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Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

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Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#21

Post by Someone »

amichail wrote: post #2

Probably more of a status symbol for most people. How many of you actually read these books carefully?

I read and understood volumes 1 to 3 front-to-back. I do not think it is that hard to understand, compared to e.g. complex analysis or number theory. Didn't work hard enough on some the exercises, but certainly understood all the simpler ones. I would not recommend reading this to every (would-be) programmer or computer scientist, though. Especially for those wanting to program on 1GHz+ CPUs with 1GB+ RAM, there are things that are more immediately useful. Also, even for the low-level stuff the content of the books is getting seriously dated (e.g. due to the absence of multi-threaded algorithms)

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#22

Post by rikthevik »

amichail wrote: post #2

Probably more of a status symbol for most people. How many of you actually read these books carefully?

I keep them around as a reminder that Computer Science is math. Being able to reason and think mathematically is an important skill for any programmer.

A person can go pretty far doing web work and using scripting languages, but when you get into serious programming (heavily concurrent, resource-critical, real-time, etc) you need to understand the fundamentals.

Having Knuth up on the shelf reminds me to take a second and say, "Hey, think this through some more. Knuth probably figured it out already."

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#23

Post by sp332 »

vdoma wrote: post #20
silentbicycle wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read parts of vol. 2, especially about random number generation. I found it in a library book sale for a quarter. THAT made my day. :) I've found a suspiciously high percentage of the people who have totally! read the Art of Computer Programming are unable to answer even basic questions about MIX, by the way.

Well, they're difficult books to read to begin with. Knuth himself would be surprised if someone has read and understood them all. At the same time, I find they're hyped up a bit (like SICP). There are plenty of other really good algorithms books IMHO.

http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Close_Encounters_of_t...

(Knuth denies this ever happened.)

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#24

Post by gjm11 »

gyepi wrote: post #7
amichail wrote: post #2

Probably more of a status symbol for most people. How many of you actually read these books carefully?

A rather superficial status symbol, I'd say: owning a book does not equate to knowing or understanding its contents. I purchased my copies individually (back when I was a student and I could ill afford them) and, ignoring Knuth's suggesting algorithm for reading the series, read the "interesting" sections quite carefully. I still use them for reference and occasionally find time to re-read parts of it.

Pretty ineffective status symbol, too. How many people whom you might want to impress are going to see exactly what's on your bookshelves, and know enough to recognize Knuth as impressive? I'll hazard a guess that most people for whom those are true also know enough to be more influenced by other more meaningful things than what books you happen to have on your shelves.

(I bet some people do buy Knuth as a sort of status signal to themselves, though.)

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#25

Post by gjm11 »

sp332 wrote: post #23
vdoma wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, they're difficult books to read to begin with. Knuth himself would be surprised if someone has read and understood them all. At the same time, I find they're hyped up a bit (like SICP). There are plenty of other really good algorithms books IMHO.

http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Close_Encounters_of_t... (Knuth denies this ever happened.)

At http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1266502 someone cites a particular occasion on which Knuth supposedly denied the story. As I remarked then, "full of shit" seems quite an unknuth expression.

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#26

Post by siglesias »

Can somebody elaborate on the use cases of such a set? Are these volumes more theoretical and academic or practical? Is ownership more of a symbol or are they genuinely interesting to read, given a cramped startup lifestyle? What level of formal comp sci education does the author assume?

Not skepticism, just genuine curiosity and intrigue. I don't have a formal CS background, so forgive me for the naiveté if this is obvious stuff.

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#27

Post by pinhead »

kjhgfgbhnj wrote: post #14
pinhead wrote: post #5

Seriously, a list price of $249? Hardcover books are so damn expensive...

Sure and what do you get for the price of an iPod? The life's work of the greatest genius in CS and a set of knowledge that will last you more than your lifetime.

Hey, I am not disputing that the content isn't worth while. I just would rather have it in paperback (which is already out, I believe) so it's cheaper and easier to flip through. But I guess that is just my personal preference.

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#29

Post by savant »

siglesias wrote: post #26

Can somebody elaborate on the use cases of such a set? Are these volumes more theoretical and academic or practical? Is ownership more of a symbol or are they genuinely interesting to read, given a cramped startup lifestyle? What level of formal comp sci education does the author assume? Not skepticism, just genuine curiosity and intrigue. I don't have a formal CS background, so forgive me for the naiveté if this is…

This will likely not help you build your startup unless you need a really strong understanding of Programming concepts. In the words of the wise Wikipedia:

"The famous offer of a reward check worth "one hexadecimal dollar" (100HEX base 16 cents, in decimal, is $2.56) for any errors found, and the correction of these errors in subsequent printings, has contributed to the highly polished and still-authoritative nature of the work, long after its first publication. Another characteristic of the volumes is the variation in the difficulty of the exercises. The level of difficulty ranges from "warm-up" exercises to unsolved research problems, providing a challenge for any reader."

For some people, it will be a status symbol. But honestly, you shouldn't be buying these books unless you actually want to learn something. Just saying you have the books will do you no good and is just a waste of paper.

Re: Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A Boxed Set

#30

Post by tlammens »

siglesias wrote: post #26

Can somebody elaborate on the use cases of such a set? Are these volumes more theoretical and academic or practical? Is ownership more of a symbol or are they genuinely interesting to read, given a cramped startup lifestyle? What level of formal comp sci education does the author assume? Not skepticism, just genuine curiosity and intrigue. I don't have a formal CS background, so forgive me for the naiveté if this is…

It's all three: theoretical, academic and practical :-) Actually everything is pretty much build up from very basic knowledge.

But beware that it has a high information density and that it is for the mathematically inclined.

To digest in small portions :-)

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