Understanding the Digital World : : What You Need to Know about Computers, the Internet, Privacy, and Security / / Brian W. Kernighan.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017
• VerfasserIn: Kernighan, Brian W.,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2017]; ©2017
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 p.) :; 38 color illus. 51 line illus.

The basics of how computer hardware, software, and systems work, and the risks they create for our privacy and securityComputers are everywhere. Some of them are highly visible, in laptops, tablets, cell phones, and smart watches. But most are invisible, like those in appliances, cars, medical equipment, transportation systems, power grids, and weapons. We never see the myriad computers that quietly collect, share, and sometimes leak vast amounts of personal data about us. Through computers, governments and companies increasingly monitor what we do. Social networks and advertisers know far more about us than we should be comfortable with, using information we freely give them. Criminals have all-too-easy access to our data. Do we truly understand the power of computers in our world?Understanding the Digital World explains how computer hardware, software, networks, and systems work. Topics include how computers are built and how they compute; what programming is and why it is difficult; how the Internet and the web operate; and how all of these affect our security, privacy, property, and other important social, political, and economic issues. This book also touches on fundamental ideas from computer science and some of the inherent limitations of computers. It includes numerous color illustrations, notes on sources for further exploration, and a glossary to explain technical terms and buzzwords.Understanding the Digital World is a must-read for all who want to know more about computers and communications. It explains, precisely and carefully, not only how they operate but also how they influence our daily lives, in terms anyone can understand, no matter what their experience and knowledge of technology.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part I: Hardware -- 1. What's in a Computer? -- 2. Bits, Bytes, and Representation of Information -- 3. Inside the CPU -- Wrapup on Hardware -- Part II: Software -- 4. Algorithms -- 5. Programming and Programming Languages -- 6. Software Systems 7. Learning to Program -- 7. Learning to Program -- Wrapup on Software -- Part III: Communications -- 8. Networks -- 9. The Internet 10. The World Wide Web -- 10. The World Wide Web 11. Data and Information -- 11. Data and Information -- 12. Privacy and Security -- 13. Wrapping Up -- Notes -- Glossary -- Index