An approachable, hands-on guide to understanding how computers work, from low-level circuits to modern software.
From Amps to Apps: How Computers Work is an approachable, hands-on guide to understanding how computers work, from low-level circuits to modern software.
From Amps to Apps: How Computers Work takes an informal approach to topics often reserved for textbooks. Each chapter covers one foundational aspect of computing. Exercises and hands-on activities throughout are designed to help you learn. Exercises mostly involve mental problem solving, while hands-on activities require you to actually try various aspects of computing: building a circuit, writing software, and so forth.
You will learn about electrical circuits, learn how to read a circuit diagram, and build a working circuit. You'll learn how computer hardware like processors, memory, and input/output work and fit together; how low-level machine code runs on a processor; and how to examine the machine code of software running on a computer. You'll gain an understanding of the differences between programming languages like C and Python; examine operating systems; use tools to explore your local network and the Internet; and build a simple web page. The book's primary goal is to give you a broad understanding of how computers work and to offer a big-picture view of computing and the foundational information needed to dig deeper into topics that interest you.
"Much more understandable than most books of this type, even when the author delves deeply into machine code, programming languages, operating systems and the internet. He details 41 hands-on projects, including games, running a web server, and so on. It's just right for the would-be software engineer."
—Joy Schwabach, Arkansas Democrat Gazette's On Computers
