Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

Fantastic book. It goes through the invention of hardware that use code. It shows how most are a binary system from braille to the telegraph. It introduces electricity concepts like current, resistance, conductiveness. It gives you the concepts of logic with logical gates and Boolean Algebra.

This is an amazing book for the right kind of reader. It's a lot like Euclid's Elements but for computers as it leads the reader through designing a computer from first principles and builds to the point of creating software and adding peripherals. It's an amazingly clear but slightly challenging read. I have given this book as a gift many many times. It's an absolute classic in my opinion.

The author does an incredible job using simple illustrations and analogies to introduce complex systems, great comp sci resource

The second edition is well written. Charles P. is known for his excellent books on programming and architecture. If you want to know how computers work, this book is for you. Be aware there are some errors (see errata on the internet). I corrected everything in 10 mins, no big deal.

A very basic book that should be mandatory for anyone working with computers, from basic coding to electrical engineers. It’s easy to read, goes over the whole process from early communication with flash lights to switches and routers, to how code works with the computers hardware. As a data scientist without much of a computer science background, this was a delight.

Disclaimer: I owned the first edition for years and read it a dozen times, mainly for pleasure since it’s not only informative but also just enjoyable to read. I’m a professional software architect and have dozens of textbooks on computer science and engineering so I’ve been around the block.This is the kind of book I would buy all for all my friends (if I had more than a couple) and family members (if they were even slightly into computers, which they aren’t sadly). Petzold does an exceptional job at describing digital logic and guides you through building a conceptual CPU from very first principles.I think his bottom up approach is the way to go and has helped me understand complex topics in an extremely simple way. When I’m not reading fiction, this is my go to bedtime reading.The second edition has about 100 more pages than the first and some content has been completely reworked and it’s great.If you ever had even a passing interest in knowing how computers work at a very fundamental level, get this book!

As an ardent reader of the past 1st edition, I was fairly excited to get the latest version. That is, until I encountered the history chapter of the new edition.For one thing, what I do NOT understand in this second edition is the newly added description of August Ada Byron (countless of Lovelace). The author claims it was Babbage who was the first programmer to design the engines, not Ada. I am not trying to start a futile argument here about who has more or fewer contributions, etc.What I am trying to assert here is that it is undisputed that Ada (unless the new evidence arises) left *the very first demonstration* of what this seemingly imaginary machine, which didn't even physically exist, was capable of through her program. Because Babbage designed the engine itself, that doesn't automatically put him in the position of a programmer (despite Babbage being a brilliant engineer/scientist and may have had a simple or detailed program in his mind). However, it was Ada who gave a definite touch to programming concepts that ultimately led to modern-day programming. Ada deserves more recognition than a mere "tutorial writer," and she is certainly entitled to the title she deserves.Other than that, like the previous edition, this book is a must-read for people who are from related/unrelated fields. I always loved the 1st edition, and I would do too with the 2nd. Still, I think history should always be approached with more care, particularly if matters have potential controversies.

I read the first edition of this book circa 2006. As a high school kid, I was already well versed in software but hardware and the way a CPU works felt like magic. I then read CODE and it forever changed my understanding of computers and how they worked at the lowest level. I consider it one of the most influential books I have ever read given at the time CS/EE wasn’t what it is today. Resources to learn this kind of stuff as an adolescent were scarce and or non-existent. I bought the second edition just to have it on my shelf.