“Code” 2nd Edition • Hacker News Board

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#81

Post by pacaro » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 8:57 PM UTC

morninglight wrote: post #51

"Programming Windows" exposed the simplicity behind the Windows architecture. If you had even a smattering of C experience, Petzold could get you writing Windows applications the same day you opened his book. He triggered an explosion of software development. There are excellent books for novice Linux programmers, but unfortunately, nothing compared to Petzold's clear and direct presentation. .

Absolutely! My first software job back in 94, on my first day I was given a battered copy of Petzold and told to read and do the exercises up to chapter 7. It was an extremely effective boot camp for a novice windows programmer

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#82

Post by LordDragonfang » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 8:58 PM UTC

begueradj wrote: post #16

stevoski wrote: post #5

This book (1st edition, at least) is astonishing. Perhaps the best book for coders that I’ve ever read. I recommend it to all the HN crowd. Reading it, I felt like I actually understood how computers worked, right down to the “electricity going through wires” level and lower, and how that builds up to if-then statements, etc, in a high-level language.

The content is something we learn in universities, even deeper. I think it's good for self taught programmers

I can't tell whether I had an unusually good CS education, or if I'm missing something, but everything I see discussed in this thread as crucial insights taken from this book are things I recall being covered at least once in university, yeah. Perhaps it's just especially effective in its organization and ordering of fundamentals. Still, the praise it's getting makes me want to pick up a copy just to see if it can fill in any gaps I've missed in truly grokking those concepts.

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#83

Post by greymalik » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:05 PM UTC

localhost wrote: post #30

Code is my favorite technical book of all time [1]. Charles does an amazing job of building a computer up from basic principles "two young boys who want to communicate after their parents tell them to go to bed at night" all the way to modern (for 1999) computers. He layers abstraction on top of abstraction all the way to a working computer. My only (slight) disappointment in the book is that he tries to cover operat…

When the book “builds” a computer, I’m assuming that’s a virtual computer? If so, what language does it use?

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#84

Post by duped » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:05 PM UTC

coldpie wrote: post #67

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't oversell it. Speaking as someone who has done VLSI layout of a 32-bit processor in my student days, Petzold's book is a solid popularization but it doesn't cover a tenth of what a computer engineering degree does.

Fair point. I'm speaking about a computer science degree.

Don't most CS students still have to take logic design, microprocessors, operating systems, compilers, etc?

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#85

Post by bmitc » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:06 PM UTC

I still need to get to the first edition copy I have, but now I think I'll wait to read it with the expanded bits on CPU architecture.

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#86

Post by rafaelhaseyes » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:08 PM UTC

beezlebroxxxxxx wrote: post #80

scrollaway wrote: post #77

Any suggestions on where to preorder this from Europe (Belgium)?

> If you’d like to pre-order the book from the publisher, don’t try to find the book on the Pearson website. Instead, order the book from InformIT.com or MicrosoftPressStore.com or your favorite online retailer. So I imagine any online retailers where you might be able to preorder technical books. If you are not adverse to doing so, it can probably be pre-ordered in the coming months on Amazon, as well.

In Europe you could for instance order at Blackwells[1], they are an independent bookseller and fairly cheap for english language books. Even better would be to use a local independent bookseller in your own country of course

[1] blackwells.co.uk

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#87

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:09 PM UTC

I suppose I came to understanding programming in an unusual way. I first knew a bit of BASIC and could write simple programs in it, how the computer actually worked was a baffling mystery.

My first semester in college, I took a class in semiconductor physics. That started with the PN junction, to diodes, to transistors, to gates, to flip-flops, to clocking, to registers, adders, etc.

Later on, this made learning microprocessors straightforward, then assembler, then C, etc.

I suppose it would have been faster to go straight to programming, but I am happier knowing how it works all the way down.

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#88

Post by endofreach » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:11 PM UTC

I have no idea how i ended up buying this book last year (haven‘t heard of it from anyone)… the best book i have read in recent years. Definitely the best tech book i have or will ever read (haven‘t even finished „code“ fully yet, lol).

Also: i found a book i always was too scared of starting to read (because i didn‘t want to feel like the biggest idiot trying to read it): „The Annotated Turing“. When i looked at it again after having read „Code“, i saw it was also written by Petzold. The way he wrote „code“ i know, that this will be great. I am very excited to read it when i have a few hours to fully block for it.

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#89

Post by pbourke » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:19 PM UTC

jrmg wrote: post #68

unwind wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, as someone with too many years of programming behind me to imagine that, can you mention some concrete things that you found arbitrary or completely mysterious, and that the booked cleared up for you? Thanks.

I often wonder: for someone with no understanding of how computers work; no idea about electricity and transistors, no idea about CPUs executing instructions, no idea about software and abstraction: what do they think about when they click a ‘play’ button in a music player, and the interface updates and music starts? Do they think about what is happening ‘inside’ the box? I think I do. I suspect I have a completely d…

> I find it hard to imagine how they must see the modern world. It must seem like magic!

I think this is unnecessarily infantilizing. There are a great many very complex things in the modern world, and people must employ abstractions for most of it.

I think with the rise of multi form factor computing, there is more basic literacy about the nature of computers these days. People don’t think that a phone god makes their phone work and a laptop god lets them work on their document.

Re: “Code” 2nd Edition

#90

Post by jagged-chisel » Fri, Jun 10, 2022, 9:21 PM UTC

greymalik wrote: post #83

localhost wrote: post #30

Code is my favorite technical book of all time [1]. Charles does an amazing job of building a computer up from basic principles "two young boys who want to communicate after their parents tell them to go to bed at night" all the way to modern (for 1999) computers. He layers abstraction on top of abstraction all the way to a working computer. My only (slight) disappointment in the book is that he tries to cover operat…

When the book “builds” a computer, I’m assuming that’s a virtual computer? If so, what language does it use?

GP said “builds up to.” It’s more about the abstractions adding up so that the reader understands how electrons can be programmed. There is no implementation of any kind of virtual or hardware machine in the book.

He goes: electricity, relays, logic gates, circuits (like adders), CPU, RAM …

It’s been awhile so I might have missed a step or two. You’ll come away knowing how we used electricity to get from lightning bolts, to pocket computers. You will not come away with a programmable machine.