Point me in the right direction...

[Nathan Todd]

Hey all,

This is a wee bit off topic, so apologies in advance.

I'm a long time lego fan but a relative computer novice. So I thought I'd turn
to my fellow hobbyist in regards to their specialty. I'm really seeking a 'book
of everything' something that really explains a computer's inner workings with a
view to me someday understanding enough to learn a programming language. I would
just like to find out 'where a language fits into the overall structure' before
I jump into a C equivalent... I have a very rudimentary knowledge of electronics
(from some basic engineering courses) but really want to understand the
hierarchy between that and what I see when I boot up an operating system. If
their are any holy grail reference manuals or just good books/sites could you
please recommend them to me!

Thanks much and God Bless,

Nathan
<http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=Nan Brickshelf>

[David J. Perdue]

In lugnet.robotics, Nathan Todd wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> This is a wee bit off topic, so apologies in advance.
>
> I'm a long time lego fan but a relative computer novice. So I thought I'd
> turn to my fellow hobbyist in regards to their specialty. I'm really seeking
> a 'book of everything' something that really explains a computer's inner
> workings with a view to me someday understanding enough to learn a
> programming language. I would just like to find out 'where a language fits
> into the overall structure' before I jump into a C equivalent... I have a
> very rudimentary knowledge of electronics (from some basic engineering
> courses) but really want to understand the hierarchy between that and what I
> see when I boot up an operating system. If their are any holy grail reference
> manuals or just good books/sites could you please recommend them to me!
>
> Thanks much and God Bless,
>
> Nathan
> <http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=Nan Brickshelf>

Hi Nathan,

You mentioned wanting to understand a computer's "inner workings," so you might
check out the book "Inside the Machine":

http://www.nostarch.com/insidemachine.htm

Not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but you can read a sample
at the website.

Thanks,

David J. Perdue

www.davidjperdue.com

[John Gerlach]

In lugnet.robotics, Nathan Todd wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> This is a wee bit off topic, so apologies in advance.
>
> I'm a long time lego fan but a relative computer novice. So I thought I'd
> turn to my fellow hobbyist in regards to their specialty. I'm really seeking
> a 'book of everything' something that really explains a computer's inner
> workings with a view to me someday understanding enough to learn a
> programming language. I would just like to find out 'where a language fits
> into the overall structure' before I jump into a C equivalent... I have a
> very rudimentary knowledge of electronics (from some basic engineering
> courses) but really want to understand the hierarchy between that and what I
> see when I boot up an operating system. If their are any holy grail reference
> manuals or just good books/sites could you please recommend them to me!
>
> Thanks much and God Bless,
>
> Nathan
> <http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=Nan Brickshelf>

I have not read it, but I've heard a lot of good things about it:  "Code: The
Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" (available through amazon or
barnes & noble, or I'm sure other places, too.)

JohnG, GMLTC
(a computer programmer by trade!)

[Nathan Todd]

>
> I have not read it, but I've heard a lot of good things about it:  "Code: The
> Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" (available through amazon
> or barnes & noble, or I'm sure other places, too.)
>
> JohnG, GMLTC
> (a computer programmer by trade!)

Thanks a million John and David! Both these choices seem to hit the nail on the
head and give me something to get my teeth into.

Much appreciated!

God Bless,

Nathan