Petzold С. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

Microsoft Press, 2000. — 400 p. — ISBN: 978-0-735-69260-2.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.Best Friends
Codes and Combinations
Braille and Binary Codes
Anatomy of a Flashlight
Seeing Around Corners
Telegraphs and Relays
Our Ten Digits
Alternatives to Ten
Bit by Bit by Bit
Logic and Switches
Gates (Not Bill)
A Binary Adding Machine
But What About Subtraction?
Feedback and Flip-Flops
Bytes and Hex
An Assemblage of Memory
Automation
From Abaci to Chips
Two Classic Microprocessors
ASCII and a Cast of Characters
Get on the Bus
The Operating System
Fixed Point, Floating Point
Language High and Low
The Graphical Revolution