For the comment readers out there, his surname 'Knuth' is actually pronounced as "Ka-NOOTH". The question " How do you pronounce your last name?" is actually on his 'Frequently Asked Questions' web page. Some of my comp sci friends call these "the bible". Also, these books inspired the development of the TeX typesetting system.
Before someone comes along wondering how these inspired TeX, Knuth did the first edition or two for pre-computerized printing systems, and when he came back to have the next edition printed, was disappointed to discover that the new computerized systems were highly limited when compared to the non-computerized systems... so he wrote TeX to help fix that limitation. He's technically under contract to the printing company to produce the book series in this video, and even after several decades still hasn't finished his original proposal, yet I suspect the company would say that getting TeX was worth it even by itself...
@@ndotl On pronunciation: "You may call me by my name, Wirth, or by my value, Worth." -- Nicklaus Wirth A fortune(1) from days passed. It may even be true.
I have a PhD in computer science. During the break, after I had presented a paper at conference about my research, Donald Knuth approached me. I was so excited that such a famous computer scientist wanted to ask me about my work. Until, that is, he asked "Do you know where the john (toilet) is?"
@@vaibhavkamade7915 Make flashcards for every key term you come across and write a brief definition for it in the back. Review your flashcard set every day. Also, look for programming exercises online related to topics you are currently studying and think of how you can apply different algorithms and structures you've seen in class into the design of those programs.
I used two of Knuth’s books (Fundamental Algorithms, and Sorting and Searching) in courses for my master’s degree in CS, and I purchased Seminumerical Algorithms on my own. In an almost 40 year career as a computer programmer, I referred to them over and over. I would highly recommend them to anyone entering the field of computer science. Don’t be scared off by the math-you can safely ignore it unless you’re interested. The algorithms in it are priceless and used over and over.
@@JoeDoe1 start with simple RUclips videos on the subject. Once you understand the idea read textbooks on it. IMHO the topic is treated very technically in books and can be confusing initially. Once you get the basic ideas down you can consume the proofs and subtlety more easily.
I’m an EE undergrad, but my dad gifted me the first edition of “Algorithms in C” An amazing book, one he read himself in private beforehand and told me how he would have given everything for the knowledge in it. Back in his day all he had were a few translations (Soviet Ukraine) and teachers who didn’t know anything about computers, he taught his math teacher programming. That math teacher also went on to work in California, pretty cool how small our world is.
Soviet Union had great many mathematicans and physicists, yet it didn't have many computer scientists. The brain drain in USSR began to happen at some time during 70s or 80s - and I might be wrong there. It seemed that the Soviet government funded the military, arts and sports more than science. I have three slide rules, two slide rules from the Soviet era, one from USA, those devices that came before scientific calculators. I am fascinated by them.
@@pinklady7184 Unfortunately I don't know much about the Soviet Union, but I have heard about slide rulers and I think they are really cool. Will have to get one and learn how to use it just for fun, maybe pull it out on an exam :)
I believe that you refer to the book by Robert Sedgewick that wrote several "Algorithms in...[a programming language]". The programming language is not important, it is just a way to make things more concrete. I agree that it is really a funny book as an introduction to algorithm. Robert Sedgewick and Philippe Flajolet also wrote much harder algorithm analysis books (recommended by Knuth himself). Of course, "The Art of Computer Programming" is THE reference, it is no easily readable, there is a lot of math and not so trivial exercises (understament), but the style is clear and captivating. Not your everyday software experience as a programmer, but if you want solid foundation it is the best.
@@pinklady7184 Military yes, arts and sports were not close to science in funding. Brain drain at large scale really did not happen until late 80-s. When my collaborator got a position in US in 1988 - it was an extremely rare occasion. Soviet Union did suffer from having some areas of science being less developed that others, earlier some for ideological reasons (such as genetics was suppressed in the 50-s), but this did not affect "exact sciences" that much. It was more an artifact of placing priorities, and also computer science suffered from computer technology lagging behind. I started programming in USSR around 1984, and we were miles ahead of our colleagues in Mosciw obtaining Unix machines with Berkeley BSD (before what university used was IBM 360 clone) smuggled around the US embargo. Kernighan Ritchie C book was translated rather promptly (and was highly sought after). But yes, USSR did not have anybody of Knuth caliber - but who did ?
I have Vol 1, 1968. It was our textbook at Rice in 1970. Knute did one very unusual thing in this presentation. To keep his work as being captive to a specific computer popular at the time, and thus shunned by those favoring a different horse, he created an imaginary computer named by averaging the names of all the types in use, the IBM 360 and 1604 and several others…16 in all. The “MIX 1009” became his hypothetical machine, and we had to write an assembler for it.
That’s one aspect of the books that has not aged well. Basically the entire field of computer architecture has undergone some major winnowing since then. Decimal-centric architectures are gone, and byte addressability is king.
@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 That's also why MMIX is the replacement :) Volumes 1-3 still use MIX, though the MMIX Supplement exists. Eventually Knuth plans to revise the first three volumes, where MMIX will completely replace the old stuff.
Answer to your question at 6:28: the stamp on the book is in Chinese, means it belongs to "Computer Science Department of SiChuan University Library". Sichuan is the province of China where spicy food is famous for. It is spell as Szechuan here in USA.
For readers wishing to study _The Art of Computer Programming_ seriously, note that the mythical machine architecture MIX has been updated to MMIX, a more modern RISC architecture which is introduced in a supplementary volume titled Volume 1 Fascicle 1. At the moment, Knuth is working on Volume 4C; in particular, Section 7.2.2,3 on Constraint Satisfaction. He regularly posts updated drafts on his webpage, seeking feedback from readers, and he will personally mail you an autographed certificate to express his appreciation if you report any errors in his writing. Also, Section 1.2 in Volume 1 on Mathematical Preliminaries is rather dense; its mathematics is elaborated more leisurely and fully in Graham, Knuth, and Patashnik, _Concrete Mathematics_
When I, a career EE decided to get a Masters in Computer Science I was gifted Vol. 1 to get me started with the formal approach to the study. I subsequently added volumes two and three. What a nice surprise to see the set profiled here.
I agree. Programming can be as beautiful and satisfying as writing poetry or prose. I experienced this over 50 years, from my college days to retirement . Whether I programmed as a job or in support of my primary position, it was very rewarding. It was even athletic to 'beat the machine', 'beat the programmer' or 'beat the administrator requests'. Better than beating Doom or Castle Wolfenstein or any pinball machine (really dating myself.)
the stamp on the 3rd book is in Chinese, it says " SiChuan University, Department of Computer Science, Books and Documents Room" which is like a small library resides in the CS separtment of SiChuan University in Chengdu, China.
In the early '70s, here in UK, I did a dual-award degree, Computational Science and Physics. Two sets of books were by my side: Knuth and Feynman; they still are.
Wish I could have done this here in Brazil. Just majored in physics and I'm thinking about going back to college to get a Computer Science degree. Unfortunately the universities here don't allow double majors...
@@brazillianphysicist with a physics degree, stem subjects are highly valued so you should try and apply as an international student for master's in Comp sci in Europe or the states
I got these books (first three volumes) when I was 19 years old. They have been on my desk for over 30 years now. I eventually picked up volume IV soon after it was released. Volume III was my favorite.
Dondald Knuth is the one founding fathers of computer science and the one who expanded mathematics to computer developing and adding the dimension of digital laboratory to mathematical experiments. The three first volumes i owe my interest into algorithmic design and mathematical modeling of algebraic structures to solve algorithmic theorems.
Two of these books are sitting on a dusty old bookshelf in my High Schools computer science room, I had no idea they were of such high acclaim. I'll definitely be grabbing them ASAP
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP) is also a fairly popular Comp Sci/Engineering book of cult status. Really shows how when you grow a language from a very small flexible core it is inherently flexible as a whole.
Started watching your videos a week ago.. Not a math head but loved the way you make your videos. I just ordered vol 1-3 and never heard of Knuth before! Thanks for sharing
@@christmasisawesome9348 I've only read the first chapter of Vol. 1 Fundamental Algorithms My learning path deviated since I posted this I'm going to be working on algebra and calculus before I get back into TAOCP.. I don't have the math know how. I did pickup Concrete Mathematics, will do this after I do my math learning
Having had a 36-year career as a software developer and 29-years of those years as a commercial system software developer, I agree, Knuth's books commonly being referred to as the bible of programming. Indeed, one of the reasons I decided to earn a mathematics degree is to appreciate his three volumes; like illiteracy, innumeracy is a bitch. Beyond Knuth's books, although not nearly as famous, I would say that "Software Fundamentals: Collected Papers by David L. Parnas" is extremely important. It contains writing which were seminal to object orientation, an idea Parnas coined Information Hiding (IH). Managing complexity is all about abstracting.
@@sarthakbhatt5661 : If you're going into programming, then buy them when you can afford to, for the sake of using _during_ the job, instead of _to get the_ job.
Many years ago, the April issue of _Computer Language_ magazine had a review of volume four: the review consisted of a blank page (volume four wasn't out yet at the time).
For about 2 months on Amazon, there was a $75 pre-order sale for a box set of a brand new edition of all 5 books including the latest in the series Volume 4b: Combinatorial Algorithms due to be released later this month, until it suddenly spiked to $350.
Years back, when I saw the 4-book set for £80 on Amazon UK, I clicked without a second thought. Mind you, it's too tough a read for anybody who is only interested in the mechanics and implementation of data structures and algorithms, rather than detailed analysis of their performance characteristics.
I won't argue, but my start was programming in C with Kernighan and Richey. It was my entrance to UNIX Sys V. It's on everyone's shelf, or was back in the day.
These were my text books in early 70s. When my son received his Stanford CS degree Prof Knuth was in attendance. So I got to thank him before he rode off on his bike in his cap and gown after showing papers about his current project pulled from his saddle bags.
The nicest fact about reading old books is that will make you a professional.not like some modern books wich their purpose is just to make u a computer scientist as fast as possible . anyway thanks for the recommendation 😉🙂😉
The stamp is actually a university library stamp. It reads: The Computer Science Department at Sichuan University ☆ Book and Journal Room. Can't imagine what makes such a great book traveling half a globe into your hand.
Just so you know, the one book you have is a library book from Sichuan University School of Computer Science. (It says on the red stamp.) Chinese universities are not allowed to keep copied books. It’s the international version, not illegal printed. Since you brought it up.
I own the first four books. Vol. 4a Combinatorial Algorithms is loaded to the brim with stimulating facts and problems and examples. It is an intellectual cornucopia. It's my favorite of the five volumes (Vol 4b just came out; I've read excerpts and it seems game- and puzzle-centered.). Every volume has its virtues and all are loaded with first-rate pedagogy, with generous answers to every problem in the back of the book. Knuth's books are towering achievements, this in spite of the fact that I generally find computer science books to be mundane and lacking the math that is inevitable if you're genuinely interested in the science and art of programming.
Cool to see this. I own a mint condition set of these books produced for an anniversary of the original printing in 90s. I’m a retired programmer and I have books that I want to give someone who will cherish them as I have. some go back to the 70s. The original art of software testing by Glenford I think the last name is Meyers. Examples in Fortran which was the teaching language of the day. Memories.
I'm from same era (also retired), own & cherish my old 3-volume Knuth (used in a grad class on computational complexity way back when). I found the sorting & searching volume particularly engaging and easier to follow than the more dense numerical algorithm treatments. I worked at Bell Labs in K&R's era, never met them in person, though worked with some pretty well-known scientists at the Quality Assurance Center in Holmdel, NJ. Indeed, memories!
You have no idea how much help your videos are in offering direction to those of us doing self study. Thank you so much. From google translate.: The stamp on volume 3 says Shichuan university library, department of science.
I've used them for a number of things, but, most notably, how to store and access array variables in a BASIC interpreter I was developing. "Fundamental Algorithms" Vol. 1 PP 296,298 I bought my set in 1/15/79. I still have the receipt tucked in volume 3. Interestingly, in 1982 I worked with a Donald Knuth at Bell Labs. He was a different Donald Knuth, but brilliant anyway.
I find that Concrete Mathematics is more focused and less sprawling than TAOCP. Whatever the book (or fascicle), it's a TON of work to get through the problems. It really takes a different mindset to be comfortable with the exercises compared to texts by other authors. Make a pot of coffee, make sure you got a good night's sleep when you do the problems!
The stamp of the book in question is Sichuan university, department of computer science. It doesn't mean it was reprinted by Sichuan university. I suspect it was a book in the library from an unknown reprint with or without permission.
I have another math book by Knuth that is superb if not as well known as it should be. That is "Surreal Numbers" where Knuth expands on an idea by, I believe, John Horton Conway.
Oh yes! I remember that one! Written beautifully, like a fairy tale. I didn't get into the math very deeply (skimmed it) but it was engaging anyway. I was working on my undergrad degree in math at the time (late 70's), and loved well-written books about math. That book is magical!
I had the original (beige cover) Art of Computer programming. It was required for 2nd semester comp sci courses at UW-Madison in the 70's. The course focused on the MIX language. The UW mainframe had a MIX interpreter. So we all had to learn MIX using a real computer. Of course I "traded in" the book once I discovered MIX was not a real language. But I did actually program in MACRO-11 and BAL for real $$. MIX was a great intro to real world assembly languages.
Fun fact. The stamp at the front of the book "sorting and searching" are chinese, and it says "si chuan computer science, star, library", so this book certainly came from a university somewhere in si chuan which is in china.
Something I am very interested in, is learning how to program the animation of mathematics. Once I see the story of a concept in a visual way, I find it much easier to understand intuitively. I also feel like if I went through the trouble of solving how to programmatically animate a math or programming concept, then it would force me to understand it completely, in a way I would not easily forget. It would also be an integral approach to learning mathematics and computer programming at the same time. Even if only for the purpose of creating an animation for remembering the movement, and positioning of numbers through the proceedure of solving math problems. That would be helpful too.
Thanks so much! Book lover about a year from an IT degree, learning python and java but need more fundamental concepts. Just ordered a mixed set of 4 volumes from eBay for 96$ present for myself =)
That mysterious language stamp is in Chinese, and it says something along the lines of "Property of Sichuan University Department of Computer Science", so it may be an int'l version.
This book is great but Knuth is a genius. Much easier treatment of algos in CLRS. This book uses a language called MIX and focuses heavily on the analysis of algorithms more so than other books.
I would put a vote in for the founding document of computer science to be Claude Shannon's 1937 MIT Master's thesis (when he was all of 21). He showed that using only switching relays you could do everything necessary to construct a Turing Machine. It was already known that a Turing Machine could do anything that was computable. By the time computers were actually being constructed, vacuum tubes were faster, but that was only the hardware. Shannon had invented switching theory, and that's what made digital computers possible. Knuth's work is amazing, but it assumed that the computer was there to be programmed.
If you really want the foundation document, look for "Wheeler, Wilkes, & Gill" - "The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer, with special reference to the EDSAC and the use of a library of subroutines". The first book on programming ever published, and the basis of Addison-Wesley's success. Alas, it's out of print, but still in copyright. A-W should print a facsimile edition.
"The Practise Of Programming" by Brian Kernighan and Robert Pike is an excellent intro the __thinking, evolution and design__ that starts with basic prototypes and shows how they can be evolved into *solid code*.
Buying Dr. Knuth's books from his publisher right now, just messaged support to hopefully get them shipped to Australia!! (Volume 4B is coming out Oct 11!!)
I have the 4 book set, which sits at the centerpiece of my bookshelf. I also have a couple used copies. Interestingly, I also have a copy of Vol 2 with super thin pages and Asian lettering. Mine says it was an authorized reprint for sale in Taiwan only, by the Taipei Publications Trading Company. Got mine on thriftbooks.
Of course it is a pirated copy. I remember so well the pirate bookstore in Taipei, where the only contribution to the xeroxed book was a rubber stamp saying "Far East Book Company". And yes they sit on the shelf because they are about impressing people instead of actually helping someone do their work.
These books are not “pirated”, they are cheap editions put out by the publishers on condition that they are only made available in certain “third-world” markets. There is nothing illegal about reselling them elsewhere.
@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 Give me a break. I have been to Taiwan, and visited the bookstores, whose only contribution to the book was their little rubber stamp in red saying "Far East Book company". The piracy in Asia (outside of Japan) is insane, and when i was in the CD-ROM business, i only sold 4 copies to all of Southeast Asia, which was fewer than the number of copies i sold to the tiny island nation of New Caledonia. When several billion people have less purchases than New Caledonia, i think that comes out to 100,000 of honesty.... You are welcome to write to McGraw Hill and find out this is pirated.
I actually had a course with the first book back in the 70's. I don't remember what the course was. I also took a course where we wrote an assembler and linker in MIX. My, that course wiped out a lot of people from the computer science degree. The thing about Knuth and his use of MIX was that he was interested in actually proving the quality of an algorithm by writing it in MIX and then counting the clock cycles. I actually tried to read the books on my own one summer and, to be honest, I really didn't get very far. The books are just so dense. I'm surprised to hear that he is still working on these books. I really feel like he's abandoned this project.
I solved your puzzle about the 3rd Vol. I had a feeling it is Chinese. I used my Google Translator to scan a screen shot of the seal. It concurred with me what language it is. I don't know what it says, I don't know Chinese, just what it looks like. If you want to know what it says there are several avenues to have it translated. I hope that this answer as to what language it is helps you.
The seal on Volume 3 is in Chinese. The first line: 'Sichuan University Faculty of Computer Science'. The second line: 'Library'. I believe it is an authorized version. It is probably authorized for sale in China only by the publisher. It is a common practice. O'Reilly, for example, authorize a large collections of its computer books to be reproduced for sales in China. And yes, the printing quality is not as good as in the US.
Ah, Knuth Vol 3. When I was studying at the University of Macclesfield (which is what folks at the head office down South called our office) I came across Vol 3. Very early in my career I was given the task of writing a sort routine, and my team leader pointed me at Sorting and Searching. I programmed heapsort from the book ... and it didn't work. Ended up sending a bug report to Ferranti that their Fortran compiler didn't work, instead! Can't name-drop Knuth, but my uni tutor was Tom Kilburn. Everyone should research him.
This is a nice video. I wish I had learned computer science years ago. I will add those books to my home library. Alternatively, I will check them out at Open Library and add them to my reading lists. Right now, I am learning more maths and physicics than computer science (which I am learning only on and off). Shortage of time in the day is always the problem. Few years ago, I took up reading vintage books at Open Library. The first programming language I learned in a week was Pascal. The book was so explanatory that I could learn really fast. Pity, the same author didn't write any books on C or C++. I don't understand COBOL. Pascal had afterwards helped me learn C and C++. I am familiar with HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc, stuff needed for web design.
I forgot to mention that I am treating all studies as HOBBIES ONLY : maths, physics, computer science, mechanical engineering, chemistry, electronics, etc. In other words, I am not in university and I am stuck with responsibilities at home and parents' workshop. So, I am self-studying sciences at home and doing digital artworks at workplace where I take advantages of the quiet times during trade. My baby sister was a computer engineer till a year or two year ago. She retired too early, as the work was too extremely stressful (I suspect she was deterred by workplace bullies). Fortunately, she was granted pension for life, as she had done much work for corporation employers. She was graduated with a PhD in computer science, when she was 19. She missed only one year in university, when she fell sick with a tumour in her throat. After a year, she made a full recovery and returned to university a year later. She was a minor when she started her first day in university.
As a computer science major, I’ve had a question on my mind and this seems like a good time to ask. So if you see this, I’m wondering what you think distinguishes computer science from math? To me it seems like theoretical computer science is just a sub field of math, as computer scientists are interested in the same things as mathematicians, but from the angle of computability. If you (or anyone) have any insight into this I would appreciate it
The fundamental difference, I think, is that in computing we care about the resources our programs use. In maths, the fact that a 1000-decimal-digit integer can be factorized in finite time is something you take for granted, but in computing, the fact that it might take longer than the age of the observable Universe to determine the factors becomes rather important.
Enjoying your videos on classic books. The stamp on your copy says it is from the library of Sichuan University's Department of Computer Science. Pretty cool, I'd say.
Back in the day couldn’t live without them. Back when we had to cobble together our own Database management systems, and DK was the source for algorithms, searching and sorting. He doesn’t hold back either. Bring your math hat.
Just thought I would mention that Donald Knuth was the developer behind TeX which others used as the core of LaTeX. I'm sure that you're aware of it as I see that you made some videos about LaTeX.
When I studied CS at the university in mid 70's our professors leaned heavily on the works of Knuth. It was de riguer even then. Knuth is still around.
Just a minute into the video now. Will watch the whole thing. Not sure if you're going to mention Knuth's "Concrete Mathematics." I don't mean to correct you but the K in Knuth is not silent.
I ordered The Art of Computer Programming (box set 1,2,3,4A, 4B) at a massive sale price (72). A couple of days later, the price became (364). And yesterday I found out, that there will be a volume 4C probably on the 28th of may 2025. Sadly, that 4C version is only paperback in the description on that site. I'm waiting for the hardback version. I really do care about that. The contents is the same, but the quality is different. I'm so excited about the books. Numbers in brackets (except 1,2,3,4A, 4B, 2011) represent Euro currency.The only weird thing that shows up is the number of pages. It says 736 pages. It's the 2022 version with a blue box and 5 books, each book maybe 2cm in thickness. Clearly that can't be true because another Version (2011) with just the volumes (1,2,3,4A) states, that it has 3168 pages. So I'm really excited and I hope for the best. The volume 4B itself has 640 pages, so this whole thing I bought schoud have roughly 3808 pages and not just 736. I am curious about that. It should be released on 21st october 2022. Question: What do you think about these books? Is it really the holy grail of programming books? I mean even Mr. Gates states a comment on the back of this book if you swipe through the pictures of this book on amazon. So it really should be a book worth reading. Maybe it really is the holy grail. There is just one way to find out. I'm going to read it as soon as I finish my current book about Assembly Language.
This is very interesting book, but I didn't read it yet. Many programmers dream of finding the time to read to it and implement these algorithms, because work and other programming investigation does not allow them to do this. It's a programmer's dream for old age to study all those classic books)))
The next more important book is Dijkstra, Edsger W. (1976). A Discipline of Programming. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, EUA: Prentice Hall. 217 páginas.
Which is better for a computer science student to study: Calculus or Analysis? Please; Make for us some videos about continuous mathematics (calculus and linear algebra) for computer science and the book we can use..
@@EJP286CRSKW so why they teach it to CS students?! and even more, in europe countries they teach Analysis because they don't differentiate between calculus and Analysis!!
A very overrated book IMHO. Useful in that it publicized what are basically some programming tricks, and the terminology of factory, decorator, visitor, etc., but the stated aim of the book to make us couch our problems in the Pattern Language of forces etc. did not take hold, and not even all the patterns are much used. The subsequent attempt to reduce all of existing computer science to design patterns also failed.
For the comment readers out there, his surname 'Knuth' is actually pronounced as "Ka-NOOTH". The question " How do you pronounce your last name?" is actually on his 'Frequently Asked Questions' web page. Some of my comp sci friends call these "the bible". Also, these books inspired the development of the TeX typesetting system.
Stroustrup did the same (pronunciation) thing.
Thank you for the correction on the pronounciation!!
@@ndotl They are Norwegian (Knuth) and Danish (Stroustrup) specifically.
Before someone comes along wondering how these inspired TeX, Knuth did the first edition or two for pre-computerized printing systems, and when he came back to have the next edition printed, was disappointed to discover that the new computerized systems were highly limited when compared to the non-computerized systems... so he wrote TeX to help fix that limitation.
He's technically under contract to the printing company to produce the book series in this video, and even after several decades still hasn't finished his original proposal, yet I suspect the company would say that getting TeX was worth it even by itself...
@@ndotl On pronunciation: "You may call me by my name, Wirth, or by my value, Worth."
-- Nicklaus Wirth
A fortune(1) from days passed. It may even be true.
I have a PhD in computer science. During the break, after I had presented a paper at conference about my research, Donald Knuth approached me. I was so excited that such a famous computer scientist wanted to ask me about my work. Until, that is, he asked "Do you know where the john (toilet) is?"
Please give me some advice I am struggling computer engineering student. Please
I am in 3rd sem currently studying dsa in c++
@@vaibhavkamade7915 Make flashcards for every key term you come across and write a brief definition for it in the back. Review your flashcard set every day. Also, look for programming exercises online related to topics you are currently studying and think of how you can apply different algorithms and structures you've seen in class into the design of those programs.
Hilarious story
well... did you know?
do You have book recomendations?
I used two of Knuth’s books (Fundamental Algorithms, and Sorting and Searching) in courses for my master’s degree in CS, and I purchased Seminumerical Algorithms on my own. In an almost 40 year career as a computer programmer, I referred to them over and over. I would highly recommend them to anyone entering the field of computer science. Don’t be scared off by the math-you can safely ignore it unless you’re interested. The algorithms in it are priceless and used over and over.
How much do you make an year
I wore my copies of 1 and 2 out. Had to buy new ones!
@@JoeDoe1 start with simple RUclips videos on the subject. Once you understand the idea read textbooks on it. IMHO the topic is treated very technically in books and can be confusing initially. Once you get the basic ideas down you can consume the proofs and subtlety more easily.
@@anudeepkkm7301 How is that a relevant question?
I’m an EE undergrad, but my dad gifted me the first edition of “Algorithms in C” An amazing book, one he read himself in private beforehand and told me how he would have given everything for the knowledge in it. Back in his day all he had were a few translations (Soviet Ukraine) and teachers who didn’t know anything about computers, he taught his math teacher programming. That math teacher also went on to work in California, pretty cool how small our world is.
Soviet Union had great many mathematicans and physicists, yet it didn't have many computer scientists. The brain drain in USSR began to happen at some time during 70s or 80s - and I might be wrong there. It seemed that the Soviet government funded the military, arts and sports more than science.
I have three slide rules, two slide rules from the Soviet era, one from USA, those devices that came before scientific calculators. I am fascinated by them.
@@pinklady7184 Unfortunately I don't know much about the Soviet Union, but I have heard about slide rulers and I think they are really cool. Will have to get one and learn how to use it just for fun, maybe pull it out on an exam :)
I believe that you refer to the book by Robert Sedgewick that wrote several "Algorithms in...[a programming language]". The programming language is not important, it is just a way to make things more concrete. I agree that it is really a funny book as an introduction to algorithm. Robert Sedgewick and Philippe Flajolet also wrote much harder algorithm analysis books (recommended by Knuth himself). Of course, "The Art of Computer Programming" is THE reference, it is no easily readable, there is a lot of math and not so trivial exercises (understament), but the style is clear and captivating. Not your everyday software experience as a programmer, but if you want solid foundation it is the best.
Yes
@@pinklady7184 Military yes, arts and sports were not close to science in funding. Brain drain at large scale really did not happen until late 80-s. When my collaborator got a position in US in 1988 - it was an extremely rare occasion. Soviet Union did suffer from having some areas of science being less developed that others, earlier some for ideological reasons (such as genetics was suppressed in the 50-s), but this did not affect "exact sciences" that much. It was more an artifact of placing priorities, and also computer science suffered from computer technology lagging behind. I started programming in USSR around 1984, and we were miles ahead of our colleagues in Mosciw obtaining Unix machines with Berkeley BSD (before what university used was IBM 360 clone) smuggled around the US embargo. Kernighan Ritchie C book was translated rather promptly (and was highly sought after). But yes, USSR did not have anybody of Knuth caliber - but who did ?
I have Vol 1, 1968. It was our textbook at Rice in 1970. Knute did one very unusual thing in this presentation. To keep his work as being captive to a specific computer popular at the time, and thus shunned by those favoring a different horse, he created an imaginary computer named by averaging the names of all the types in use, the IBM 360 and 1604 and several others…16 in all.
The “MIX 1009” became his hypothetical machine, and we had to write an assembler for it.
That’s one aspect of the books that has not aged well. Basically the entire field of computer architecture has undergone some major winnowing since then. Decimal-centric architectures are gone, and byte addressability is king.
@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 That's also why MMIX is the replacement :) Volumes 1-3 still use MIX, though the MMIX Supplement exists. Eventually Knuth plans to revise the first three volumes, where MMIX will completely replace the old stuff.
I had to write an assembler for MIX for a BSCS from WVU (78) too.
Answer to your question at 6:28: the stamp on the book is in Chinese, means it belongs to "Computer Science Department of SiChuan University Library". Sichuan is the province of China where spicy food is famous for. It is spell as Szechuan here in USA.
For readers wishing to study _The Art of Computer Programming_ seriously, note that the mythical machine architecture MIX has been updated to MMIX, a more modern RISC architecture which is introduced in a supplementary volume titled Volume 1 Fascicle 1. At the moment, Knuth is working on Volume 4C; in particular, Section 7.2.2,3 on Constraint Satisfaction. He regularly posts updated drafts on his webpage, seeking feedback from readers, and he will personally mail you an autographed certificate to express his appreciation if you report any errors in his writing.
Also, Section 1.2 in Volume 1 on Mathematical Preliminaries is rather dense; its mathematics is elaborated more leisurely and fully in Graham, Knuth, and Patashnik, _Concrete Mathematics_
What is the math prerequisites for Concrete Mathematics? Thanks!
@@bvim75 High school mathematics should suffice
@@elosant2061 thanks!
When I, a career EE decided to get a Masters in Computer Science I was gifted Vol. 1 to get me started with the formal approach to the study. I subsequently added volumes two and three. What a nice surprise to see the set profiled here.
nice!
@@TheMathSorcerer brain left the chat
I agree. Programming can be as beautiful and satisfying as writing poetry or prose. I experienced this over 50 years, from my college days to retirement . Whether I programmed as a job or in support of my primary position, it was very rewarding. It was even athletic to 'beat the machine', 'beat the programmer' or 'beat the administrator requests'. Better than beating Doom or Castle Wolfenstein or any pinball machine (really dating myself.)
the stamp on the 3rd book is in Chinese, it says " SiChuan University, Department of Computer Science, Books and Documents Room" which is like a small library resides in the CS separtment of SiChuan University in Chengdu, China.
My credit card breathes a sigh of relief! A review of books already in my collection. Very appreciative of all your videos.
Lol! Yeah and these books are expensive.
204+tax and I don't like the books either, they are lessons in discreet math.
I once saw Dr. Knuth speak. Fascinating to listen to. Besides these, he's the main creator of how computer science topics were typeset.
From fonts to typesetting. A one man Adobe
Lol this channel’s fan base is, pound for pound, the most active and engaging I’ve seen on RUclips.
really? That's pretty cool! I love reading the comments:)
In the early '70s, here in UK, I did a dual-award degree, Computational Science and Physics. Two sets of books were by my side: Knuth and Feynman; they still are.
Wish I could have done this here in Brazil. Just majored in physics and I'm thinking about going back to college to get a Computer Science degree. Unfortunately the universities here don't allow double majors...
@@brazillianphysicist Such a shame that education is so gate kept in many many places around the world.
@@brazillianphysicist with a physics degree, stem subjects are highly valued so you should try and apply as an international student for master's in Comp sci in Europe or the states
I like your book reviews; a review of Knuth's Concrete Mathematics would be interesting too.
Noted!
I second that! Concrete Mathematics is a fine book and a review will be appreciated.
Yes! It would also be nice if you could explain “Concrete Mathematics!” 🧮 😮😅
Yes, especially since it's (supposedly) basically an expanded version of the maths content of volume 1 of TAOCP.
Oh, and since volume 4B of TAOCP has only just been announced it would be pretty timely.
I got these books (first three volumes) when I was 19 years old. They have been on my desk for over 30 years now. I eventually picked up volume IV soon after it was released. Volume III was my favorite.
Dondald Knuth is the one founding fathers of computer science and the one who expanded mathematics to computer developing and adding the dimension of digital laboratory to mathematical experiments. The three first volumes i owe my interest into algorithmic design and mathematical modeling of algebraic structures to solve algorithmic theorems.
Two of these books are sitting on a dusty old bookshelf in my High Schools computer science room, I had no idea they were of such high acclaim. I'll definitely be grabbing them ASAP
Thank you for this review! It reminded me my best years studying Computer Engineering, 1978-82. Knuth was at that time my “ hero” .
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP) is also a fairly popular Comp Sci/Engineering book of cult status.
Really shows how when you grow a language from a very small flexible core it is inherently flexible as a whole.
Started watching your videos a week ago.. Not a math head but loved the way you make your videos.
I just ordered vol 1-3 and never heard of Knuth before!
Thanks for sharing
How are you getting on so far?
@@christmasisawesome9348 I've only read the first chapter of Vol. 1 Fundamental Algorithms
My learning path deviated since I posted this
I'm going to be working on algebra and calculus before I get back into TAOCP.. I don't have the math know how. I did pickup Concrete Mathematics, will do this after I do my math learning
Having had a 36-year career as a software developer and 29-years of those years as a commercial system software developer, I agree, Knuth's books commonly being referred to as the bible of programming. Indeed, one of the reasons I decided to earn a mathematics degree is to appreciate his three volumes; like illiteracy, innumeracy is a bitch. Beyond Knuth's books, although not nearly as famous, I would say that "Software Fundamentals: Collected Papers by David L. Parnas" is extremely important. It contains writing which were seminal to object orientation, an idea Parnas coined Information Hiding (IH). Managing complexity is all about abstracting.
I am in my final year of engineering, should I read them? Would it help me to get good jobs?
@@sarthakbhatt5661 : If you're going into programming, then buy them when you can afford to, for the sake of using _during_ the job, instead of _to get the_ job.
wait are those books very expensive in the west too?
Ya they are they aren’t like super cheap.
Many years ago, the April issue of _Computer Language_ magazine had a review of volume four: the review consisted of a blank page (volume four wasn't out yet at the time).
For about 2 months on Amazon, there was a $75 pre-order sale for a box set of a brand new edition of all 5 books including the latest in the series Volume 4b: Combinatorial Algorithms due to be released later this month, until it suddenly spiked to $350.
Years back, when I saw the 4-book set for £80 on Amazon UK, I clicked without a second thought. Mind you, it's too tough a read for anybody who is only interested in the mechanics and implementation of data structures and algorithms, rather than detailed analysis of their performance characteristics.
I won't argue, but my start was programming in C with Kernighan and Richey. It was my entrance to UNIX Sys V. It's on everyone's shelf, or was back in the day.
These were my text books in early 70s. When my son received his Stanford CS degree Prof Knuth was in attendance. So I got to thank him before he rode off on his bike in his cap and gown after showing papers about his current project pulled from his saddle bags.
I was so fascinated with the extent the mathematical abstractions used in computer algorithms, simple to complicated.
The nicest fact about reading old books is that will make you a professional.not like some modern books wich their purpose is just to make u a computer scientist as fast as possible .
anyway thanks for the recommendation 😉🙂😉
Concrete Mathematics by Graham, Knuth and Patashnik is another great book. You may have already covered it as I did not check.
Yeah that is a great book!
The stamp is actually a university library stamp. It reads: The Computer Science Department at Sichuan University ☆ Book and Journal Room. Can't imagine what makes such a great book traveling half a globe into your hand.
For some reason watching this felt so refreshing. Well presented!
Just so you know, the one book you have is a library book from Sichuan University School of Computer Science. (It says on the red stamp.) Chinese universities are not allowed to keep copied books. It’s the international version, not illegal printed. Since you brought it up.
I still have my copies, all three of which are 2nd edition that I purchased in 1975 as a student at RPI.
I own the first four books. Vol. 4a Combinatorial Algorithms is loaded to the brim with stimulating facts and problems and examples. It is an intellectual cornucopia. It's my favorite of the five volumes (Vol 4b just came out; I've read excerpts and it seems game- and puzzle-centered.). Every volume has its virtues and all are loaded with first-rate pedagogy, with generous answers to every problem in the back of the book. Knuth's books are towering achievements, this in spite of the fact that I generally find computer science books to be mundane and lacking the math that is inevitable if you're genuinely interested in the science and art of programming.
From the index:
Circular reasoning: See reasoning, circular.
Reasoning, circular: see circular reasoning.
Took me *forever* to find that chapter.
Cool to see this. I own a mint condition set of these books produced for an anniversary of the original
printing in 90s. I’m a retired programmer and I have books that I want to give someone who will cherish them as I have. some go back to the 70s. The original art of software testing by Glenford I think the last name is Meyers. Examples in Fortran which was the teaching language of the day. Memories.
I'm from same era (also retired), own & cherish my old 3-volume Knuth (used in a grad class on computational complexity way back when). I found the sorting & searching volume particularly engaging and easier to follow than the more dense numerical algorithm treatments. I worked at Bell Labs in K&R's era, never met them in person, though worked with some pretty well-known scientists at the Quality Assurance Center in Holmdel, NJ. Indeed, memories!
These are amazing books. My favorite when it comes to computer science books.
You have no idea how much help your videos are in offering direction to those of us doing self study. Thank you so much.
From google translate.: The stamp on volume 3 says Shichuan university library, department of science.
The stamp is in Chinese. The translation will be "The library of the department of computer science, Sichuan University".
I've used them for a number of things, but, most notably, how to store and access array variables in a BASIC interpreter I was developing. "Fundamental Algorithms" Vol. 1 PP 296,298
I bought my set in 1/15/79. I still have the receipt tucked in volume 3. Interestingly, in 1982 I worked with a Donald Knuth at Bell Labs. He was a different Donald Knuth, but brilliant anyway.
I find that Concrete Mathematics is more focused and less sprawling than TAOCP. Whatever the book (or fascicle), it's a TON of work to get through the problems. It really takes a different mindset to be comfortable with the exercises compared to texts by other authors. Make a pot of coffee, make sure you got a good night's sleep when you do the problems!
The stamp of the book in question is Sichuan university, department of computer science. It doesn't mean it was reprinted by Sichuan university. I suspect it was a book in the library from an unknown reprint with or without permission.
The complete set of books, entitled The Art of Computer Programming, has the following general outline:
Volume 1. Fundamental Algorithms
Chapter 1. Basic Concepts
Chapter 2. Information Structures
Volume 2. Seminumerical Algorithms
Chapter 3. Random Numbers
Chapter 4. Arithmetic
Volume 3. Sorting and Searching
Chapter 5. Sorting
Chapter 6. Searching
Volume 4. Combinatorial Algorithms
Chapter 7. Combinatorial Searching
Chapter 8. Recursion
Volume 5. Syntactical Algorithms
Chapter 9. Lexical Scanning
Chapter 10. Parsing
My dad has these books. I remember seeing them since I was little.
wow that's awesome!
I asked for and received the boxed set as an aspiring programmer(software engineer, maybe).
Good stuff.
I have another math book by Knuth that is superb if not as well known as it should be. That is "Surreal Numbers" where Knuth expands on an idea by, I believe, John Horton Conway.
cool, I should check that out, thank you:)
Oh yes! I remember that one! Written beautifully, like a fairy tale. I didn't get into the math very deeply (skimmed it) but it was engaging anyway. I was working on my undergrad degree in math at the time (late 70's), and loved well-written books about math. That book is magical!
I had the original (beige cover) Art of Computer programming. It was required for 2nd semester comp sci courses at UW-Madison in the 70's. The course focused on the MIX language. The UW mainframe had a MIX interpreter. So we all had to learn MIX using a real computer. Of course I "traded in" the book once I discovered MIX was not a real language. But I did actually program in MACRO-11 and BAL for real $$. MIX was a great intro to real world assembly languages.
Fun fact. The stamp at the front of the book "sorting and searching" are chinese, and it says "si chuan computer science, star, library", so this book certainly came from a university somewhere in si chuan which is in china.
Something I am very interested in, is learning how to program the animation of mathematics. Once I see the story of a concept in a visual way, I find it much easier to understand intuitively. I also feel like if I went through the trouble of solving how to programmatically animate a math or programming concept, then it would force me to understand it completely, in a way I would not easily forget. It would also be an integral approach to learning mathematics and computer programming at the same time. Even if only for the purpose of creating an animation for remembering the movement, and positioning of numbers through the proceedure of solving math problems. That would be helpful too.
Thanks so much! Book lover about a year from an IT degree, learning python and java but need more fundamental concepts. Just ordered a mixed set of 4 volumes from eBay for 96$ present for myself =)
That mysterious language stamp is in Chinese, and it says something along the lines of "Property of Sichuan University Department of Computer Science", so it may be an int'l version.
This book is great but Knuth is a genius. Much easier treatment of algos in CLRS. This book uses a language called MIX and focuses heavily on the analysis of algorithms more so than other books.
I would put a vote in for the founding document of computer science to be Claude Shannon's 1937 MIT Master's thesis (when he was all of 21). He showed that using only switching relays you could do everything necessary to construct a Turing Machine. It was already known that a Turing Machine could do anything that was computable. By the time computers were actually being constructed, vacuum tubes were faster, but that was only the hardware. Shannon had invented switching theory, and that's what made digital computers possible. Knuth's work is amazing, but it assumed that the computer was there to be programmed.
If you really want the foundation document, look for "Wheeler, Wilkes, & Gill" - "The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer, with special reference to the EDSAC and the use of a library of subroutines". The first book on programming ever published, and the basis of Addison-Wesley's success. Alas, it's out of print, but still in copyright. A-W should print a facsimile edition.
"The Practise Of Programming" by Brian Kernighan and Robert Pike is an excellent intro the __thinking, evolution and design__ that starts with basic prototypes and shows how they can be evolved into *solid code*.
The stamp on the first page reads: Computer Science Department of Sichuan University, Library.
Buying Dr. Knuth's books from his publisher right now, just messaged support to hopefully get them shipped to Australia!! (Volume 4B is coming out Oct 11!!)
Oh wow!!
I’m liking this kind of content. Computational thinking vs Mathematical thinking 😎
I have the 4 book set, which sits at the centerpiece of my bookshelf. I also have a couple used copies. Interestingly, I also have a copy of Vol 2 with super thin pages and Asian lettering. Mine says it was an authorized reprint for sale in Taiwan only, by the Taipei Publications Trading Company. Got mine on thriftbooks.
nice!!
Of course it is a pirated copy. I remember so well the pirate bookstore in Taipei, where the only contribution to the xeroxed book was a rubber stamp saying "Far East Book Company".
And yes they sit on the shelf because they are about impressing people instead of actually helping someone do their work.
Most of my work in the first 20 years of my career could not have been done without these books open on the desk beside me.
These books are not “pirated”, they are cheap editions put out by the publishers on condition that they are only made available in certain “third-world” markets. There is nothing illegal about reselling them elsewhere.
@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 Give me a break. I have been to Taiwan, and visited the bookstores, whose only contribution to the book was their little rubber stamp in red saying "Far East Book company". The piracy in Asia (outside of Japan) is insane, and when i was in the CD-ROM business, i only sold 4 copies to all of Southeast Asia, which was fewer than the number of copies i sold to the tiny island nation of New Caledonia. When several billion people have less purchases than New Caledonia, i think that comes out to 100,000 of honesty.... You are welcome to write to McGraw Hill and find out this is pirated.
There is a book called Concrete Mathematics: Foundation for Computer Science, written by Knuth if you might be interested in.
Yes, I have that book!
@@TheMathSorcerer will we have the pleasure to have it reviewed... and whiffed?
The algorithms in the book are described in "MIX", a generic assembly language.
6:26 -- 四川 (Sichuan) - 大学 (University) - 计算机 (Computer [Science]) - 学院 (College)
I actually had a course with the first book back in the 70's. I don't remember what the course was. I also took a course where we wrote an assembler and linker in MIX. My, that course wiped out a lot of people from the computer science degree. The thing about Knuth and his use of MIX was that he was interested in actually proving the quality of an algorithm by writing it in MIX and then counting the clock cycles.
I actually tried to read the books on my own one summer and, to be honest, I really didn't get very far. The books are just so dense.
I'm surprised to hear that he is still working on these books. I really feel like he's abandoned this project.
I studied all that and was really enjoying it. Then someone published a Standard Template Library. And well said good by to years of work.
I solved your puzzle about the 3rd Vol. I had a feeling it is Chinese. I used my Google Translator to scan a screen shot of the seal. It concurred with me what language it is. I don't know what it says, I don't know Chinese, just what it looks like. If you want to know what it says there are several avenues to have it translated. I hope that this answer as to what language it is helps you.
YEP I got a glimpse of the CCP logo. They’ve made a light-based qubit supercomputer and continue advancing. The book is illegal copied.
It’s the computer science department of the Sichuan university in China. The bottom part of the writing just states what room the book was taken from.
I am starting to love this channel more!
The seal on Volume 3 is in Chinese. The first line: 'Sichuan University Faculty of Computer Science'. The second line: 'Library'.
I believe it is an authorized version. It is probably authorized for sale in China only by the publisher.
It is a common practice. O'Reilly, for example, authorize a large collections of its computer books to be reproduced for sales in China.
And yes, the printing quality is not as good as in the US.
Ah, Knuth Vol 3. When I was studying at the University of Macclesfield (which is what folks at the head office down South called our office) I came across Vol 3. Very early in my career I was given the task of writing a sort routine, and my team leader pointed me at Sorting and Searching. I programmed heapsort from the book ... and it didn't work. Ended up sending a bug report to Ferranti that their Fortran compiler didn't work, instead!
Can't name-drop Knuth, but my uni tutor was Tom Kilburn. Everyone should research him.
Actually I think it was a GEC 4080 compiler, and not Ferranti.
Vol. 4b came out this week!
This is a nice video. I wish I had learned computer science years ago. I will add those books to my home library. Alternatively, I will check them out at Open Library and add them to my reading lists.
Right now, I am learning more maths and physicics than computer science (which I am learning only on and off). Shortage of time in the day is always the problem.
Few years ago, I took up reading vintage books at Open Library. The first programming language I learned in a week was Pascal. The book was so explanatory that I could learn really fast. Pity, the same author didn't write any books on C or C++. I don't understand COBOL.
Pascal had afterwards helped me learn C and C++. I am familiar with HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc, stuff needed for web design.
I forgot to mention that I am treating all studies as HOBBIES ONLY : maths, physics, computer science, mechanical engineering, chemistry, electronics, etc. In other words, I am not in university and I am stuck with responsibilities at home and parents' workshop. So, I am self-studying sciences at home and doing digital artworks at workplace where I take advantages of the quiet times during trade.
My baby sister was a computer engineer till a year or two year ago. She retired too early, as the work was too extremely stressful (I suspect she was deterred by workplace bullies). Fortunately, she was granted pension for life, as she had done much work for corporation employers. She was graduated with a PhD in computer science, when she was 19. She missed only one year in university, when she fell sick with a tumour in her throat. After a year, she made a full recovery and returned to university a year later. She was a minor when she started her first day in university.
As a computer science major, I’ve had a question on my mind and this seems like a good time to ask. So if you see this, I’m wondering what you think distinguishes computer science from math? To me it seems like theoretical computer science is just a sub field of math, as computer scientists are interested in the same things as mathematicians, but from the angle of computability. If you (or anyone) have any insight into this I would appreciate it
@@viziocostar398 I’m not talking about industry, I’m talking about the study of computer science
The fundamental difference, I think, is that in computing we care about the resources our programs use. In maths, the fact that a 1000-decimal-digit integer can be factorized in finite time is something you take for granted, but in computing, the fact that it might take longer than the age of the observable Universe to determine the factors becomes rather important.
Enjoying your videos on classic books. The stamp on your copy says it is from the library of Sichuan University's Department of Computer Science. Pretty cool, I'd say.
Back in the day couldn’t live without them. Back when we had to cobble together our own Database management systems, and DK was the source for algorithms, searching and sorting. He doesn’t hold back either. Bring your math hat.
Some of the best computer programmers I have known have also been excellent musicians.
Awesome !!!
some of the best I knew programmed the computer to make beautiful music.
Just thought I would mention that Donald Knuth was the developer behind TeX which others used as the core of LaTeX. I'm sure that you're aware of it as I see that you made some videos about LaTeX.
Read these starting in 1978 at Imperial College while I was studying Physics. Hard going but rewarding.
I used algorithm Trie in production at CITC 1988. Chevron Information Technology Company.
Someone make a book sniffing compilation
Nice!Plz review some more books on computer science
Great job!
volume 4 is not complete, i have fascicle 5 and 6 of volume 4 as well as the other books in this series. thank you for the review.
When I studied CS at the university in mid 70's our professors leaned heavily on the works of Knuth. It was de riguer even then. Knuth is still around.
Wow, thank you for sharing this!! Love comments like this:)
Good video review, thank you!
6:26 the stamp is in chinese, which say it's form Sichan university computer science department (College of Computer science now)
BTW, he invented a math typesetting program (tex) in order to typeset the math formulas in these books.
Thats crazy, I use LaTex all the time
Just a minute into the video now. Will watch the whole thing. Not sure if you're going to mention Knuth's "Concrete Mathematics." I don't mean to correct you but the K in Knuth is not silent.
Knuth was the Professor of the Art of Computer Programming at Stanford.
These are good as reference books though. Nobody can actually do all the exercises. I do like that he has a hardness ranking on the exercises.
i used these books in the early 80's and swiped some algorithms to do homework. though it took some doings translating from assembler to PASCAL.
Wirth -- another CS giant.
I ordered The Art of Computer Programming (box set 1,2,3,4A, 4B) at a massive sale price (72). A couple of days later, the price became (364). And yesterday I found out, that there will be a volume 4C probably on the 28th of may 2025. Sadly, that 4C version is only paperback in the description on that site. I'm waiting for the hardback version. I really do care about that. The contents is the same, but the quality is different.
I'm so excited about the books. Numbers in brackets (except 1,2,3,4A, 4B, 2011) represent Euro currency.The only weird thing that shows up is the number of pages. It says 736 pages. It's the 2022 version with a blue box and 5 books, each book maybe 2cm in thickness. Clearly that can't be true because another Version (2011) with just the volumes (1,2,3,4A) states, that it has 3168 pages. So I'm really excited and I hope for the best. The volume 4B itself has 640 pages, so this whole thing I bought schoud have roughly 3808 pages and not just 736. I am curious about that.
It should be released on 21st october 2022.
Question: What do you think about these books?
Is it really the holy grail of programming books?
I mean even Mr. Gates states a comment on the back of this book if you swipe through the pictures of this book on amazon. So it really should be a book worth reading. Maybe it really is the holy grail.
There is just one way to find out. I'm going to read it as soon as I finish my current book about Assembly Language.
cool your mention to Richard Stallman :)
Yeah RMS is a legend:)
@@TheMathSorcerer The Father of Open Source movement !
the most important thing in the history of modern computing. he has singlehandedly saved us from a corporate hellscape.
06:28 it seems Chinese. 四川大学 Sichuan University 計算機科学 系 computer science dept. 図書 library 資料室 reference room.
This is very interesting book, but I didn't read it yet. Many programmers dream of finding the time to read to it and implement these algorithms, because work and other programming investigation does not allow them to do this. It's a programmer's dream for old age to study all those classic books)))
The next more important book is Dijkstra, Edsger W. (1976). A Discipline of Programming. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, EUA: Prentice Hall. 217 páginas.
Bought a boxset for €20 a decade ago, finally as an adult I can make sense of it.
Perhaps a review of his books on TeX and Metafont would be fun.
The paper is definitely thinner you can see through the pages! Vol 3
4 and 4b are out
as a simple cs+math major, i see donald knuth and i click :)
I like the smell of old books too
Which is better for a computer science student to study: Calculus or Analysis?
Please; Make for us some videos about continuous mathematics (calculus and linear algebra) for computer science and the book we can use..
You will never use calculus in computer programming. I haven't in 51 years.
@@EJP286CRSKW so why they teach it to CS students?! and even more, in europe countries they teach Analysis because they don't differentiate between calculus and Analysis!!
You should cover "design patterns" by gang of four
A very overrated book IMHO. Useful in that it publicized what are basically some programming tricks, and the terminology of factory, decorator, visitor, etc., but the stated aim of the book to make us couch our problems in the Pattern Language of forces etc. did not take hold, and not even all the patterns are much used. The subsequent attempt to reduce all of existing computer science to design patterns also failed.