning of their professional path and why they have a passion for this topic。 At the same time， it would be a nice holistic recap of everything that they have probably studied at university a long/some time ago。For students， this book can give an overview of why the university/college program is structured in a certain way， and why all subjects are really important if they want to be real engineers。For young people who haven't embarked on a certain career path， it can answer if the IT world is something that would interest them。I believe this book should be read by every software developer。 。。。more
Sufen
，
Best book on computer building blocks and fundamentals I have ever read！ Highly recommend this for folks looking to get a good grounding on the history of how computers came into existence， and how technology and standards have evolved into what we use now。
Harry Harman
，
Charles Petzold has mastered the art of taking complicated stuff and explaining like I’m five。This is the foundation book of all computer science。 All computer scientists should start here。
Anna
，
this book really helps to understand the nuances of software。 to everyone who is interested in this topic， note: on the site you can find the difference between anything here， for example， go to the site and see the table the difference between hardware and software， this also helps in learning this book really helps to understand the nuances of software。 to everyone who is interested in this topic， note: on the site you can find the difference between anything here， for example， go to the site and see the table the difference between hardware and software， this also helps in learning 。。。more
Pradeep Pillai
，
This is mixed bag。 The ride is not that smooth with too much technicality making certain chapters excruciating to read， while some others are too fast paced to make a real imapct。 Either way， the effort is commendable and this book throws fairly good light on the digital evolution。 The information presented is still relevant even though it was published long back。
A23a
，
Quirky and surprising。 Slices thorugh the required electronics stuff to understand how computers work。 Excessive detail at times， unsifficient in other places。 Altoghether good and informative。
Dalton Lalonde
，
This book was so refreshing and interesting。 If you’re looking into programming or any computer science related field， this book should be the foundation for your whole education。 Knowing how a computer works on the most basic， fundamental of levels， is an amazing base for all built upon Knowledge to follow。
Žan Magerl
，
Probably one of the best books I have ever read。 Very concise and descriptive at the same time。 The author starts with the basics， such as signals， codes， binary numbers etc。 and uses the covered topics to add more and more complexity until we get a working computer。As a Computer Science graduate， I recommend it to anyone who wants to get a glimpse of how computers work。
Sean
，
Great overview of how a PC works from the bottom-up。 Some chapters are better focused than others （last chapter is supposed to be about graphics but also gets into audio-video and internet）。
Lydia
，
Petzold's Code is recommended everywhere as essential reading for students of computer science。 "It's old， but that doesn't matter，" they say。 I suppose they have a point。 Once you get into ICs， the principles haven't changed much in 20 years， just the size and speed of things。The book gets very dense in the second half。 I doubt I'd have had the will to keep going if I wasn't familiar with most of the principles。 I'd say it's approachable if you are determined to learn this stuff， but it's not a Petzold's Code is recommended everywhere as essential reading for students of computer science。 "It's old， but that doesn't matter，" they say。 I suppose they have a point。 Once you get into ICs， the principles haven't changed much in 20 years， just the size and speed of things。The book gets very dense in the second half。 I doubt I'd have had the will to keep going if I wasn't familiar with most of the principles。 I'd say it's approachable if you are determined to learn this stuff， but it's not a text book or a how-to manual。 Just a very dense overview of how digital electronics work。I did really enjoy learning about the history of modern computing and the many inventors who helped it along。 The progression from telegraph relays to integrated circuits was pretty neat。 It was particularly interesting that Boolean Algebra was invented without binary code or anything digital in mind， but happened to work out rather handily for logic gates。 Anyway， if you're reeeeally interested or need a refresher， yeah， sure， give this a shot。 Why not？ 。。。more
Mouni Reddy
，
One of the best science books I've ever read。 I'm going to re-read it and plan to read it as a work book next time。 One of the best science books I've ever read。 I'm going to re-read it and plan to read it as a work book next time。 。。。more
Tyler
，
Petzold shows an unrivaled ability to build up simple ideas in to increasingly complex wholes without leaving his reader behind。
Chris Miller
，
Confession-I am a road bump on the information highway。 If I had read this book when it was published， the last 22 years would have been more enjoyable。 （I heard about this from someone quoted in the Wall Street Journal）。 This is the best science book I have ever read。 He begins by talking about two boys communicating between their houses using flashlights。 He then proceeds to take us on a journey through all the inventions with side trips into relevant areas and back to the construction of a co Confession-I am a road bump on the information highway。 If I had read this book when it was published， the last 22 years would have been more enjoyable。 （I heard about this from someone quoted in the Wall Street Journal）。 This is the best science book I have ever read。 He begins by talking about two boys communicating between their houses using flashlights。 He then proceeds to take us on a journey through all the inventions with side trips into relevant areas and back to the construction of a computer and its software。 He does it without condescension， and fortunately， has myriad， color-coded diagrams that show exactly what he is talking about。 It is excellent。 The only problem is there is no second edition to bring up to the present。 I don't feel I am as big a road bump now。 。。。more
Thomas Montfort
，
Petzold does an amazing job of starting with some of the inspirations behind the computer and building up the concepts of code and how it translates into hardware and software。 Although the book becomes very technical， you are able to digest the concepts he is trying to explain。 This book is great if you want to build your intuition on how computers work。
Zain
，
This book makes you realize the deep down， computers are basically just rocks that can transfer electricity really fast。 It starts with morse code and telegram then makes it's way up to modern computers。 This book makes you realize the deep down， computers are basically just rocks that can transfer electricity really fast。 It starts with morse code and telegram then makes it's way up to modern computers。 。。。more
Loris
，
The author gives an in-depth explanation of how computers work， in an entertaining storytelling format。Starting with different number systems and elementary electronic circuits （no previous knowledge is needed）， the book works its way up through memory， Von Neumann architecture， the glorious 8080 chip and operating systems。I have to admit， it’s quite hard on the electronic side， but I found it exactly what’s needed to demystify the link between simple switches and full-fledged microprocessors。De The author gives an in-depth explanation of how computers work， in an entertaining storytelling format。Starting with different number systems and elementary electronic circuits （no previous knowledge is needed）， the book works its way up through memory， Von Neumann architecture， the glorious 8080 chip and operating systems。I have to admit， it’s quite hard on the electronic side， but I found it exactly what’s needed to demystify the link between simple switches and full-fledged microprocessors。Definitely worth the journey。 。。。more
Ivan
，
This book deserves all the praise it gets and the parts about making real computer from scratch really impressed me。 Despite being 21 years old now the book is still relevant and will continue to be so。
Polosanya
，
Очень доступно и интересно для тех， кто не смотрел Фиксиков， но хочет знать как устроен компьютер и что такое программирование 👍
Mykola
，
An interesting book to understand how PCs work under the hood。
Eda Tugcu Yalkin
，
I really enjoyed some chapters wherein basics were explained in a very simplified manner。 However， i should also say that some parts of the book were totally incomprehensible。 Overall， this is a book that one should and will refer to from time to time to remember the basics。
Huralnyk Alexey
，
О книге "КОД: Тайный язык информатики" я услышал в подкасте "Podlodka" в выпуске про обязательные знания для программиста。 Гость Кирилл Мокевнин рассказывал о ней как об must read книге для начинающего программиста и， что， ее тяжело купить в бумажном виде так， как они скупают ее для своей школы Hexlet。io。 Был удивлен， что никогда о ней не слышал， со своим 6-летним опытом разработки и 5-ю годами университета， но это не удивительно， ведь когда я в 2010-м заканчивал университет， она еще не была изд О книге "КОД: Тайный язык информатики" я услышал в подкасте "Podlodka" в выпуске про обязательные знания для программиста。 Гость Кирилл Мокевнин рассказывал о ней как об must read книге для начинающего программиста и， что， ее тяжело купить в бумажном виде так， как они скупают ее для своей школы Hexlet。io。 Был удивлен， что никогда о ней не слышал， со своим 6-летним опытом разработки и 5-ю годами университета， но это не удивительно， ведь когда я в 2010-м заканчивал университет， она еще не была издана на русском языке。Ожидал， что это будет легкий научпоп， которые освежит немного мои знания， о том как информация хранится и обрабатывается в компьютерах， на примере метафор， которые я потом смогу объяснить не интересующейся информационными технологиями жене。 И что эта книга является введением в программирования для технически не подкованных людей。Спойлер: книга не является введением в программирования для технически не подкованных людей， вообще。 Никто не начинает программировать с ассемблера， со знаний о том как работает процессор， об адресации памяти и о том как устроена таблица символов ASCII и тем более о том как эти самые символы отображаются электронно-лучевой трубкой。Для себя я узнал или же вспомнил （хотя есть сомнения что я получал эти знание в школе， возможно я прогулял урок）， что такое электричество。 Что это просто электроны которые оторвались от молекулы и летят через проводники， стремясь вновь обречь состояние покоя。 Что земля является универсальным проводником。 Было интересно взглянуть на простоту двоичного кода благодаря сравнению с любым языком и азбукой Морзе。 Так же как и с помощью ограниченного набора символов и звуков в обычном языке можно выразить любую концепцию: цвет， вкус， идею， рецензию на книгу， так и с помощью нулей и единиц можно выразить символы языка， ну а дальше вы поняли。 Узнал， что корни управляющих последовательностей берут свое начало в шрифте Брайля， и что это тоже двоичный код。 Как просто устроено телеграфное реле и как соединяя несколько реле последовательно или параллельно можно построить логические вентили， генератор тока с постоянной частотой （осциллятор）， простейшее запоминающее устройство хранящее информацию。 Было откровением узнать， что принцип работы процессора практически не изменился с момента выпуска первых процессоров Intel и Motorola в 70-х годах прошлого века。 И что разница между подходами записи многобайтных значений адреса памяти "от младшего к старшему" биту little-endian и "от старшего к младшему" big-endian возникло из-за разных подходов Intel и Motorola в проектировании своих процессоров。 И это различие так и не было преодолено。 И напоследок， Чарльз Петцольд сеет зерно понимания того， что будущее не электричеством， а светом в работе компьютеров。 Что фотон значительно быстрее электрона и что его также можно использовать для передачи информации， что уже повсеместно происходит в интернет сетях。Это занимательное приключение в историю компьютерное техники со всеми именами и ключевыми событиями， небольшой экскурс в операционные системы， в теорию информации， языки программирования и обработку цифровых сигналов， в алгоритмы сжатия。 Но более всего это рассказ， о том как работает ваш компьютер под капотом。Не понравилось то， что поначалу текст очень доступный， на простых примерах。 Но к середине книге этот текст превращается в сложную спецификацию процессоров， тяжелые для восприятия схемы двоичных сумматоров， блоков памяти。 И где-то 30 процентов книги стоило бы перечитать еще。Первую половину книги， я бы порекомендовал всем интересующимся устройством компьютера， на уровне обсудить за кофе с коллегами。 А вот другая половина уже для опытных разработчиков， которые хотят погрузиться лучше и понять как на самом деле процессор обрабатывает код， который они пишут или как введение к ассемблеру。 Не рекомендовал бы как введение в программирование。 。。。more
Aniket Samant
，
Though I've had a formal educational background in the same field， I found some nice insights in the book that really made me feel much closer to hardware and further appreciate the complexity involved in any computer-based system。 The author does a neat job in following a "bottom-up" approach， starting from basic concepts （say， electric phenomena and Morse code） and building up chapter by chapter and finally explaining how the （erstwhile， 1999） modern computer works。 Specifically， I really like Though I've had a formal educational background in the same field， I found some nice insights in the book that really made me feel much closer to hardware and further appreciate the complexity involved in any computer-based system。 The author does a neat job in following a "bottom-up" approach， starting from basic concepts （say， electric phenomena and Morse code） and building up chapter by chapter and finally explaining how the （erstwhile， 1999） modern computer works。 Specifically， I really liked the fact that he avoids the excessive use of analogies （say， comparing ALUs and memory to parts of the human brain， or instruction queues to a restaurant kitchen， etc。） - he dives right into the core functioning of the components and how they actually work together to get certain tasks done。He also manages to provide just enough historical context where required and that makes the reader really understand how things got to where they were， even at a component level （for instance， the replacement of vacuum tubes by transistors， and how that set the stage for companies like Intel to build the 8080 microprocessor）。 The last chapter of the book is a bit rushed， and seems like an attempt to fit in everything digital - right from graphics to sound to CD-ROMs to the internet - but nevertheless it does give a feeling of how such complex systems are developed in layers from very simple， atomic units involving merely 1's and 0's。It's a refreshing read for anybody who'd just want to revise some fundamentals， and quite possibly a highly enlightening one for someone from a different background and not familiar with how computers work。 Though it's heavily outdated and may sound oddly humorous at some points reading in 2020 （"A two hour movie can be heavily compressed and made to fit in 4 GB"， "Unicode is the best alternative to ASCII"， etc。）， the reading is engaging and certainly very relevant as long as we are surrounded by binary logic systems。 。。。more
Mike
，
I’m sure there are people who would get more out of this book than I but， with how I learn things， I found some of the technical information chapters of this book being lost on me。 This eventually spiralled into me not reaping much from the later technical chapters。 I believe for someone like me to get a grasp on these concepts （the more complicated logic gates， layering them， expanded architecture， etc。。。） is to go through it with a textbook and practice along the way。But， I did still enjoy the I’m sure there are people who would get more out of this book than I but， with how I learn things， I found some of the technical information chapters of this book being lost on me。 This eventually spiralled into me not reaping much from the later technical chapters。 I believe for someone like me to get a grasp on these concepts （the more complicated logic gates， layering them， expanded architecture， etc。。。） is to go through it with a textbook and practice along the way。But， I did still enjoy the history sections and less technical information sections。 。。。more
Alan
，
As someone who has been programming in high-level languages for the past few years – Python， Java， Javascript – I was fascinated with Petzold's work。 When you spend a lot of time working with these higher-level languages， it's easy to disregard the intricacies of what is going on at the lowest level。 "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" presents the connection between hardware and software in a digestible， easy-to-read manner: from the construction of adder circuits to f As someone who has been programming in high-level languages for the past few years – Python， Java， Javascript – I was fascinated with Petzold's work。 When you spend a lot of time working with these higher-level languages， it's easy to disregard the intricacies of what is going on at the lowest level。 "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" presents the connection between hardware and software in a digestible， easy-to-read manner: from the construction of adder circuits to flip-flop circuits to RAM to assembly language。 After this interesting read， I've renewed my appreciation and respect for CS and electrical engineering。 Thus， I highly recommend anyone who is even remotely interesting in computer science to add this title to their bookshelf。 。。。more
Michael Caveney
，
I can't say I ENJOYED a lot of this book， but it is an impressive distillation of the low-level concepts and procedures that go into making a computer work， and it's hard for me to imagine someone else being able to make this stuff as succinct yet accessible as Charles Petzold does here， so hats off。 I can't say I ENJOYED a lot of this book， but it is an impressive distillation of the low-level concepts and procedures that go into making a computer work， and it's hard for me to imagine someone else being able to make this stuff as succinct yet accessible as Charles Petzold does here， so hats off。 。。。more
Biblioworm
，