Re:How do I make a computer
by SillyUsername on Friday July 28, 2023 @04:28PM
(#36912848)
There are many levels to work through so you'll have to decide where you want to start, and whether to start top down, or bottom up (or a bit of both?) and whether you want to know the electrical side too (I have a basic understanding, but not a lot here - enough to understand what I see on an oscilloscope is 0 and 1s - based on pull down/up and clock frequency - but not how to use it).
Ground up this video is fantastic and shows why first computers were made from lightbulbs: https://youtu.be/FU_YFpfDqqA
Top down you'll to want to start working with a lower level language, if you're confident with languages like Java, start looking at C, particularly pointer arithmetic which reflects memory locations.
From there look at how drivers work - C on an Arduino for example to control electronics. This is simpler in some ways that trying the equivalent through many framework abstraction layers you don't need to know about on a PC.
Going down from there you get to assembly language, which tends to be machine/CPU specific but will teach you the architecture side of a computer.
Lower from there you need to consider how the components are made and their electrical properties, e.g. flipflops, CPU parts like ALU etc. You're then pretty much at the ground up stage so the video above shouldn't be an eye opener...
Ground up this video is fantastic and shows why first computers were made from lightbulbs: https://youtu.be/FU_YFpfDqqA
Top down you'll to want to start working with a lower level language, if you're confident with languages like Java, start looking at C, particularly pointer arithmetic which reflects memory locations. From there look at how drivers work - C on an Arduino for example to control electronics. This is simpler in some ways that trying the equivalent through many framework abstraction layers you don't need to know about on a PC.
Going down from there you get to assembly language, which tends to be machine/CPU specific but will teach you the architecture side of a computer.
Lower from there you need to consider how the components are made and their electrical properties, e.g. flipflops, CPU parts like ALU etc. You're then pretty much at the ground up stage so the video above shouldn't be an eye opener...