I'm a student
I'm an educator
Request full copy

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, 2nd edition

Published by Microsoft Press (July 28, 2022) © 2023

  • Charles Petzold

eTextbook

$37.99

  • Available for purchase from all major ebook resellers, including InformIT.com.
  • To request a review copy, click on the "Request a Review Copy" button.
$31.99

  • A print text (hardcover or paperback) 
  • Free shipping
  • Also available for purchase as an ebook from all major ebook resellers, including InformIT.com
Computers are everywhere --- most obviously in our laptops and smartphones, but also our cars, televisions, microwave ovens, alarm clocks, robot vacuum cleaners, and other smart appliances. Have you ever wondered what goes on inside these devices to make our lives easier but occasionally more infuriating?

For more than 20 years, readers have delighted in Charles Petzold's illuminating story of the secret inner life of computers, and now he has revised it for this new age of computing. Cleverly illustrated and easy to understand, this is the book that cracks the mystery. You'll discover what fl ashlights, black cats, seesaws, and the ride of Paul Revere can teach you about computing --- and how human ingenuity and our compulsion to communicate have shaped every electronic device we use.

This new expanded edition explores more deeply the bit-by-bit, gate-by-gate construction of the heart of every smart device — the central processing unit that combines the simplest of basic operations to perform the most complex of feats. Along with new chapters, Petzold has created a new website, CodeHiddenLanguage.com, that uses animated interactive graphics to make computers even easier to comprehend.

From the simple ticking of clocks to the worldwide hum of the internet, Code reveals the essence of the digital revolution.

In this edition of Code, Charles Petzold reflects dramatic changes to the computer experience over the past two decades, modernizes cultural and technology references throughout, reorganizes and reworks several chapters, and adds five entirely new chapters.

Preface to the Second Edition

Chapter One: Best Friends

Chapter Two: Codes and Combinations

Chapter Three: Braille and Binary Codes

Chapter Four: Anatomy of a Flashlight

Chapter Five: Communicating Around Corners

Chapter Six: Logic with Switches

Chapter Seven: Telegraphs and Relays

Chapter Eight: Relays and Gates

Chapter Nine: Our Ten Digits

Chapter Ten: Alternative 10s

Chapter Eleven: Bit by Bit by Bit

Chapter Twelve: Bytes and Hexadecimal

Chapter Thirteen: From ASCII to Unicode

Chapter Fourteen: Adding with Logic Gates

Chapter Fifteen: Is This for Real?

Chapter Sixteen: But What About Subtraction?

Chapter Seventeen: Feedback and Flip-Flops

Chapter Eighteen: Let's Build a Clock!

Chapter Nineteen: An Assemblage of Memory

Chapter Twenty: Automating Arithmetic

Chapter Twenty-One: The Arithmetic Logic Unit

Chapter Twenty-Two: Registers and Busses

Chapter Twenty-Three: CPU Control Signals

Chapter Twenty-Four: Loops, Jumps, and Calls

Chapter Twenty-Five: Peripherals

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Operating System

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Coding

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The World Brain

Charles Petzold is also the author of The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine (Wiley, 2008). He wrote a bunch of other books too, but they're mostly about programming applications for Microsoft Windows, and they're all obsolete now. He lives in New York City with his wife, historian and novelist Deirdre Sinnott, and two cats named Honey and Heidi. His website is www.charlespetzold.com.

Need help? Get in touch

Video
Play
Privacy and cookies
By watching, you agree Pearson can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

Video transcript (PDF | 16KB) 

Pearson eTextbook: What’s on the inside just might surprise you

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s the same with your students. Meet each one right where they are with an engaging, interactive, personalized learning experience that goes beyond the textbook to fit any schedule, any budget, and any lifestyle. 

Digital Learning NOW

Extend your professional development and meet your students where they are with free weekly Digital Learning NOW webinars. Attend live, watch on-demand, or listen at your leisure to expand your teaching strategies. Earn digital professional development badges for attending a live session.

Explore webinars