This book is intended as a one-semester text for an introduction to computer systems. It is divided into four parts. If introductory material is sufficient for the course, this is a good text. If an extensive treatment of the VAX assembly language is anticipated, supplementary materials should be included.

The first part deals with the representation of information: unsigned binary, signed integers (e.g., binary, BCD), characters, and floating point numbers.

The second portion presents an idealized computer system. This vehicle is used to discuss memory systems, the arithmetic and logic unit, input/output and mass storage, and the computer control unit. As such it is a good introduction to von Neumann architecture.

The third and largest section discusses the assembly language, MACRO, of the VAX computer system. One chapter introduces the VAX addressing modes but does not cover the more complex addressing approaches. Assembly language statements discussed include movement, integer arithmetic, compare, branch, logical, and shift instruction representations. MACRO’s pseudo-operations, macro capability, and input/output through the operating system (VMS) are introduced. A discussion of procedures includes various linkage and parameter passing techniques and their application to the VAX computer system environment.

The fourth section is an introduction to system software. This is a short discussion of how the assembler program and the linker program operate on their data. Each chapter has examples within the text of the items discussed. Most chapters have a chapter summary and exercises at the end of the chapter.