Paperback Edition
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.
Preface to the Paperback EditionChapter 1: Best FriendsChapter 2: Codes and CombinationsChapter 3: Braille and Binary CodesChapter 4: Anatomy of a FlashlightChapter 5: Seeing Around CornersChapter 6: Telegraphs and RelaysChapter 7: Our Ten DigitsChapter 8: Alternatives to TenChapter 9: Bit by Bit by BitChapter 10: Logic and SwitchesChapter 11: Gates (Not Bill)Chapter 12: A Binary Adding MachineChapter 13: But What About Subtraction?Chapter 14: Feedback and Flip-FlopsChapter 15: Bytes and HexChapter 16: An Assemblage of MemoryChapter 17: AutomationChapter 18: From Abaci to ChipsChapter 19: Two Classic MicroprocessorsChapter 20: ASCII and a Cast of CharactersChapter 21: Get on the BusChapter 22: The Operating SystemChapter 23: Fixed Point, Floating PointChapter 24: Languages High and LowChapter 25: The Graphical RevolutionAcknowledgmentsBibliographyColophon
|
0121 702 2828 
Published by: MICROSOFT PRESS