Takes a “No Mysteries” approach to designing computer systems. Interrelates three different viewpoints to provide a unique understanding of the subject: the perspective of the logic designer, the assembly language programmer, and the computer architect. The text has coverage of the developments in microprocessors, including ALU, pipelining, memory hierarchy, networks and the Internet. And, rather than focusing on a single type of architecture, Heuring and Jordan describe both CISC and RISC models at the ISA level using the formal description language of RTN (Register Transfer Notation), allowing for a more in-depth appreciation of different machine structures and functions.