3 November update: This list will be updated as I find more resources.
As I do more and more programming, I’m finding computer science unavoidable. Specifically, the hardware side of things. I think it’s important to understand the basics of how computers work–in other words, “computer architecture”-if you want to write better code.
I never received a formal education in computer science, so it was important to find resources that were accessible. Here’s my round-up of the best resources I found.
Dipping your toes
- The Computer Science Crash Course playlist on YouTube is fantastic. It’s what it says it is (a crash course), so you’ll learn just enough to prepare you for diving deeper.
- Code: The hidden language of computer hardware and software by Charles Petzold (Google Books) is an excellent book that starts you from the very beginning (0’s and 1’s) and conceptually builds towards how computers work. I highly recommend this if you’d like an intuitive understanding of hardware and software. I also think he’s a great writer.