About programing, a general question

[Parshwa Murdia]

On Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 11:46 PM, William Case <billlinux at rogers.com> wrote:

I am not a programmer, but I wanted the answer you seem to want.  How
> does the damn thing work?  More explicitly:
>
> How does human understandable information get converted by a machine
> into electrical data; then store it; may or may not, transform, compare,
> and/or relocate the data; and then re-present the data as information
> meaningful to humans?
>
> I found the answer in "The C Programming Language" by Brian W. Kernighan
> and Dennis M. Ritchie.  This book is such a basic that it is often
> referred to just as K&R.  If you try to simply use this book as a
> tutorial for the C language it is too difficult.  Almost every sentence
> contains a new concept.  But K&R and 'C' are closest to the metal.  It's
> description and particularly its appendices are used by programmers
> mainly as a reference.  It really is a text on how to best write code so
> that the compiler can use your 'C' code by translating it into machine
> language. It is also, therefore, basic instructions for compiler writers
> on how they have writer their compilers.
>


Sure, how to get this book? Is it available online somewhere?



> A big however!  I found that when I took my time, and worked each new
> concept through, with liberal use of google and some tutorial sites,
> with some contemplation on my part, with some reference to the the basic
> electrical properties of transistors, capacitors, Direct Current and
> crystals, I was able to come to a fairly complete (or at least useful)
> understanding of how my computer worked and what the text instructions
> that I was imputing were doing.
>
> In addition, I spent a couple of afternoons exploring assembly language
> and the IS-32 instruction set.  Looking at how compilers work, and how
> they translate your text code into machine code (the '1' and '0's you
> mentioned) from libraries makes the need for precise instructions (text
> syntax) clear and less of a burden.
>
> I found that by using K&R as a course outline rather than a final all
> knowing, all teaching, tutorial book I was able to drill to the bottom
> of everything that was happening inside my computer.
>


That technology is really amazing that whatever in your heart comes, you
enter it through keyboard and in a string of '0's and '1's it is read by the
processor which then takes the proper action, finally it comes into the wire
from where your internet connection is coming (into the form of EM wave of
proper frequency, amplitude & time) and then it is further processed! It's
really amazing.



> If you, like me, look for those Eureka! moments in life, you will find
> exploring the capabilities of your computer through the 'C' language is
> a wonderful voyage of discovery.  The ingenuity and creativity over the
> last 50 years that has gone into making the metal, the electricity, and
> the programming of a computer is truly a marvel.
>


Yes, I agree and wonder.



> If this is the kind of approach that you are interested in respond to
> this post, and I will give you some hints and tricks about uncovering
> the programming process.



Please do that, I would love that. It is a fact that I get less time to do
this all but I would, as it is of interest and a really cool.



> If I happen to steer you wrong, I am sure
> there are lots of people on this list who will jump in with corrections.
>
> --
> Regards Bill
>


Yes, but I don't think so if it is wrong.

-- 

Regards,
Parshwa Murdia
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