It is a great book, I demystified some thoughts I had about software architecture. Unlike other computer science books, the 'Code' teaches how computers work in a nutshell. My opinion on this book is really divided : on the one hand I enjoy some chapters, on the other hand I hardly managed to restrain myself from flipping through other chapters. How approachable is this book for a someone with no background in math, electronics or computer science, and in general no inclination towards the sciences? One - in this case one in how the Queen would use this - cannot really talk about this book without comparing it to. This is introduced almost entirely from scratch – explaining how circuits work, what voltage is, how batteries work etc – but it actually went beyond my previous knowledge in electricity fairly quickly, and taught me much of interest. ), but I very much like the book as a whole. Just finished reading my b-day gift, the 'Code' by Charles Petzold - probably the best engineering book I've ever read. Around this point a number of other key – but rather unrelated – topics are covered like Boolean logic (True/False, AND, OR etc) and number systems (particularly number bases and binary). The last chapter of the book felt a bit rushed and ended abruptly, but maybe that’s just my wanting the book to go on longer/end at present day. I really enjoyed most of this book. A few chapters were tempting to skim For example, Petzold incl. I read the Kindle version, and it's fine. Vote for your favourite Australian book of 2020! 1990s computers) and the final chapter on the graphical revolution goes through way too much, way too fast to be of any use. 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 leads you from the very basics like morse & braille codes to boolean algebra and various numeric systems, from simple tiny electric circuits which bulb the lamp to primitive adding machine (built from relays, hehe), up to history of development and enhancement of computers in the 20th century. Possible simulation software. This project is intended to represent the output of Charles Petzold's "Code" book, realised as a from-the-ground-up electronic simulation. Petzold showed the staff some small assembly-language programs he had written. - The Basic Principles of Computers for Everyone, New African American Histories and Biographies to Read Now. So, it won’t surprise you to know that I am quite interested in how computers work – and picked up this book thinking that I’d already know quite a lot of it. There's not much programming or CS (apart from some machine code and assembly language examples). Interestingly, transistors aren’t mentioned until after you’ve got almost all of the way to building a computer – but this is almost certainly because relays are far easier to understand, and accomplish the same job. The beginning is slightly slow, but after the 1/3 mark or so, I couldn't put it down(literally. So, while Code goes fairly deep into the workings of the computer (few other books show how computer processors actually work, for example), the pace is fairly relaxed. I have not read those, but I can’t imagine they will age nearly as well as Code has. Just finished reading my b-day gift, the 'Code' by Charles Petzold - probably the best engineering book I've ever read. Code has no drawings of trains carrying a cargo of zeros and ones. I write on a daily basis actually makes its way through the magical land that is a computer and returns pleasantries to a human being behind the screen, I sat down with this "Code" book. In CODE, they show us the ingenious ways we manipulate language and invent new means of communicating with each other. I LOVE this book. Your email address will not be published. Almost makes me want to try again (*almost*). I really enjoyed most of this book. The book takes the approach of constructing the computer “on the paper and in our minds” — that's great when you're at least a little familiar with the topic, maybe not so when trying to discover a completely unknown territory (but the author takes great lengths to go through everything step by step — e. g. the various gates, binary subtraction, memory handling, etc.). There is a very practical emphasis on everything – and the point about the importance of binary as on/off, true/false, open/closed and so on, is very much emphasised. A very nice introduction into what makes computers tick. Availability - Hardcover The hardcover edition of this book is out of print. And Petzold helps me to walk inside an electrical circuit, a telephone, a telegraph, an adding machine, a computer, and to understand the basics behind the design, of what is going on inside. The natural solution to this is Morse code using a torch, and Petzold takes this simple code as a good starting point to explain the concepts of a code. Unlike other computer science books, the 'Code' teaches how computers work in a nutshell. And I should understand the logic behind the center of my life, right? A book about computers “without pictures of trains carrying a cargo of zeroes and ones” — the absolute no-nonsense book on the internals of the computer. I’d never really understood relays before, but Petzold introduces them with a very good analogy as a ‘labour saving device’ at a telegraph station. By saying 'engineering', I mean it. From logic gates, to adding circuits and subtracting circuits and from clocks to flip-flops and RAM you gradually work up to a full, programmable computer which you have basically built by page 260! 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. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Code at Amazon.com. This book basicaly tries to take you from the very basics of how to encode information, such as how binary is used to represent complex information, to understanding how a computer uses information like this to perform intricate operations. October 11th 2000 It was a great read and a book that I can recommend to anyone who whishes to understand how computers really works at the most basic level. The book is very intriguing from the start, beginning with the earliest forms of code (Morse, Braille, etc.). The route between those two points is the interesting part, and there was some parts that I foudn really illuminating and important. He takes you on an exciting journey, through Braille Code, Morse Code, Telegraph Relays, Logic Gates, Flip-Flops, seamlessly from one to the other, each revealing a powerful concept. Or if you're just interested in tech. !!! It does at points get pretty deep into the weeds but I really appreciated the author's efforts to provide such an exhaustive dive into how computers w. Wow. Unlike other computer science books, the 'Code' teaches how computers work in a nutshell. It does at points get pretty deep into the weeds but I really appreciated the author's efforts to provide such an exhaustive dive into how computers work (and I regained much of my awe at these machines we take so for granted nowadays). petzold-pw5e. The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour Through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine, But How Do It Know? Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We are not makers of history. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. We’d love your help. Charles Petzold has been writing about Windows programming for 25 years. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published I can think of very few issues with this book – although the last chapter does read rather strangely, as if the author was trying to fit far too much into far too little space (trying to cover multimedia, networking, WIMP interfaces and more in one chapter is a bit of a tall order though! 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. It's detailed enough to give you a sense on how things work, yet not overly complicated to intimidate you. Booktopia has Code, The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold. hello, 5am.). I knew a fair bit – but I learnt a huge amount from reading it, and it helped me gain a full understanding of what is going on when I write computer programs – right down to the level of the electricity inside the processor. View code-charles-petzold-27.pdf from MATH 212 at San Mateo High. The book reminds me of the courses that students usually have during the first year of the University. This book is the perfect depth for novices but also people who are “in tech” and don’t really understand how it all works (like me). Petzold maintains a good balance: the pace is comfortable, and the tone is informal while at the same time incorporating the appropriate technical terminology to accurately convey the subject matter without obscuring it by unnecessarily avoiding precision out of fear that the reader will be turned off by too much jargon. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software (1999) is a book by Charles Petzold that seeks to teach how personal computers work at a hardware and software level. The slow unfolding of how computers are built actually work was extremely fascinating - from simple lightbulb circuits to logic gates to RAM to keyboards and monitors. Given how much detail everything is explained in – and how little knowledge is assumed – fitting it into 260 pages is very impressive! He then describes the development of hardware beginning with a description of the development of telegraph and relays. I wish I had had this book back when I was taking my first Computer Architecture course in college! This book basicaly tries to take you from the very basics of how to encode information, such as how binary is used to represent complex information, to understanding how a computer uses information like this to perform intricate operations. If you know a better one, I want to read it. Required fields are marked *. You’ll note that nothing about computers has been introduced yet – and that is a key feature of the first part of the book, it doesn’t go straight in to “this is how a computer works”, it starts at a very basic (but still interesting) level that becomes useful when thinking about computers later in the book, but isn’t too scary. Despite the depth, I tried to make the trip as comfortable as possible. Charles Petzold August 16, 2000 Starts from understandable foundations and builds from there. […] 7 (which are now referred to by Microsoft’s own support site) to reviews of academic and non-academic books, along with some more academic posts (such as information about my publications and the software […]. A Windows Pioneer Award winner, Petzold is author of the classic Programming Windows, the widely acclaimed Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Programming Windows Phone 7, and more than a dozen other books. For example, I didn't understand hexadecimal numbers (or indeed what base 4, base 8, etc) numbers meant before I read this boo. Its really hard to understand chapter 17 ,help? Review of CODE by Charles Petzold I recently read CODE – The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold. Such a fun and interesting book. Great way to fill blanks in my computer knowledge. This book is for us. The book starts by looking at the ways you, as a child, might try and communicate with your best friend who lives across the street – after your parents think you’ve gone to bed. While Petzold does assume the reader is starting from scratch, I think it would be easier to follow later on if you had some background in computers/technology. Book Review: Code by Charles Petzold. The print version of this textbook is ISBN: 9780735611313, 0735611319. With Code, Petzold sets out to inform a general audience about the inner workings of computers. by Microsoft Press, Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software. And that's coming from someone who already thought they "sorta" understood how it worked. If you ever wondered how a computer worked then buy this and read it – even if you think you already know (unless you’re, you know, a chip designer at Intel or something! I really liked the gradual introduction to concepts of increasing complexity where each builds on the one before it. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. In a very fun manner, this book presents 3 years of introductory CS curricula: discrete structures, algorithms, logic gates, ... After reading this during two cross-country flights, I better understand (and remember) classes I took 10 years ago. Book Review: Code by Charles Petzold Charles Petzold is perhaps best known for his books on programming Windows applications. You may be able to obtain copies of the hardcover edition from online booksellers listed on my Books page. To see what your friends thought of this book. 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. It's both a narrative history of Computer Science and a brilliant introduction to systems and programming. While I did enjoy the later chapters as well, much of it felt so rushed compared to the earlier, slower pace of the book. shift characters and escape characters – both of which Braille has). So I've reread this book once more because I felt it was great, yet I could not give it 5/5 before. Similarly I knew a fair amount about how various electrical gates work but not how by pairing multiple gates together you eventually get to RAM, a CPU, etc. Interview with Charles Petzold regarding Code on the Amazon.com web site. In this book, Charles Petzold gives a lucid explanation of how a computer works. When programmers talk about the timeless books that will always be relevant, certain classics always come up: The Mythical Man Month, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Design Patterns, Refactoring, Code Complete, and others. Start by marking “Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Once they have been introduced, a couple of important processors (the Intel 8080 and the Motorola 6800) are examined in detail – a really interesting opportunity to see how the concepts you’ve learnt about have been applied in real life by chip designers. While Petzold does assume the reader is starting from scratch, I think it would be easier to follow later on if you had some background in computers/technology. The majority of the book, however, is great - I had never really delved into logic gates and circuitry, so it was truly eye-opening even if I couldn't fully understand some parts. Petzold spends a long time laying down the basic blocks of electrical engineering before progressing to how bits flow through. © 2021 Robin's Blog | powered by WordPress The 5th edition Programming Windows was published in 1998 in the era of Windows 98, Windows NT and Internet Explorer 4. Knowledge is empowering! He then moves on to Braille, which is significantly more complex than I thought, and which gives the opportunity to look at some of the more complex things you find in codes (eg. I wish I had had this book back when I was taking my first Computer Architecture course in college! Or if you just want a basic appreciation of one of the most important technologies in human history—the computer. Code-Charles Petzold 2000-10-11 What do flashlights, the British invasion, black cats, and seesaws have to do They asked all current New York contributors to help with the review. Starting from workings of an electrical circuit and building up to various logical elements with gradually increasing complexity. Overall, I loved it and will surely be recommending it to anyone who asks how computers work. A few chapters were tempting to skim For example, Petzold includes 25 pages on the machine code instructions of an Intel 8080 microprocessor - did we really need all that detail? First he explains binary (via morse code and Braille), then he introduces relays and switches, then gates and Boolean logic, and before you know it you're building an electronic counting machine. By the end of the book I was itching to buy lots of relays or transformers and make a computer on my living room table! A Microsoft MVP for Client Application Development and a Windows Pioneer Award winner, Petzold is author of the classic, “Code is not like other how-computers-work books. CODE: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold. It was written from 1987 to 1999, consequently one shouldn't expect any description of newest technologies. His story begins with a description of various ways of coding information including Braille, Morse code, and binary code. Soon he was busy writing little 300-500 byte .COM file utilities for PC Magazine. 1990s computers) and the final chapter on the graphical revolution goes through way too much, way too fast to be of any use. If you work with computers and didn't read this book, you are lame. The book is very intriguing from the start, beginning with the earliest forms of code (Morse, Braille, etc.). Chapter 17 ("Automation"), however, was where I began to feel a bit in over my head. Charles Petzold discusses his Bright Idea: how a complex technology like computers can be described more fruitfully by going back in time to its historical origins. And while it does get pretty complex, Charles doesnt avoid it. Revisited C source code for Charles Petzold's Programming Windows 5th Edition ISBN-10 157231995X. It leads you from the very basics like morse & braille codes to boolean algebra and various numeric systems, from simple tiny electric circuits which bulb the lamp to primitive adding machine (built from relays, hehe), up to history of development and en. I start getting the math, the logic behind all this technology that has become pretty much the center of my life today. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. This is the book that every computer science … When you later need to restore the contents of these registers, use the POP instructions in I didn't really. Code The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software 1st Edition by Charles Petzold and Publisher Microsoft Press PTG. Very close to my ideal book. The last chapter of the book felt a bit rushed and ended abruptly, but maybe that’s just my wanting the book to go on longer/end at present day. I’m not going to go much further into detail about the rest of the book, except to say that you move towards being able to ‘build’ (conceptually if not actually physically) a fully-working computer gradually, one step at a time. In a way, this is a perfect book on the topic. In 1984, PC Magazine decided to do a review of printers. Refresh and try again. This book has really taught me a lot, despite the fact that many of the later chapters lost me somewhat; it felt like it became much more complicated and hard to follow after the earlier chapters, which were great, slowly paced and well explained. This was a wonderful non-fiction read, especially the first 15 or so chapters. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. This book is quite incredible. He continues with a potted history of transistors, microchips, RAM, ROM, character encoding and all sorts of other fun stuff. This week's BART book of the week is Charles Petzold's Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, recommended to me by my awesome coworker Dan Tsui. Robin's Blog Review: Code – The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold December 29, 2012. I know that this is way more on the theory/mathematics side of the spectrum than CODE, but Charles Petzold also wrote a book called The Annotated Turing that I really enjoyed. Shannon was also well known at Bell Labs for riding a unicycle and juggling simultaneously.”. Summary: This book takes you all the way from Morse Code to a fully working computer, explaining everything along the way. TODO: Breakout into new pages and review Here you can start to see how this is moving towards a computer…. Code is not special because of its subject but rather because of how it weaves together the many and varied pieces that compose the topic. Unfortunately, parts of this book seem quite dated (most anything discussing "contemporary" technology, i.e. Charles doesnt try to explain through high level metaphors (that do a poor job of capturing the truth -- I am frustrated after picking up another apparently interesting physics book only to find it contains no math), rather, he slowly builds on simple examples. In 1949, he wrote the first article about programming a computer to play chess, and in 1952 he designed a mechanical mouse controlled by relays that could learn its way around a maze. 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. Scott Hanselman says “This book should really be required reading in any CS101 class. Surprisingly interesting. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Oh how I love this book. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold 6,819 ratings, 4.40 average rating, 554 reviews Code Quotes Showing 1-20 of … I have been an IT professional for 20 years, but I never knew what the switches on the front panel of the Altar computer were for. Written in 1999, the book yet actual nowadays (well, there are funny moments regarding computers' capacity and performance, and probably some other stuff but those don't matter much). Summary: This book takes you all the way from Morse Code to a fully working computer, explaining everything along the way.What’s more, it’s a great read too! ), Reference: Petzold, C., 2000, Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Microsoft Press, 395pp Amazon Link. Knowledge is empowering! For example, I didn't understand hexadecimal numbers (or indeed what base 4, base 8, etc) numbers meant before I read this book. Still, the purpose of the book, as I mentioned, is rather to explain the nature of computer codes and hardware at the very low-level. We are made by history.” So, this January, as we celebrate Martin Luther King... What do flashlights, the British invasion, black cats, and seesaws have to do with computers? I can now look around at all the electronics in my house and feel like I know what’s fundamentally going on. This book should be a pre-requisite for introductory CS classes. This code the hidden language of computer hardware and software developer best practices, as one of the most energetic sellers here will certainly be along with the best options to review. If I had this book in a seminar freshman year, I might have completed the Computer Science program. The benefits of an academic website « Robin's Blog, Pint + SQLAlchemy = Unit consistency and enforcement in your database, Creating an email service for my son’s childhood memories with Python. This book pretty quickly gets into electricity and basic circuits. Interview with Charles Petzold regarding Code on the Amazon.com web site. What’s more, it’s a great read too! With a desire to learn how the high level code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.) Yes, but so much more! He slowly puts these together in a stunningly beautiful manner to assemble a computer. If you like books and love to build cool products, we may be looking for you. I feel like I've learned a lot by reading this book, especially since we had no relevant computer architecture courses in college. Overall, I loved it and will surely be recommending it to anyone who asks how computers, This book is the perfect depth for novices but also people who are “in tech” and don’t really understand how it all works (like me). Electricity and electrical circuits are introduced when describing how you might communicate with another friend whose window you can’t see from yours. As you’ll probably know if you’ve read many articles on this site: I’m a computer programmer and general ‘geek’. I do now. I regard myself an innocent computer illiterate. Wow. If not already, it soon will be, a staple of computer science literature. Whenever circuits are drawn in the book – from here onwards – they are shown with the wires that have current in them in red, making it very easy to see what is going on. From circuits with a battery, switch and bulb to logic gates to a thorough description of the Intel 8080. While that chapter was fairly thorough, when I got to later chapters and realized I couldn't quite grok what was going on in these chips, it was hard for me to tell whether I was holding myself back by not fully understanding the concepts of Chapter 17, or if Petzold was simply glossing over some of the details that might have clued me in. As Mr. Petzold states in the preface, Code is “a unique journey through the evolution of the digital technologies that define the modern age.” So, how computers work? Overall: a great read, very interesting and very educational. It also discusses some relevant historical moments as a typical professor in a typical lecture would do and ends with a broad overview of personal computers as they were in 1999. After these introductions, the relays discussed earlier are combined to produce logic gates (AND, OR, NOT, NAND, XOR and so on) with the aim of producing a circuit to help you choose a cat (yes, it sounds strange, but works well as an example!). In the preface to the 2000 softcover edition, Petzold wrote that his goal was for readers to understand how computers work at a concrete level that "just might even rival that of electrical engineers and programmers". Just finished reading my b-day gift, the 'Code' by Charles Petzold - probably the best engineering book I've ever read. It is one of those rare books that is suitable for a very wide range of audiences – from those with almost no knowledge of the subject at all (it starts from the very beginning, so that isn’t a problem) right up to those who are experienced programmers and know some of it (they will still find a lot they don’t know, and realise a lot of things). Best bottom-up education ever. Your email address will not be published. Code is never mentioned in that group, and for good reason. I really, really truly love this book. Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). Definitely one of the greats. You start with braille and simple light switches, make your way to oscillators, flip-flops and multiplexer, and suddenly you understand how computer hardware works. Petzold spends a long time laying down the basic blocks of electrical engineering before progressing to how bits flow through a circuit board and control things. By saying 'engineering', I mean it. I only read this book because it was quoted as a must read by Joel Spolsky on a stackexchange answer about how to go about learning programming (and finding out if you want/should be a programmer). Charles Petzold a does an outstanding job of explaining the basic workings of a computer. I write on a daily basis actually makes its way through the magical land that is a computer and returns pleasantries to a human being behind the screen, I sat down with this "Code" book. ‍. Unfortunately, parts of this book seem quite dated (most anything discussing "contemporary" technology, i.e. Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software - Ebook written by Charles Petzold. Petzold has a great writer's voice and a true talent for making a complicated subject fun to learn. As it was, I had to bombard my dad (an electronic engineer) with questions to even make it. In brief: be prepared to skim through at least 25% of this book! While that chapter was fairly thorough, when I got to later chapters and realized I couldn't quite grok what was going on in these chips, it was hard for me to tell whether I was holding myself back by not fully understanding the concepts of Chapter 17, or if Petzold was simply glossing over some of the details that might have clued m. This was a wonderful non-fiction read, especially the first 15 or so chapters. Welcome back. By saying 'engineering', I mean it. But remember: Authors receive royalties only … Thank you for such an awesome book! Buy a cheap copy of Applications = Code + Markup: A Guide to... book by Charles Petzold. Basically, this book designs and builds a basic computer by introducing in each chapter a concept or a technology used inside computers. Petzold goes back to the very basics to explain how to build a computer (of sorts) from the ground up. You may be able to obtain copies of the hardcover edition from online booksellers listed on my Books page. This book has really taught me a lot, despite the fact that many of the later chapters lost me somewhat; it felt like it became much more complicated and hard to follow after the earlier chapters, which were great, slowly paced and well explained. Recommended for anyone who would really like to understand the basic concepts behind computer technology, but doesn't want to go back to graduate school. What a ride! This was the beginning of Petzold's career as a paid writer. Now I do. This is a great book. Information theory is concerned with transmitting digital information in the presence of noise (which usually prevents all the information from getting through) and how to compensate for that. Save up to 80% by choosing the eTextbook option for ISBN: 9780735638723, 0735638721. 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