Computer System Architecture is focused primarily on hardware design and organization — and the impact of software on the architecture — this volume first covers the basic organization, design, and programming of a simple digital computer, then explores the separate functional units in detail.

Abel has designed the text to serve as both tutorial and reference, covering a full range of programming levels so as to learn assembly language programming. Coverage starts from scratch, discussing the simpler aspects of the hardware and the language, then introduces technical details and instructions as they are needed.