The first volume in a landmark series explaining the underlying mechanics of how a computer works.



Like the highly regarded first edition, this second edition of Understanding the Machine covers machine organisation and computer science topics like the CPU, machine architecture, memory and cache organisation, I/O and peripheral devices, and how the decoding and execution of machine instructions affects software performance. This edition has been updated to cover 64-bit machines, newer peripheral devices, larger memory systems, large-scale SSDs, and newer CPUs like those used in personal computers and tablets.