code the hidden language of computer hardware

You'll discover what flashlights, black cats, seesaws, and the ride of Paul Revere can teach you about computing, and how human ingenuity and our compulsion to communicate have shaped every electronic device we use. Cleverly illustrated and easy to understand, this is the book that cracks the mystery. Have you ever wondered what goes on inside these devices to make our lives easier but occasionally more infuriating? For more than 20 years, readers have delighted in Charles Petzold's illuminating story of the secret inner life of computers, and now he has revised it for this new age of computing. Code teaches us how many unseen layers there are between the computer systems that we as users look at every day and the magical silicon rocks that we infused with lightning and taught to think.' - Scott Hanselman, Partner Program Director, Microsoft, and host of Hanselminutes Computers are everywhere, most obviously in our laptops and smartphones, but also our cars, televisions, microwave ovens, alarm clocks, robot vacuum cleaners, and other smart appliances. Code is a book that is as much about Systems Thinking and abstractions as it is about code and programming. It started with a story, and it built up, layer by layer, analogy by analogy, until I understood not just the Code, but the System. It was the first book about programming that spoke to me. He is also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and was named one of Microsoft's seven Windows Pioneers.The classic guide to how computers work, updated with new chapters and interactive graphics 'For me, Code was a revelation. Charles Petzold is an American programmer and technical author on Microsoft Windows applications.

No matter what your level of technical savvy, CODE will charm you-and perhaps even awaken the technophile within. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Code the hidden language of computer hardware