This is a *really* good book, and a great walk through of how a CPU works. But not just the HOW, it really gives you a firm understanding of the WHY without getting too far in the weeds ... from NAND to Tetris in 12 steps is really an apt title.<div>
<br></div><div>I have always been a software (mostly) guy, but did a few Heathkits with my Dad in the day. My Dad worked at CompuServe and before he became a manager, was an operator and fix-it man in an age where computers were actually repaired with soldering irons, not replaced.</div>
<div><br></div><div>My first computer was an OSI Challenger IIP, a 8K 6502-based machine my Dad hooked a CCTV monitor and a cassette tape to. It was an era, long past, where the computer, effectively, gave you a blank screen, and you had to fill the page.</div>
<div><br></div><div>In the vein of Jim's links, I actually ran across a YouTube video of this: <a href="http://homebrewcpu.com/">http://homebrewcpu.com/</a> A Google guy built his own CPU out of discrete chips (much like a PDP-8 of the day) and then used lcc to target its instruction set, compiled Minix, and then some of the classic software (including games like adventure and rogue). You can telnet to it, even. Here is the video I came across: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv2TxiwAquM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv2TxiwAquM</a></div>
<div><br></div><div>I came across the video after getting this link... <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/07/remembering-your-first-computer-is-for-old-people/">http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/07/remembering-your-first-computer-is-for-old-people/</a> ... "Remembering Your First Computer Is For Old People". Probably true, sadly.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div>Eric</div><div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 7:27 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jep200404@columbus.rr.com" target="_blank">jep200404@columbus.rr.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><a href="http://diycomputerscience.com/courses/course/the-elements-of-computing-systems" target="_blank">http://diycomputerscience.com/courses/course/the-elements-of-computing-systems</a><br>
<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/shimon_schocken_the_self_organizing_computer_course.html" target="_blank">http://www.ted.com/talks/shimon_schocken_the_self_organizing_computer_course.html</a><br>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtXvUoPx4Qs" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtXvUoPx4Qs</a><br>
<br>
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