Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

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.

A clear, thorough, and well structured introduction. The typeset, length, and systematic approach make this book a great read and an engaging one too.

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.

I wanted to know more about all the fuzz is about with AI and Language Learning Models, a friend recommended this book, and wow, it is the authoritative compendium on the subject matter. Great read, very thorough introduction to AI pragmatics and evolutionary Quantum processing.

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.

Genuine must read for anyone interested in the world of computing. Specially aspiring Computer Engineers and scientists. If you have an aspiring CS/CE major around, I would highly recommend getting them 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.

Great