Bebop Bytes Back: An Unconventional Guide to Computers

by Clive Maxfield, Alvin Brown

After introducing the fundamentals of how a computer works, this describes the design of a simple computer -- from an AND gate and the design of the arithmetic/logic unit (ALU) to the blocks required to implement the central processing unit (CPU).

872 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on 'computing' I have read.
Very instructive yet easy to read and entertaining.
Published in 1997 so the software on CD will not run on modern PCs but if you then load the software from "How Computers Do Math" (2005) by the same authors you can run the Videos and Labs from the directory on the hard drive.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back when I read this book in 97 it was awesome. However there is no support for the book's software and I wonder if it even runs anymore. But back when it came out it was a great way to learn about what is going on inside your computer. It came with simulator of a simplified computer called the Beboputer and through the book you were able to understand every aspect of how it worked down to the gate level. If you want a similar book that is up to date I would recommend "Elements Of Computing Systems" by Nisan and Shocken. In that book you will actually BUILD (in a hardware descriptor language) a computer.