Book excerpt: Suitable for a one- or two-semester undergraduate or beginning graduate course in computer science and computer engineering, Computer Organization, Design, and Architecture, Fifth Edition presents the operating principles, capabilities, and limitations of digital computers to enable the development of complex yet efficient systems. With 11 new sections and four revised sections, this edition takes students through a solid, up-to-date exploration of single- and multiple-processor systems, embedded architectures, and performance evaluation. See What’s New in the Fifth Edition Expanded coverage of embedded systems, mobile processors, and cloud computing Material for the "Architecture and Organization" part of the 2013 IEEE/ACM Draft Curricula for Computer Science and Engineering Updated commercial machine architecture examples The backbone of the book is a description of the complete design of a simple but complete hypothetical computer. The author then details the architectural features of contemporary computer systems (selected from Intel, MIPS, ARM, Motorola, Cray and various microcontrollers, etc.) as enhancements to the structure of the simple computer. He also introduces performance enhancements and advanced architectures including networks, distributed systems, GRIDs, and cloud computing. Computer organization deals with providing just enough details on the operation of the computer system for sophisticated users and programmers. Often, books on digital systems’ architecture fall into four categories: logic design, computer organization, hardware design, and system architecture. This book captures the important attributes of these four categories to present a comprehensive text that includes pertinent hardware, software, and system aspects.