How Software Works: The Magic Behind Encryption, Cgi, Search Engines, and Other Everyday Technologies - Spraul V. Anton

How Software Works explains (in lay terms) the technology that underlies how computers perform many of the tasks we take for granted everyday. This second work from the author of the best-selling Think Like a Programmer tackles somewhat mysterious topics like how data is encrypted; how passwords are used and protected; how computer graphics are created; how video is compressed for streaming and storage; how data is found in huge databases; how programs can work together on the same problem without conflict; and how data travels over the Internet. Readers learn how these processes underpin familiar tasks like a seemingly simple Google search, online shopping, even the stunning graphics in a film like Avatar.