Promotional Information

Understanding the Machine, the first volume in the landmark Write Great Code Series by Randall Hyde, explains the underlying mechanics of how a computer works.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: What You Need to Know to Write Great Code
Chapter 2: Numeric Representation
Chapter 3: Binary Arithmetic and Bit Operations
Chapter 4: Floating-Point Representation
Chapter 5: Character Representation
Chapter 6: Memory Organization and Access
Chapter 7: Composite Data Types and Memory Objects
Chapter 8: Boolean Logic and Digital Design
Chapter 9: CPU Architecture
Chapter 10: Instruction Set Architecture
Chapter 11: Memory Architecture and Organization
Chapter 12: Input and Output
Chapter 13: Computer Peripheral Buses
Chapter 14: Mass Storage Devices and Filesystems
Chapter 15: Miscellaneous Input and Output Devices

Afterword: Thinking Low-Level, Writing High-Level
Appendix A: ASCII Character Set
Glossary

About the Author

Randall Hyde is the creator of the Lisa assembler for Apple II and developer of the High Level Assembly Language (HSA). He is the author of The Art of Assembly Language, one of the most highly recommended resources on assembly since 1996, and the Write Great Code series. He has written for Dr. Dobb's Journal, Byte, and the Association for Computing Machinery's Ubiquity magazine.

Reviews

"Sooner or later it makes sense to get a grip on what happens underneath the interpreter and compiler, even below the abstraction layer that the operating system provides. . . . This book leads you a part of the way to this knowledge. In a clear and understandable writing that makes it a joy to read."
—Thomas Manthey, Amazon Reviewer

Praise for the first edition of Write Great Code, Volume 1:

"Today's programmers can hardly keep up with the race against inhumane deadlines and new technologies; therefore, they rarely have a chance to learn the basics of computer architectures and the inner-working of their programming languages. This book fills in the gaps. I strongly recommend it."
—InformIT.com

Write Great Code "isn't your typical 'teach yourself to program' book. . . It's relevant to all languages, and all levels of programming experience. . . Run, don't walk, to buy and read this book."
—Bay Area Large Installation System Administrators (BayLISA)

5/5 stars: "[Write Great Code] fills in the blanks nicely and really could be part of a Computer Science degree required reading set... Once this book is read, you will have a greater understanding and appreciation for code that is written efficiently - and you may just know enough to do that yourself. At least you will have a great start at the art of crafting efficient software."
—MacCompanion

"Great fun to read."
—VSJ Magazine

"Write Great Code: Understanding the Machine should be on the required reading list for anyone who wants to develop terrific code in any language without having to learn assembly language."
—WebServerTalk