Inside the Machine
by Jon Stokes · first published 2006
90% recommend10% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Approachable, illustrated tour of how microprocessors work, from basic operands up to pipelining, caches and real chips like the P4 and Core 2. Suits technical readers who aren't computer engineers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I've found "Inside the Machine" by Jon Stokes to be quite a good read, though it's a bit dated by now (published 2006) http://www.amazon.com/dp/1593271042/
on “What's wrong with 1975 programming” ↗There's also a book from an Ars Technica guy covering modern processors in an approachable way: Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture http://nostarch.com/insidemachine.htm
on “Modern Microprocessors: A 90 Minute Guide” ↗If you want to read something more approachable that can serve as a gateway to this, I highly recommend Jon Stokes' Inside the Machine. It goes over microprocessor architecture in a very approachable way, and contains a good chapter on the memory/cache hierarchy that is sort of the light version of a good chunk of Drepper's paper, or…
on “What every programmer should know about memory, Part 1” ↗While I like Petzold's "Code", it's really aimed at nontechnical audiences. Jon Stokes' "Inside the Machine" or Nisan and Schocken's textbook "The Elements of Computing Systems" are far better if you have a technical background.
on “Learning to Read X86 Assembly Language” ↗For introductory learning about modern CPU design, Inside the Machine book by Jon Stokes is really good.
on “What if you knew how computers work? (2015)” ↗Here are the few I've really enjoyed. Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture Explains how Microprocessors operate, going from operands and building up a lot of the execution tricks used, all whilst going…
on “Ask HN: Most interesting, mildly impractical, well-written books on software?” ↗I would recommend the book "Inside the Machine" by Jon Stokes. I'm a programmer so not going in with fresh eyes necessarily, but it definitely felt like it began at the start and the author was a tech journalist for Ars Technica (with a Computer Systems…
on “Ask HN: It's 2022. Where should I direct the youths to learn about programming?” ↗Not as rigorous as an academic textbook, and unfortunately ends with Core 2, but "Inside the Machine" by Jon Stokes (Hannibal of Ars Technica) is a good overview.
on “Modern Microprocessors: A 90 Minute Guide” ↗So true. Jon Stokes also wrote the great book "Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture" while he worked at Ars Technica. I have it still in my bookshelf. http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Machine-Introduction-Microproce...
on “The PlayStation2 vs. the PC (2000)” ↗I had this very same thought today, reading Inside the Machine by Jon Stokes. Recommended. Amazing how abstract the programmer model can be from the real hardware.
on “X86 is a high-level language” ↗For a good high-level introduction aimed at technical readers who aren't CompEs, I suggest Jon Stokes "Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture". It's a readable and reasonably in-depth explanation of how a modern processor works without going into the level of detail…
on “AMD Zen Microarchitecture: Dual Schedulers, Micro-Op Cache and Memory Hierarchy” ↗…Eben Upton's write-up on "Raspberry Pi and Spectre/Meltdown" gives a very nice overview of the main features of modern processors - https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/why-raspberry-pi-isnt-vulne... b) Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture by Jon Stokes. c) Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective by Bryant and O'Hallaron. d) Modern Processor Design: Fundamentals…
on “How and why CPUs do “branch prediction” (2017)” ↗Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture by Jon Stokes.
on “Ask HN: Petzold's CODE: books that teach in the same way but not about computers” ↗For "how things work", I recommend the book Code by Charles Petzold. After that, Jon Stokes's Inside the Machine will give a lot of details on CPU architectures up to Intel's Core 2 Duo. You can also try following along a computer engineering book if you want to go that low in detail with exercises, Digital Fundamentals…
on “Ask HN: Best way to learn about computing history?” ↗…these things in my spare time but it's a real struggle. Well the good news is you don't need to learn this in your spare time, because it's your job, so you can learn it on the clock? Take a look at Inside the Machine [1] to get an in-depth, but accessible, understanding of how a somewhat dated Intel processor works, then read the optimization manual for the processor you use, and you'll have a much better foundation…
on “I want to learn/build low level software with other people but I don't know any” ↗