But How Do It Know? - The Basic Principles of Computers for Everyone

I am currently a 2nd year Electrical Engineering student and I am enrolled in a Digital Logic course. I found this subject to be very interesting and decided to research further into how computers use simple gates to do such complex functions. That is when I came across this book. Even with the little previous knowledge I had, this book broke everything down - from the simplicity of a register, to the building blocks of the RAM and CPU. It was enlightening to easily read more in depth on an otherwise extremely complex subject and finish the book with the knowledge of how most computers work. I highly recommend this book to my fellow Electrical and Computer engineering colleagues. But don't think that just because engineering students find use of this book, that it is too complicated for those out of the discipline. The author does a great job of breaking down every little necessary nuance of each building block and thoroughly describes how each block works together to make a computer work; all wrapped up in a short ~200 page book. It is written without complex, technical jargon which avoids confusion wherever possible, and is readable by most who have a strong desire to learn more about how computers work. This was such an interesting and informative read. Again, I highly recommend this book to anyone with even the slightest curiosity about how a computer works.

I have always been intimidated by computers. They seem ridiculously complex and overwhelming to understand. I wasn't happy having this feeling about something I used every day so I decided to try to learn a little more about them. I didn't realize it at the time, but computers are evidently very difficult to explain. Part of the reason for this I think is that there are so many areas of specialization in computers that no one seems able or willing to sit down and try to give a beginner a good overview of the subject that is simple yet detailed enough to allow them to walk away feeling like they learned what they wanted to know. I think that may be why Mr Scott wrote this book. He genuinely wants you to understand how a computer works. He evidently spent a LOT of time designing the computer in this book. It is a fully functional computer and, from other research I have done, it actually works a lot like the computers we use every day. That is rare to find. There are many books out there that talk about the grand theories of computing but never get down into the hardware and what the wires and transistors are actually doing to make things work. Other books will try to build a very very basic computer with you but since it is just a teaching tool, you learn a lot of concepts about computing that don't really work well in reality. This book is the happy medium between the two, not too technical to be overwhelming and not so basic that its unhelpful. If you are looking for a book that will help you understand how your computer works, this is it. There is no other book that I have found that can explain this subject in such a way that you walk away feeling like you finally have clarity on a subject that has been so fuzzy for so long. Its a good feeling, and I highly recommend this book to you if you are looking for that kind of clarity about computers as well.

I got this book when I was a teenager and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It helped me develop my understanding of computer hardware, which has now lead to me studying computer engineering in college. If you know someone who is interested in computer design, this is a great introductory book!

The concept of the book is very good, and the topics are explained clearly. I also found the course “Design a CPU” by Ross McGowan, which uses this book and builds the CPU in Logisim. However, a few things are missing: Index – The book has no index. Appendix – For example, an appendix listing all instructions would be very helpful. As it is, if I want to find all commands, I have to search through the entire book. Examples – There should be many examples, starting with simple ones (like adding two numbers) and progressing to more complex programs. If you look at the Little Man Computer by Peter Higginson, you’ll find examples like add, sort, and more. All such examples should be available on GitHub for download. Simulator – A simulator like the one Ross McGowan created would be extremely useful. I like the book very much, but it really needs more supporting material that allows readers to experiment with and test the concepts. Thanks.

Everything I learned from this book was absolutely necessary for my first steps to learning computers. I have more advanced books that will summarize this entire book within 30 pages- it was overwhelmingly to fast. This book has got me past that chapter and many more. My only complaint about this book was the first couple of chapters - of which were to basic for me, but if I didn't read "code" by Charles Petzold than these chapters would have been less repetitive for me and absolutely necessary. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. If you need help understanding this book, read the green book in the recommended list or code. All three of those books will give you a confident grasp on computers. "But - How do it know" helped me start on my fourth book inside the machine (more advanced; on 16, 32, and 64 bit computers). If you want to make sure you understand everything, the order I read all four of these books started with the "green one"(Rodger young), "Code" (Charles Petzold), "But How do it know" (Clark Scott), and Inside The Machine (John Stokes)- not entirely finished with this one but is easy now. I understand everything %100 I have read in all of these books- but I believe the order I read the books helped me understand it all within a short amount of time. I am hoping to understand my fifth book "Elements on Computer Systems" (Noam Nissan) which a while back I thought looked like gibberish on paper. lol

I dont recommend the kindle version. Hard to read diagrams etc. Futhermore, book is not suitable if you do not already have some knowledge on how computers work. Recommend watching online videos first if you are a layman. I bought this book due to many positive reviews but realised afterwards that most of these seem to come from people who appear to have some skills in computer science already. I gave it one star because of the authors claim that book is comprehensible for anyone. That is simply not true.

For someone who is not computers or electronics or electrical background by education this book made the fundamentals of hardware architecture and functions so easy to understand. I have spent 16 years in industry in Mechanical Engineering and have awareness on control systems,A2D conversions and DSP.But after reading this book it made my understanding clear on microprocessor and now I am seriously thinking of finish my C language course. In short this book is awesome and inspiring. Kudos!!! to the author who brought this knowledge to wider audience.

**Gesamt Fazit:** Ein zugängliches Buch, das die Grundlagen der Computerarchitektur verständlich erklärt und den Leser mit einem tieferen Verständnis für CPUs und deren Funktion zurücklässt. Ich möchte Ihnen meine Eindrücke von "But How Do It Know? - The Basic Principles of Computers for Everyone" teilen, einem Buch, das in erstaunlich verständlicher Weise die komplexen Grundlagen der Computerarchitektur beleuchtet. **Gesamt Fazit:** Dieses Buch schafft es, auf faszinierende Weise die Welt der Computerarchitektur zu erklären. Es ist wie eine Tür, die selbst für Laien geöffnet ist, um die essentiellen Bausteine von CPUs zu verstehen und sogar zu simulieren. **Bewertung: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐** Das Buch hebt sich dadurch hervor, dass es ohne mathematische Vorkenntnisse auskommt. Es fordert lediglich logisches Denken und ein Gefühl für Zusammenhänge. Das ermöglicht es jedem Leser, die Entwicklung von grundlegenden logischen Schaltungen bis hin zu einer universell programmierbaren CPU nachzuvollziehen. **Bewertung: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐** Die Autoren vermitteln nicht nur trockenes Fachwissen, sondern führen den Leser auf eine Reise, bei der auch die nötigen Erfindungen und Entwicklungen zur Sprache kommen, um eine programmierbare CPU zu gestalten. Diese Konzepte sind geschickt in die Erklärungen integriert, was zu einem tieferen Verständnis führt. **Bewertung: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐** Die klare Struktur des Buches ermöglicht es, selbst komplexere Themen zu erfassen. Angefangen bei logischen Verknüpfungen bis hin zur Integration anderer Komponenten wie Tastatur und Monitor in das System, bietet das Buch eine kohärente und leicht verständliche Darstellung. **Bewertung: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐** Die verständlichen Abbildungen und präzisen Erklärungen machen das Buch auch für diejenigen zugänglich, die nicht fließend Englisch sprechen. Es ist möglich, den Inhalt anhand der Illustrationen und Schaubilder zu verstehen, was die Hürde der Fremdsprache mindert. **Bewertung: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐** Abschließend kann ich "But How Do It Know?" jedem empfehlen, der tiefer in die Funktionsweise von Computern eintauchen möchte. Die Art und Weise, wie das Buch selbst komplizierte Konzepte zugänglich macht, verdient höchste Anerkennung. Es ist ein Must-Read für Hobbyelektroniker, Schüler, Studenten und alle, die mehr über die innere Welt von Computern erfahren möchten.

Studio Ingegneria Informatica e mi è stato consigliato dal professore stesso. Spiega bene a livello tecnico i fondamenti di informatica.

This book manages to make very complex concepts almost too easy. There are so many books which dont really explain it they just throw terms out but this book takes the time to explain every part, no matter how small a detail, so you understand it all inside and out. This is a truly educational book and if you are interested in the subject I cannot recommend it highly enough.