num_pages: 504
description: A primer on the underlying technologies that allow computer programs to work. Covers topics like computer hardware combinatorial logic sequential logic computer architecture computer anatomy and Input/Output.Many coders are unfamiliar with the underlying technologies that make their programs run. But why should you care when your code appears to work? Because you want it to run well and not be riddled with hard-to-find bugs. You don't want to be in the news because your code had a security problem.Lots of technical detail is available online but it's not organized or collected into a convenient place. In The Secret Life of Programs veteran engineer Jonathan E. Steinhart explores--in depth--the foundational concepts that underlie the machine. Subjects like computer hardware how software behaves on hardware as well as how people have solved problems using technology over time.You'll learn:  How the real world is converted into a form that computers understand like bits logic numbers text and colors  The fundamental building blocks that make up a computer including logic gates adders decoders registers and memory  Why designing programs to match computer hardware especially memory improves performance  How programs are converted into machine language that computers understand  How software building blocks are combined to create programs like web browsers  Clever tricks for making programs more efficient like loop invariance strength reduction and recursive subdivision  The fundamentals of computer security and machine intelligence  Project design documentation scheduling portability maintenance and other practical programming realities.Learn what really happens when your code runs on the machine and you'll learn to craft better more efficient code.
language: English
title: The Secret Life of Programs: Understand Computers -- Craft Better Code
publisher: No Starch Press