- ISBN13: 9780735611313
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
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 ways to communicate 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. Now in paperback edition, this critically praised book weaves an inventive and eminently comprehensible narrative for anyone who’s ever wondered about the secret inner life of computers and other smart machines. The work of legendary computer book author Charles Petzold has influenced an entire generation of programmers. And with CODE, Microsoft Pres… More >>
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
I am the manager of a computer store and a graphic/web designer and as such I use and troubleshoot computers every day and know rather a lot about them.
This book looked interesting because on the jacket it uses phrases like, “illuminating narrative” and “eminently comprehensible” and “no matter what your level of technical savvy”.
In reality though after the 1st few chapters the book falls into an absolute quagmire of circuit diagrams and boolean logic tables and RAM address schemes and loses all sense of narrative or comprehensibility.
Unless you are really into math and/or are a programmer I would highly recommend AVOIDING THIS BOOK.
I am not a stupid person nor unfamiliar with computers but this was wayyyy beyond where I wanted to go with this. And my guess is that it’s way beyond for most other folks as well.
If you are interested in learning how computers work I would highly suggest the series titled “How Computers Work” by Ron White.
(…)
‘How Computers Work’ contains very clear diagrams and explanations that while technical aren’t at the picky and obtuse levels reached in the book ‘Code’.
(…) Rating: 1 / 5
ones and zeros the answer is !42 Rating: 5 / 5
I read all the glowing “best book of the year” reviews and bought it
Well i am disappointed, it is not interesting to read at all.
Repetition, annoying over simplification, The size of the book could have been reduced to 1/3 without effecting the content’s substance. Rating: 1 / 5
I like this book very much. Rating: 5 / 5
The book is super new and the delivery was too fast Rating: 5 / 5