Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

I first came across this book around 2005, while studying C# at the university. Back then I was reading a recommended book on C# programming by Charles Petzold, which I liked, and I looked into other books written by him. “Code” immediately caught my attention but for various reasons I didn't buy the book for 10 more years and I didn't read it until this month.

Well, the long wait was certainly worth it as this was one of the best introductions to computing I've ever read! The author guides us through the process of building a simple computer from scratch in an extremely detailed, yet entertaining way, and we learn a lot about a lot of topics as we go along. That's probably one of the best texts on the history of computing as well, and modern electronics/communication tech in general.

So, why 4 stars instead of 5 then? Well, the book quality varied with chapters and I definitely didn't enjoy the final chapters as much as the earlier ones. Perhaps because those were the most outdated (e.g. the one on peripherals), or simply because that's the part of computing I didn't really need a refresher on (operating systems, programming languages, etc). Still, I have to admit the book has aged very well (it was written way back in 1999!) and most of its content is pretty timeless.

Funny enough, Charles Petzold has recently announced a second edition of “Code” that's due any day now - mid-August 2022. Let's see if I'll manage to read it in less than 17 years this time around!