C++: A Dialog Programming with the C++ Standard Library

Chapter 2. Hardware Fundamentals

Like any complex tool, the computer can be understood on several levels. For example, it's entirely possible to learn to drive an automobile without having the slightest idea how it works. The analogy with computers is that it's relatively easy to learn how to use a Web browser without having any notion of how such programs work. On the other hand, programming is much more closely analogous to designing an automobile than it is to driving one. Therefore, we're going to have to go into some detail about the internal workings of a computer, not at the level of electronic components, but at the lowest level accessible to a programmer.

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