Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!hplabs!hpda!hpcuha!bhabeck
From: bhabeck@hpcuha.cup.hp.com (William Habeck)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: intro text suggestions
Message-ID: <32580001@hpcuha.cup.hp.com>
Date: 31 Oct 90 22:55:44 GMT
References: <1990Oct29.225043.2425@cs.columbia.edu>
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
Lines: 28

Ashley Stevens (astevens@acorn.co.uk) writes:

> I recommend 'Computer Architecture: A Quantitive Approach' by John Hennessy
> and David Patterson. Its published by :
> Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc.
> P.O Box 50490, 
> Palo Alto, 
> CA 94303. 

Even though I haven't read the whole book, I would second the recommendation.
The Stanford University classes EE182 (Computer Organization) and EE282 
(Computer Architecture and Organization) each have only one required textbook
and _Computer_Architecture:_A_Quantitative_Approach_ is it.  EE182 is an
undergraduate class; 282 is graduate (and taught by Hennessy!).  The book cost
about $50 at the Stanford Bookstore.

In the foreword, C. Gordon Bell (DEC founder) writes,

"The authors have gone beyond the contributions of Thomas to Calculus and
Samuelson to Economics.  They have provided the definitive text and reference
for computer architecture and design.  To advance computing, I urge publishers
to withdraw the scores of books on this topic so a new breed of architect/
engineer can quickly emerge."

I'll leave it to others to recount the contributions of Hennessy and Patterson
to the MIPS and SPARC RISC architectures.

     -- Bill Habeck, Hewlett-Packard Company, bhabeck@hprasor.hp.com