About the Book
The secret language of 0s and 1s revealed!
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.
Related Books
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Commerce Server 2002
Table of Contents
Preface
iv
Chapter 1 Best Friends
3
Chapter 2 Codes and
Combinations 9
Chapter 3 Braille
and Binary Codes 15
Chapter 4 Anatomy
of a Flashlight 22
Chapter 5 Seeing Around
Corners 32
Chapter 6 Telegraphs
and Relays 40
Chapter 7 Our Ten
Digits 47
Chapter 8 Alternatives
to 10 54
Chapter 9 Bit by Bit
by Bit 69
Chapter 10 Logic and
Switches 86
Chapter 11 Gates (Not
Bill) 102
Chapter 12 A Binary
Adding Machine 131
Chapter 13 But What
About Subtraction? 143
Chapter 14 Feedback
and Flip-Flops 155
Chapter 15 Bytes and
Hex 180
Chapter 16 An Assemblage
of Memory 190
Chapter 17 Automation
206
Chapter 18 From Abaci
to Chips 238
Chapter 19 Two Classic
Microprocessors 260
Chapter 20 ASCII and
a Cast of Characters 286
Chapter 21 Get on
the Bus 301
Chapter 22 The Operating
System 320
Chapter 23 Fixed Point,
Floating Point 335
Chapter 24 Languages
High and Low 349
Chapter 25 The Blossoming
365
Acknowledgment 383
Index 385 |
