But How Do It Know
This book thoroughly explains how computers work. It starts by fully examining a NAND gate, then goes on to build every piece and part of a small, fully operational computer. The necessity and use of codes is presented in parallel with the apprioriate pieces of hardware. The book can be easily understood by anyone whether they have a technical background or not. It could be used as a textbook.
Stats for nerds
21recommend
33mentions
27people
2010–2025years
76% recommend24% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- ”But how do it know?" by J. Clark Scott
- As a side note, reading "But How Do It Know" for a total beginner like me can help to scratch the itch of understanding the basics. I really loved the book and will buy my 3rd copy (lost one and gave away another).
- - But How Do It Know - Is an excellent book. I came quite far in re-creating the CPU using some logic game simulators. Highly recommend.
- I learned with the 68000 which not only was still a bit relevant and an "industry" chip, it was also simple enough to understand in a few hours assembly courses.
The CPU arch course was with a different teacher and on a made up CPU though. It wasn't even a full CPU we were just learning modules and what they do. Kind of a more advanced (and less palatable) version of the book "but how do it know" (which btw is a great read for the neophyte like me).
- "But How Do It Know: The Basic Principles of Computing" was a good look at the 1's and 0's that underlie modern computing.
- For those who want to know how to build a CPU on a breadboard, I recommend the book “But How Do It Know?” and the Scott CPU architecture.
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