CODE

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 that 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.

Table of contents

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 10
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 Blossoming