Short version (added 9/13/22): Up through the first 17 chapters of the 1st edition of Code, the 2nd edition is pretty much the same except that I've added a new chapter on digital clocks. The 2nd edition of Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software falls into that second category. Perhaps the author had become dissatisfied with certain aspects of the 1st edition and wanted to fix them. But other times a 2nd edition involves some major upheavals. Sometimes a 2nd edition has mostly small changes: correcting a few mistakes, adding some more up-to-date information. Reading a 2nd edition after the 1st is not trivial: It’s a commitment of both additional money and additional time. Do I need to get the 2nd?” It’s a legitimate question and I’ve asked it myself. Whenever a 2nd edition of a book is published, people ask “I already have the 1st edition. The website is not finished, but you can explore what I’ve done so far to get a little taste.The Changes for the 2nd Edition of “Code” This will consist mostly of interactive graphical illustrations of some of the key circuits in the book. I’ve also been building a companion website for the book called. I hope this provides a more illuminating glimpse into the subtle and intimate connection between software and hardware. The short explanation is that I go much deeper into the workings of a CPU using the Intel 8080 as a simple example. I’ll discuss the differences between the two editions in detail in a future blog entry. I began revising the book in January 2021, and in the process, the 2nd edition came out to be about 70 pages longer than the 1st edition. However, the 1st edition was originally published in 1999 and it was definitely showing its age. Through this steady progression up the hill of knowledge, I employ a minimum of metaphors, analogies, and silly illustrations, and instead use the language and symbols of the actual engineers who design and build computers.īecause Code uses old technologies to illuminate the workings of digital computers, in one sense the book didn’t need to be “updated” in any way. My intent in the 2nd edition is the same as the 1st edition: I start with very simple concepts but slowly build to a very deep understanding of the workings of digital computers.

Instead, order the book from the Microsoft Press Store or your favorite online retailer. If you’d like to pre-order the book from the publisher, don’t try to find the book on the Pearson website. The iconic graphic still displays the letters CODE in Braille, Morse code, and ASCII.

Code petzold 2nd edition