100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Enjoy overnight NZ-wide delivery from our NZ-owned independent bookstore! 🎉

Code

The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
4.4 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 10,394 ratings, 863 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Code by Charles Petzold delves into the fundamental concepts that power our digital world. The book starts with simple, everyday systems and gradually builds up to the basics of computing, demystifying how computers work from the ground up. Petzold presents these ideas in an engaging manner, making complex topics accessible to both novices and enthusiasts in technology.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$6999
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Tim's Pick

The classic guide to how computers work, updated with new chapters and interactive graphics"For me, Code was a revelation. It was the first book about programming that spoke to me. It started with a story, and it built up, layer by layer, analogy by analogy, until I understood not just the Code, but the System. Code is a book that is as much abo...

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The classic guide to how computers work, updated with new chapters and interactive graphics.

Computers are everywhere, most obviously in our laptops and smartphones, but also in our cars, televisions, microwave ovens, alarm clocks, robot vacuum cleaners, and other smart appliances. Have you ever wondered what goes on inside these devices to make our lives easier but occasionally more infuriating?

For more than 20 years, readers have delighted in Charles Petzold's illuminating story of the secret inner life of computers, and now he has revised it for this new age of computing. Cleverly illustrated and easy to understand, Code is the book that cracks the mystery. You'll discover what flashlights, black cats, seesaws, and the ride of Paul Revere can teach you about computing, and how human ingenuity and our compulsion to communicate have shaped every electronic device we use.

This new expanded edition explores more deeply the bit-by-bit and gate-by-gate construction of the heart of every smart device, the central processing unit that combines the simplest of basic operations to perform the most complex of feats. Petzold's companion website, CodeHiddenLanguage.com, uses animated graphics of key circuits in the book to make computers even easier to comprehend.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Code by Charles Petzold is highly regarded for its ability to explain complex computing concepts in an accessible manner. Reviewers often praise the book for breaking down how computers work using everyday analogies, making it engaging for both novices and those with technical backgrounds. The book's clear and thorough explanations of digital technology provide readers with a foundational understanding of how computers and programming languages function.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780137909100

Publisher: Pearson Education (US)

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 31 August 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: Addison Wesley

Edition: 2nd edition

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 228.0mm

Weight: 680g

Pages: 480

About the Author

Charles Petzold is also the author of The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine.

Also by Charles Petzold

View all
  • The Annotated Turing
    Programming Legend Charles Petzold unlocks the secrets of the extraordinary and prescient 1936 paper by Alan M. Turing. Mathematician Alan Turing invented an imaginary computer known as the Turing Machine; in an age before computers, he explored the concept of what it meant to be computable, creating the field of computability theory in the process, a foundation of present-day computer...
    Paperback
    $6099
    Available
    Ships in 3-4 weeks

More from Computing & Technology

View all
  • Digital Minimalism
    Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport presents a revolutionary strategy for optimising your interaction with digital technology in a way that fosters productivity, focus, happiness, and creativity. Most of us recognise that our reliance on texting, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter is not due to sheer lack of intelligence or depth, but because these platforms truly offer significant value in the form...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Empire of AI
    An eye-opening account of the tech arms race shaping our planet, from an award-winning journalist and AI insider to the world of Sam Altman and OpenAI. When longtime AI expert and journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, it was...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3700
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Careless People
    Shocking and darkly funny, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to the decisions that are shaping our world and the people who make them. Welcome to Facebook. Sarah Wynn-Williams, a young diplomat from New Zealand, pitched for her dream job. She saw Facebook's potential and knew it could change the world for the better. But, when she got there...
    Paperback
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Open to Work
    ‘Open To Work helps you stop fearing the future and start shaping it with purpose.’ Jay Shetty‘An instantly useful guide to futureproofing your career.’ Adam Grant‘Open to Work lays out a smart and clear path to the future of work’ Brené Brown In a world where AI is transforming work at a rapid pace, Open to Work is your essential...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies
    The founder of the field of AI risk explains why superintelligent AI is a global suicide bomb and we must halt development immediately. AI is the greatest threat to our existence that we have ever faced. The technology may be complex but the facts are simple. We are currently on a path to build superintelligent AI. When we do, it...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Apple
    On April 1, 1976, two scruffy twentysomethings, both named Steve, founded a startup. Their goal: To bring the revolutionary power of computers to everyone. Over the next five decades, Apple reshaped the technology and cultural landscapes, introducing the public to breakthroughs like the mouse, laser printing, CD-ROM, WiFi, digital video, home networking, touchscreen phones, and tablets. Jobs’s obsessive eye for...
    Hardback
    $7999
    Elsewhere:
    $9000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI
    New Release
    The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI
    Whether you want to criticise, kill, or use AI, you have to get through the hype and uncover the real story. Start with labour: in automation theory, a centaur is a person who chooses to use technology to help them do the things that matter to them. A reverse centaur is a person who has been conscripted to serve as...
    Paperback
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    17% off
    The Bullet Journal Method
    The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll is an indispensable guide to gaining control over your chaotic life using the power of a simple pen and notebook. Whether you're a seasoned planner or a beginner, this book lays out a revolutionary system that provides structure, clarity, and purpose to your everyday activities. It's not just a method of organising your...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • How to Win At Chess
    Learn chess from International Master and YouTube's top chess teacher Levy Rozman (aka GothamChess) in this refreshing and fun guide for beginner and intermediate players. How to Win at Chess teaches you everything you need to know about the game, including all the important moves and strategies to start off strong and keep you thinking several steps ahead. Full of...
    Hardback
    $4000
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Co-Intelligence
    From Wharton professor and author of the One Useful Thing Substack, comes an urgent and definitive playbook for working, learning and living in the new age of AI. For fans of Kevin Kelly, Ray Kurzweil, Cal Newport, and Martin Ford. A New York Times Bestseller Co-Intelligence is the very best book I know about the ins, outs, and ethics of...
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Tech Bros
    New Release
    Tech Bros
    The extraordinary story of Atlassian - how two university friends with a billion-dollar idea created a global tech company. In a cramped share house in inner-city Sydney, university classmates Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar started working together to create a $160 billion company from scratch and revolutionise the way the world works. They couldn't have been more different - Cannon-Brookes...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Infinity Machine
    A revelatory portrait of the visionary behind Google DeepMind, the race to control the future - and what it means to win. Even in a tech world crowded with visionary leaders, Demis Hassabis is recognised as a special case. Born to working-class, immigrant parents in North London, a chess prodigy by five and wizard coder in his teens, he turned...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.