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Charles Petzold Quotes

Code is not like other how-computers-work books. It doesn't have big color illustrations of disk drives with arrows showing how the data sweeps into the computer. Code has no drawings of trains carrying a cargo of zeros

Code is not like other how-computers-work books. It doesn't have big color illustrations of disk drives with arrows showing how the data sweeps into the computer. Code has no drawings of trains carrying a cargo of zeros and ones. Metaphors and similes are wonderful literary devices but they do nothing but obscure the beauty of technology.

Charles Petzold
Book, Technology, Illustration
Charles Petzold (2000). “Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software”, p.4, Microsoft Press

Owning a computer without programming is like having a kitchen and using only the microwave oven

Charles Petzold
Kitchen, Computer, Ovens

Programming in machine code is like eating with a toothpick

Charles Petzold
Machines, Eating, Programming
Charles Petzold (2000). “Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software”, p.517, Microsoft Press

The human species is often amazingly inventive and industrious but at the same time profoundly lazy. It's very clear that we humans don't like to work. This aversion to work is so extreme - and our ingenuity so acute - that we're eager to devote countless hours designing and building devices that might shave a few minutes off our workday

Charles Petzold
Design, Lazy, Aversion
Charles Petzold (2000). “Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software”, p.299, Microsoft Press

I felt more like a scientist exploring nature, and Windows was my environment. You dont pass judgment on nature; you just explain how it works.

Charles Petzold
Environment, Window, Judgment

Free lunches don't come cheap.

Charles Petzold
Lunch, Free Lunch

I started out with machine code and assembly language.

Charles Petzold
Machines, Language, Assembly

Computer monitors can operate in many different video modes. In most cases, the decision about how many pixels and colors to display is yours - but not always.

Charles Petzold
Color, Decision, Different

To a programmer, an operating system is defined by its API.

Charles Petzold
Operating Systems, Programmers, Defined
Charles Petzold (1998). “Programming Windows”, p.35, Pearson Education

NOP stands for (and is pronounced) no op, as in no operation. The NOP causes the processor to do absolutely nothing. What's it good for? Filling space. The 8080 can usually execute a bunch of NOP instructions without anything bad happening

Charles Petzold
Space, Causes, Instruction

You probably don't have much of a choice.

Charles Petzold
Choices
Charles Petzold (1996). “Programming Windows 95”

In some far-off distant time, when the twentieth century history of primitive computing is just a murky memory, someone is likely to suppose that devices known as logic gates were named after the famous co-founder of Microsoft Corporation

Charles Petzold
Memories, Microsoft, Corporations
Charles Petzold (2000). “Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software”, p.147, Microsoft Press

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