Ground-Up Java
Chapter One
An Introduction to
Computers That Will
Actually Help You in Life
Memory: Not Exactly 0s and 1s
Memory Organization
A Very Simple Computer
Java is a programming language that tells computers what to do. This chapter will look at
what computes really are, what they can do, and how we use programming languages to
control them.
We will begin by exploding the common myth that computers deal only with 0s and 1s.
Once we establish what computers really process, we will look at the kind of processing they
perform.
This is emphatically not an intellectual exercise. Spending a bit of effort here will make your
life much easier in the chapters that follow. Many concepts that appear later in this book, such
as data typing, referencing, and virtual machines, will make very little sense unless you understand
the underlying structure of computers. Without this understanding, learning to program
can be confusing and overwhelming. With the right fundamentals, though, it can be enjoyable
and stimulating.
Memory: Not Exactly 0s and 1s
No doubt you've heard that computers only process 0s and 1s. This can't possibly be
true. Computers are used to coun ... read full excerpt from Ground-Up Java ebook