John L. Hennessy & David A. Patterson 
Computer Organization and Design [PDF ebook] 
The Hardware / Software Interface

Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface presents the interaction between hardware and software at a variety of levels, which offers a framework for understanding the fundamentals of computing. This book focuses on the concepts that are the basis for computers. Organized into nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of the computer revolution. This text then explains the concepts and algorithms used in modern computer arithmetic. Other chapters consider the abstractions and concepts in memory hierarchies by starting with the simplest possible cache. This book discusses as well the complete data path and control for a processor. The final chapter deals with the exploitation of parallel machines. This book is a valuable resource for students in computer science and engineering. Readers with backgrounds in assembly language and logic design who want to learn how to design a computer or understand how a system works will also find this book useful.