The Pattern in the Snow: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work (Science Masters Series) - Tapa dura

The head of Disney's Imagineering Works dissects the workings of computer logic and breaks it down into simple procedures, clarifying, for the computer illiterate, what makes computers tick, and discusses the exciting developments available today. Tour.

Danny Hillis offers a clear, easy-to-understand explanation of how computers perform their amazing feats. . Most people are baffled by how computers work. What they dont realize is that the computers complex operations can be broken down into a few simple parts performing simple procedures over and over. In this welcome volume, W. Daniel Hillis makes a computer seem as basic as a bicycle. Hillis begins with a rundown of basic logic to clear descriptions of what programming languages, algorithms, and memory are. He then takes readers in easy steps up to the most exciting development in computing today - quantum computing, parallel computing, neural networks, and self-organizing systems Most people are baffled by how computers work and assume that they will never understand them. What they dont realize and what Daniel Hilliss 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 worlds 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.