How Computers Really Work: A Hands-On Guide to the Inner Workings of the Machine

Contents in Detail
Acknowledgments
Introduction
	Who Is This Book For?
	About This Book
	About Exercises and Projects
	My Computing Journey
Chapter 1: Computing Concepts
	Defining a Computer
	Analog and Digital
		The Analog Approach
		Going Digital
	Number Systems
		Decimal Numbers
		Binary Numbers
	Bits and Bytes
	Prefixes
	Hexadecimal
	SI Prefixes for Binary Data
	Summary
Chapter 2: Binary in Action
	Representing Data Digitally
		Digital Text
		ASCII
	Digital Colors and Images
	Interpreting Binary Data
	Approaches for Representing Colors and Images
	Binary Logic
	Summary
Chapter 3: Electrical Circuits
	Electrical Terms Defined
		Electric Charge
		Electric Current
		Voltage
		Resistance
		Water Analogy
	Ohm’s Law
	Circuit Diagrams
	AC and DC
	Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law
	Circuits in the Real World
	Light-­Emitting Diodes
	Summary
	Project #1: Build and Measure a Circuit
	Project #2: Build a Simple LED Circuit
Chapter 4: Digital Circuits
	What Is a Digital Circuit?
	Logic with Mechanical Switches
	The Amazing Transistor
	Logic Gates
	Exercise 4-1: Design a Logical OR with Transistors
	Designing with Logic Gates
	Exercise 4-2: Design a Circuit with Logic Gates
	Integrated Circuits
	Summary
	Project #3: Build Logical Operators (AND, OR) with Transistors
	Project #4: Construct a Circuit with Logic Gates
Chapter 5: Math with Digital Circuits
	Binary Addition
	Exercise 5-1: Practice Binary Addition
	Half Adders
	Full Adders
	A 4-bit Adder
	Signed Numbers
	Exercise 5-2: Find the Two’s Complement
	Two’s Complement Terminology
	Unsigned Numbers
	Summary
	Exercise 5-3: Add Two Binary Numbers and Interpret as Signed and Unsigned
	Project #5: Build a Half Adder
Chapter 6: Memory and Clock Signals
	Sequential Logic Circuits and Memory
	The SR Latch
	Using the SR Latch in a Circuit
	Universal Logic Gates
	Clock Signals
	JK Flip-­Flops
	T Flip-­Flops
	Using a Clock in a 3-Bit Counter
	Summary
	Project #6: Construct an SR Latch Using NOR Gates
	Project #7: Construct a Basic Vending Machine Circuit
	Project #8: Add a Delayed Reset to the Vending Machine Circuit
	Project #9: Using a Latch as a Manual Clock
	Project #10: Test a JK Flip-­Flop
	Project #11: Construct a 3-bit Counter
Chapter 7: Computer Hardware
	Computer Hardware Overview
	Main Memory
	Exercise 7-1: Calculate the Required Number of Bits
	Central Processing Unit (CPU)
		Instruction Set Architectures
		CPU Internals
		Clock, Cores, and Cache
	Beyond Memory and Processor
		Secondary Storage
		Input/Output
	Exercise 7-2: Get to Know the Hardware Devices in Your Life
	Bus Communication
	Summary
	8
	Machine Code and Assembly Language
	Software Terms Defined
	An Example Machine Instruction
	Calculating a Factorial in Machine Code
	Branching and the Status Register
	Exercise 8-1: Use Your Brain as a CPU
	Summary
	Project #12: Factorial in Assembly
	Project #13: Examining Machine Code
Chapter 9: High-­Level Programming
	High-­Level Programming Overview
	Introduction to C and Python
	Comments
	Variables
		Variables in C
		Variables in Python
	Stack and Heap Memory
		The Stack
		The Heap
	Math
	Logic
		Bitwise Operators
	Exercise 9-1: Bitwise Operators
		Boolean Operators
	Program Flow
		If Statements
		Looping
	Functions
		Defining Functions
		Calling Functions
		Using Libraries
	Object-­Oriented Programming
	Compiled or Interpreted
	Calculating a Factorial in C
	Exercise 9-2: Run a C Program in Your Mind
	Summary
	Project #14: Examine Variables
	Project #15: Change the Type of Value Referenced by a Variable in Python
	Project #16: Stack or Heap
	Project #17: Write a Guessing Game
	Project #18: Use a Bank Account Class in Python
	Project #19: Factorial in C
Chapter 10: Operating Systems
	Programming Without an Operating System
	Operating Systems Overview
	Operating System Families
	Kernel Mode and User Mode
	Exercise 10-1: Get to Know the Operating Systems in Your Life
	Kernel Mode Components in Windows
	Processes
	Threads
	Physical and Logical Cores
	Virtual Memory
	Application Programming Interface (API)
	The User Mode Bubble and System Calls
	APIs and System Calls
	Operating System Software Libraries
	Windows Subsystem for Linux
	Application Binary Interface
	Device Drivers
	Filesystems
	Services and Daemons
	Security
	Summary
	Project #20: Examine Running Processes
	Project #21: Create a Thread and Observe It
	Project #22: Examine Virtual Memory
	Project #23: Try the Operating System API
	Project #24: Observe System Calls
	Project #25: Use glibc
	Project #26: View Loaded Kernel Modules
	Project #27: Examine Storage Devices and FileSystems
	Project #28: View Services
Chapter 11: The Internet
	Networking Terms Defined
	The Internet Protocol Suite
	OSI—Another Network Model
		Link Layer
		Internet Layer
	Exercise 11-1: Which IPs Are on the Same Subnet?
		Transport Layer
	Exercise 11-2: Research Common Ports
		Application Layer
	A Trip Through the Internet
	Foundational Internet Capabilities
		Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
		Private IP Addresses and Network Address Translation
		The Domain Name System
	Networking Is Computing
	Summary
	Project #29: Examine the Link Layer
	Project #30: Examine the Internet Layer
	Project #31: Examine Port Usage
	Project #32: Trace the Route to a Host on the Internet
	Project #33: See Your Leased IP Address
	Project #34: Is Your Device’s IP Public or Private?
	Project #35: Find Information in DNS
Chapter 12: The World Wide Web
	Overview of the World Wide Web
		The Distributed Web
		The Addressable Web
	Exercise 12-1: Identify the Parts of a URL
		The Linked Web
		The Protocols of the Web
		The Searchable Web
	The Languages of the Web
		Structuring the Web with HTML
		Styling the Web with CSS
		Scripting the Web with JavaScript
		Structuring the Web’s Data with JSON and XML
	Web Browsers
		Rendering a Page
		The User Agent String
	Web Servers
	Summary
	Project #36: Examine HTTP Traffic
	Project #37: Run Your Own Web Server
	Project #38: Return HTML from Your Web Server
	Project #39: Add CSS to Your Website
	Project #40: Add JavaScript to Your Website
Chapter 13: Modern Computing
	Apps
		Native Apps
		Web Apps
	Virtualization and Emulation
		Virtualization
		Emulation
	Process Virtual Machines
	Cloud Computing
		The History of Remote Computing
		The Categories of Cloud Computing
	The Deep Web and Dark Web
	Bitcoin
		Bitcoin Basics
		Bitcoin Wallets
		Bitcoin Transactions
		Bitcoin Mining
	Bitcoin Beginnings
	Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
	The Internet of Things
	Summary
	Project #41: Final Project
Appendix A: Answers to Exercises
	Chapter 3: Electrical Circuits
		3-1: Using Ohm’s Law
		3-2: Find the Voltage Drops
	Chapter 4: Digital Circuits
		4-1: Design a Logical OR with Transistors
		4-2: Design a Circuit with Logic Gates
	Chapter 5: Math with Digital Circuits
		5-1: Practice Binary Addition
		5-2: Find the Two’s Complement
		5-3: Add Two Binary Numbers and Interpret as Signed and Unsigned
	Chapter 7: Computer Hardware
		7-1: Calculate the Required Number of Bits
	Chapter 8: Machine Code and Assembly Language
		8-1: Use Your Brain as a CPU
	Chapter 9: High-­Level Programming
		9-1: Bitwise Operators
		9-2: Run a C Program in Your Mind
	Chapter 11: The Internet
		11-1: Which IPs Are on the Same Subnet?
		11-2: Research Common Ports
	Chapter 12: The World Wide Web
		12-1: Identify the Parts of a URL
	1-2: Binary to Decimal
	1-3: Decimal to Binary
	1-4: Binary to Hexadecimal
	1-5: Hexadecimal to Binary
	2-1: Create Your Own System for Representing Text
	2-2: Encode and Decode ASCII
	2-3: Create Your Own System for Representing Grayscale
	2-4: Create Your Own Approach for Representing Simple Images
	2-5: Write a Truth Table for a Logical Expression
Appendix B: Resources
	Buying Electronic Components for the Projects
		7400 Part Numbers
		Shopping
	Powering Digital Circuits
		USB Charger
		Breadboard Power Supply
		Power from a Raspberry Pi
		AA Batteries
	Troubleshooting Circuits
	Raspberry Pi
		Why Raspberry Pi
		Parts Needed
		Setting Up a Raspberry Pi
		Using Raspberry Pi OS
		Working with Files and Folders
Index
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