# Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold

12 Hacker News commenters recommended Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Explains how computers work from wires and switches up to software, and is praised as a delightful classic.

## Why people recommend it

- Classic, widely recommended introduction (3 comments): "Absolutely recommended! For more up to date content, a second edition was published in 2022." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48793239)) "The antidote for that of course is for folks to read Charles Petzold's _Code_" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284606)) "this book is a classic and worth mentioning" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49576362))
- Delightful, well-written prose (3 comments): "without the prose and lyrics it would be a read so dry, it'd rival silica gel beads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46286374)) "Even if you know most of what's being discussed it's such a delightful ride." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47387902)) "a tour de force in technical communication" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47387691))
- Builds computing from basic principles (2 comments): "Explains how to build an 8 bit calculator with wires, switches, and light bulbs and then keeps on going." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48737994)) "Will fill in knowledge gaps missing from most new people." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49477110))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Garbage Collection Handbook by Jones, Hosking and Moss](https://hackerapproved.com/p/garbage-collection-handbook.md): 16 recommend
- [Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science by Brian Hall](https://hackerapproved.com/p/beej-s-guide-to-learning-computer-science.md): 15 recommend
- [The Unix-Haters Handbook by Garfinkel, Weise and Strassmann](https://hackerapproved.com/p/unix-haters-handbook.md): 8 recommend
- [Code by Charles Petzold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/code.md): 7 recommend
- [The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold](https://hackerapproved.com/p/annotated-turing.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Code%3A+The+Hidden+Language+of+Computer+Hardware+and+Software+by+Charles+Petzold&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold", https://hackerapproved.com/p/code-the-hidden-language-of-computer-hardware-and-software/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).