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structure · The body of a computer

A computer that starts from a switch

A computer knows only two things, on and off. Let us follow, step by step, how numbers and letters come out of that simple switch, and how it grows into a machine that follows commands.

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First, from 0 and 1Holding numbers with switches
01Why a computer uses only 0 and 1
How on and off, just those two, hold every number there is.
02Hexadecimal, and the color on your screen
What a color code like #FAA832 really is.
03How letters become numbers
What gets stored when you press A.
04Negatives and decimals in 0s and 1s too
How do you hold a minus sign and 3.14?
Computing with switchesJudging, adding, remembering
05And, or, not
Making a decision out of two switches.
06Gathering gates into an adding machine
Solving one plus one with a circuit.
07A circuit that remembers
Holding a value still with flowing electricity.
08Bundling bits into one chunk
Why eight bits, of all things, make one byte.
09A giant locker room with addresses
Where and how countless values are kept.
A machine that follows commandsHow a CPU runs a program
10Instructions, the words a machine understands
What a single command like “add” really is.
11The ALU, the worker that does the math
Besides adding, where do subtraction and comparison happen?
12How a CPU works
What it really means for a program to “run.”
13Fast memory and big memory
Using the fast-and-small together with the big-and-slow.
14Scattered parts into one machine
Tying the parts into one machine through a single road.
15The clock that sets the beat
Every tick, all parts step together; ticks per second is the speed (Hz).
16From one switch to one machine
Looking back at the whole road, all at a glance.
16 lessons in all · just follow along from the top
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