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How Computers Work

From Transistors to Operating Systems

Start with one tiny switch and keep going until you have a computer that runs programs. Every part is built from the parts before it, so nothing is magic by the end.

By A.M. Lorion · Published by Softniverse

This book is not available yet. It will appear in the shop as soon as it is ready.

In the meantime

The Software Realm, Decoded is available now, with the online reader and interactive demos.

See The Software Realm, Decoded
How Computers Work: From Transistors to Operating Systems, A.M. Lorion

What the book builds, step by step

Nine chapters, each one adding a layer on top of the last.

  1. 01

    Bits and Gates

    Everything starts with a wire that is on or off, and one clever part that does something with it: the NAND gate.

  2. 02

    Memory, Registers and the Bus

    A gate forgets as soon as its input changes. With a little feedback it can remember a bit, then a byte, and share it over a bus.

  3. 03

    Decoders and RAM

    Lots of registers, and a neat way to pick exactly one of them: the decoder that turns an address into a memory cell.

  4. 04

    Numbers and Codes

    A byte is just eight bits. Only an agreement, a code, turns it into a number, a letter or an instruction.

  5. 05

    The ALU: Arithmetic with Gates

    Adding, shifting, comparing and more, all built from the gates you already know.

  6. 06

    The Clock and Control

    Every part is there. The clock, the stepper and the control unit make each one act at the right moment.

  7. 07

    Instructions: the CPU Comes Alive

    A byte in memory becomes a command. The control unit reads it and switches the right wires: the computer runs a program.

  8. 08

    Input and Output

    Keyboard, screen and disk: how the CPU talks to the world outside the chip.

  9. 09

    Software

    The hardware is done. What is left are the bytes that tell it what to do, from machine code to assembly and higher languages.

How it teaches

Built from one gate

Every circuit in the book is made from NAND gates you have already seen, so you can trace any part back to the bottom.

Diagrams you can follow

Wires, gates and registers are drawn step by step, with the bits shown at every point.

From hardware to software

The last chapters show how instructions, programs and an operating system sit on the machine you built.