January 2014
Beginner
672 pages
25h 52m
English
book
The Architecture of Computer Hardware, Systems Software, & Networking: An Information Technology Approach, 5th Edition
by Irv Englander
Content preview from The Architecture of Computer Hardware, Systems Software, & Networking: An Information Technology Approach, 5th Edition
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
CHAPTER 1
COMPUTERS AND SYSTEMS
CATHY © 1986 Cathy Guisewite. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. All rights reserved
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the wonderful modern world of computers. Where the technology changes daily. Or does it?
It's true that the computer of today looks nothing like the computer of even five or ten years ago. It is nearly impossible today to escape the immediate and ubiquitous reach of computers and computer-based systems and devices. There is probably a smartphone in your pocket or on your desk. For many of you, your laptop or tablet is sitting nearby as you read this paragraph. (Or, maybe you're even reading this paragraph on your tablet or E-book.) Furthermore, your smartphone probably has more computing power than most of the computers on the market ten years ago. It fits easily in your pocket or purse. It weighs less than 1/100 of that old desktop computer and has at least ten times as much memory!
And that's not all. Your car has several embedded computers controlling various automotive functions, and perhaps a touch screen for hands-free telephone, navigation, the radio, Internet access, and more. Which is almost unnecessary, because you can probably tell it what you want verbally anyway. Even your microwave oven and the machine that launders your clothes depend on computers to function. As you are likely aware, most of these ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access
More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.