The Essentials of Computer Organization And Architecture [Hardcover]

Linda Null (Author), Julia Lobur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0763737690 | ISBN-13: 978-0763737696 | Edition: 2

Thoroughly Revised And Updated, The Essentials Of Computer Organization And Architecture, Second Edition Is A Comprehensive Resource That Addresses All Of The Necessary Organization And Architecture Topics Yet Is Concise Enough To Move Through In A Single Semester. The Text Covers Such Topics As Digital Logic, Data Representation, Machine-Level Language, General Organization, Assembly Language Programming, CPU Organization, Memory Organization, And Input/Output Devices, As Well As A New Chapter On Embedded Systems. Correlated To The ACM-IEEE Computing Curricula Guidelines, The Essentials Of Computer Organization And Architecture Is The Forefront Text For Your Computer Organization And Architecture Course.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 700 pages
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Pub; 2 edition (February 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763737690
• ISBN-13: 978-0763737696
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essentials of Computer Org/Arch: It's About Time, April 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture (Hardcover)

As a teacher, I wasn't too thrilled about yet another computer organization and architecture book. However, this one is different. It is written from a computer science point of view and it aimed at a one semester sequence course. After attending SIGCSE, I was aware of the new Computing Curriculum 2001. This book appears to follow that curriculum, even in the amount of hours recommended per topic.

If you are looking for a computer engineering book, this one probably won't be top on your list. However, the selection of topics for both computer science (and information systems) is perfect. If you are looking for an org/arch reference book, this would be a good candidate.

Strong points: Concise, clear writing style (easy for students to understand); lots of examples; many exercises, at varying levels of difficulty; good breadth for a one course sequence; logical organization; simple "learning" architecture (with simulation software); up-to-date errata (on book web page).

Potential weak points: If you teach more than 2-3 weeks of assembly language programming, you'll have to supplement with a different book; all software is in Java (I don't consider this a weakness, but some people may).

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference and introductory book, August 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture (Hardcover)

I'm a computer practioneer and know a little about computer hardware, but not much. For the novice reader, this book is great! It is written well, and is thorough in its coverage. I think it's a great reference book (even though it was apparently written as a textbook for teaching) and have used it multiple times in my job already.

I recommend this textbook for those "beginners" who need a good introduction to computer organization and hardware or for those who need a refresher.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Follows its Charter, But..., June 20, 2007

By 

David A. Lessnau (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essentials of Computer Organization And Architecture (Hardcover)

I'm in a quandary about how to rate this book. On one hand, it's well written and organized, and definitely follows its charter. From page ix of the Preface, the authors state:

"...we hope to convey the spirit of design used in the development of modern computing systems and what impact this has on computer science students.... Most organization and architecture textbooks present a similar subset of technical information regarding these basics. We, however, pay particular attention to the level at which the information should be covered, and to presenting that information in the context that has relevance for computer science students."

Essentially, the book covers everything a Computer Science (CS) student would need to know (at a fairly high level) about computer systems, their peripherals, and their interconnections. However (and this is the "other hand"), because of their focus on "relevance for computer science students," this book reads more like an extension to a CS "survey" book than it does to a Computer Architecture book.

Though interesting and useful, most of the material (well over 50%, and maybe up to 75%) duplicates material from other courses in a CS degree. To me, every chapter except 4, 5, and 6 resembles summaries of other courses the CS student will take later (actually, chapters 1, 2 and 3 would be from that real "survey" course). Along with the duplication of material, this means that nothing gets covered in depth. Once things get technical, the authors gloss over the details and move on.

Personally, I think that Patterson & Hennessy's Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, Third Edition (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) (The ... Series in Computer Architecture and Design) is a much better book for learning Computer Architecture and Organization. That book is definitely hard slogging for CS-types and has quite a few editing and organization rough spots. But, it covers the area well and without duplication. Still, because THIS book is true to its stated aims and is very well written, I have to give it a Very Good 4 stars out of 5 rating (though I'd really like to reduce that to an OK 3 stars out of 5).