Code: The Hidden Language 2nd Edition

Description

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.

CONTENTS:

Preface to the Paperback Edition; Chapter 1: Best Friends; Chapter 2: Codes and Combinations; Chapter 3: Braille and Binary Codes; Chapter 4: Anatomy of a Flashlight; Chapter 5: Seeing Around Corners; Chapter 6: Telegraphs and Relays; Chapter 7: Our Ten Digits; Chapter 8: Alternatives to Ten; Chapter 9: Bit by Bit by Bit; Chapter 10: Logic and Switches; Chapter 11: Gates (Not Bill); Chapter 12: A Binary Adding Machine; Chapter 13: But What About Subtraction?; Chapter 14: Feedback and Flip-Flops; Chapter 15: Bytes and Hex; Chapter 16: An Assemblage of Memory; Chapter 17: Automation; Chapter 18: From Abaci to Chips; Chapter 19: Two Classic Microprocessors; Chapter 20: ASCII and a Cast of Characters; Chapter 21: Get on the Bus; Chapter 22: The Operating System; Chapter 23: Fixed Point, Floating Point; Chapter 24: Languages High and Low; Chapter 25: The Graphical Revolution; Acknowledgments; Bibliography; Colophon;