Essentials of computer architecture / Douglas Comer.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction and overview -- Part I. Basics -- Fundamentals of digital logic -- Data and program representation -- Part II. Processors -- Variety of processors and computational engines -- Processor types and Instruction sets -- Data paths and instruction execution -- Operand addressing and instruction representation -- CPUs: microcode, protection, and processor modes -- Assembly languages and programming paradigm -- Patr III. Memories -- Memory and storage -- Physical memory and physical addressing -- Caches and caching -- Part IV. Input and Output -- Input/output concepts and terminology -- Buses and bus architectures -- Programmed and interrupt-driven I/O -- Programmer's view of devices, I/O, and buffering -- Part V. Advanced topics -- Parallelism -- Data pipelining -- Power and energy -- Assessing performance -- Architecture examples and hierarchy -- Hardware moularity -- Appendix 1. Lab exercises for a computer architecture course -- Appendix 2. Rules for boolean algebra simplification -- Appendix 3. A quick introduction to x86 assembly language -- Appendix 4. ARM register definitions and calling sequence.

This easy to read textbook provides an introduction to computer architecture, while focusing on the essential aspects of hardware that programmers need to know. The topics are explained from a programmer's point of view, and the text emphasises consequences for programmers. Divided in five parts, the book covers the basics of digital logic, gates, and data paths, as well as the three primary aspects of architecture: processors, memories, and I/O systems.