Book excerpt: Computer Organization and Design Fundamentals takes the reader from the basic design principles of the modern digital computer to a top-level examination of its architecture. This book can serve either as a textbook to an introductory course on computer hardware or as the basic text for the aspiring geek who wants to learn about digital design. The material is presented in four parts. The first part describes how computers represent and manipulate numbers. The second part presents the tools used at all levels of binary design. The third part introduces the reader to computer system theory with topics such as memory, caches, hard drives, pipelining, and interrupts. The last part applies these theories through an introduction to the Intel 80x86 architecture and assembly language. The material is presented using practical terms and examples with an aim toward providing anyone who works with computer systems the ability to use them more effectively through a better understanding of their design.