The pattern on the stone : the simple ideas that make computers work

Bibliographic Information

The pattern on the stone : the simple ideas that make computers work

W. Daniel Hillis

(Science masters series)

Basic Books, 1999

1st paperback ed

  • : pbk

Available at  / 7 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 155) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Most people are baffled by how computers work and assume that they will never understand them. What they don't realize--and what Daniel Hillis's short book brilliantly demonstrates--is that computers' seemingly complex operations can be broken down into a few simple parts that perform the same simple procedures over and over again. Computer wizard Hillis offers an easy-to-follow explanation of how data is processed that makes the operations of a computer seem as straightforward as those of a bicycle.Avoiding technobabble or discussions of advanced hardware, the lucid explanations and colorful anecdotes in The Pattern on the Stone go straight to the heart of what computers really do. Hillis proceeds from an outline of basic logic to clear descriptions of programming languages, algorithms, and memory. He then takes readers in simple steps up to the most exciting developments in computing today--quantum computing, parallel computing, neural networks, and self-organizing systems.Written clearly and succinctly by one of the world's leading computer scientists, The Pattern on the Stone is an indispensable guide to understanding the workings of that most ubiquitous and important of machines: the computer.

Table of Contents

* Preface: The Magic in the Stone * Nuts and Bolts * Universal Building Blocks * Programming * How Universal Are Turing Machines? * Algorithms and Heuristics * Memory: Information and Secret Codes * Speed: Parallel Computers * Computers That Learn and Adapt * Beyond Engineering

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Details

  • NCID
    BA47370619
  • ISBN
    • 046502596X
  • LCCN
    98038888
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    New York
  • Pages/Volumes
    xi, 164 p.
  • Size
    21 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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