An Introduction to Microcomputers: The Beginner's Book

✍ Scribed by Osborne, Adam; Bunnell, David

• Publisher: Osborne / McGraw-Hill
• Year: 1982
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 260
• Series: An Introduction to Microcomputers
• Edition: Third
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The newly revised edition of Volume 0—The Beginner's Book, provides the novice with an overview of microcomputers: how they function and what they can do for today's data management problems. The text clearly describes the components and functions of a micro system and introduces the reader to the basics of programming languages, the binary code, logic, timing and memory. New sections on software and communication have been added.

As the first book in the popular Osborne/McGraw-Hill series, An Introduction to Microcomputers, The Beginner's Book provides the initial concepts needed for a thorough understanding of microcomputers.

"This is one of the first books to clearly describe micros.... In simple language,... the book explains the history and the current status of personal computing. An entertaining and informative book that we highly recommend...." Infoworld

✦ Table of Contents

Introduction ix
1. The Parts That Make the Whole
Interface
A Microcomputer System
2. Choosing a Microcomputer
Creating a Program and Making It Work
Running a Program
All Those Microcomputers
General Purpose Microcomputers
Other High-End, General Purpose Microcomputer Systems
Special Purpose Microcomputers
What the Future Holds
3. Software Makes Your Microcomputer Go
Machine Language
Programming Language
4. Getting Down to Basics
Numbers and Logic
Binary Data
Binary Arithmetic
Octal and Hexadecimal Numbers
Character Codes
Computer Logic and Boolean Operations
5. Inside a Microcomputer
Programming Languages
Microcomputer Functional Logic
The Central Processing Unit
Program Memory
Data Memory
6. Putting It All Together
Word Size
The Arithmetic and Logic Unit
Additional CPU Logic
Logic Concepts and Timing
Memory Access
A. How Information Is Stored
B. ASCII Character Codes
C. Standard Flowchart Symbols
Index

✦ Subjects

1019642,4923812524, CPU, minicomputers, ALU, binary, hexadecimal, byte, nibble, addition, subtraction, multiplication, program, programming, logic design, IO, external memory, memory registers, RAM, ROM, control bus, address bus, data bus, DIP, pins, signals, logic gates, one's complement, two's complement, bit shifting, 8-bit, data words, signal diagrams, big endian, little endian