# Digital Design and Computer Architecture by Harris and Harris

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/digital-design-and-computer-architecture/

8 people recommended Digital Design and Computer Architecture by Harris and Harris in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 6 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a clear, gate-level introduction to digital design and computer architecture, good for self study. No critics recorded.

Summary written by Claude from 6 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Explains how computers work from gates (2 comments in the sample): "teach you how to design a MIPS datapath (at the gate level." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47331695)) "to get the idea of how these machines work" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49053582))

## Other computer science textbooks people recommend

- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs/): 51 recommend, 8 mixed, 4 criticize
- [The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-computer-programming/): 25 recommend, 3 mixed, 6 criticize
- [Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Nielsen and Chuang](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quantum-computation-and-quantum-information/): 9 recommend, 3 mixed, 0 criticize
- [The Feynman Lectures on Computation by Richard Feynman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/feynman-lectures-on-computation/): 7 recommend, 0 mixed, 2 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Digital Design and Computer Architecture by Harris and Harris", https://hackerapproved.com/p/digital-design-and-computer-architecture/ (8 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.