Have u Coders Read "the Art of Computer Programming"

Liam Battle · 05-12-2002, 08:04 PM

Well the reason why i asked it on this board and not in the General Discussion board is because i am curious if the C++ coders here have read it. Alot of you on the C++ forum are constant posters and i see a familiar bunch alot...

They are an excellent series, i suggest reading them if you have spare time.

anyhow poll away

**Prelude** · 05-12-2002, 08:29 PM

I've read them, but I can't guarantee that I understood it all. I recall reading somewhere that Bill Gates wants your resume if you can read all of them and still know what's going on the whole way through.

-Prelude

Liam Battle · 05-12-2002, 08:56 PM

Hehe yea that is on the back of the first book

well i had trouble understanding all the Mathematical Algorithms in the first book section 1, Altho when we got to the Mix in section Two of Book 1 , it was more clear and some of the mathematical algorthims came into play.. of course i didnt understand the whole set, and I dont think there are many people out there who will understand it 100% right off the bat without doing the exercises and reading it twice...

But the fact remains that if you got through those books or even just 1 of them, i give you a C++ salute... cuz its not easy...

unless you just looked at the words and didnt try to make sense of what they were saying :P

Xei · 05-12-2002, 08:57 PM

I shall attempt to acquire these books. Then read them later.

Liam Battle · 05-12-2002, 09:01 PM

They are expensive for the whole set, but if you are very serious about being a coder, i suggest taking a look...

they are not in C++ , they are mostly Mathematical Algorithms , Assembly algorithms, and concept work... But they help alot.
They are the Bible of Computer Programming, without a doubt...

Xei · 05-12-2002, 09:04 PM

Well new concepts are good to learn. Do you know where I can purchase these books online?

Liam Battle · 05-12-2002, 09:07 PM

I bought mine in Chapters couple years ago... im sure any online book companies have em...

**Prelude** · 05-12-2002, 09:08 PM

>Do you know where I can purchase these books online?
Amazon is usually a good start.

-Prelude

Xei · 05-12-2002, 09:18 PM

$150 USD for 3 books? Wow, that is cheap(for 3 books). I'll trust your words, and I'll buy it when I get the money. I hope their worth it.

I might buy the "Phyics For Game Developers" afterwards.

**Prelude** · 05-12-2002, 09:25 PM

>I hope their worth it.
They are, but be warned, it's an acquired taste.

-Prelude

Liam Battle · 05-12-2002, 09:37 PM

I agree with prelude, It is hard to read them, but if you get upset with them right away try again, and you will soon begin to love them...

Soon enough they are the only thing you are reading at the current time...

Liam Battle · 05-13-2002, 11:26 AM

Wow I guess me and Prelude are the only ones so far who have read the books...

I guess some of you guys could vote yes if you read one of the books.

napkin111 · 05-13-2002, 11:45 AM

Are these books appropriate for a beginnger programmer? I've been programming for a few months now and I think I've got the basics down, and I'm going on to windows programming currently. Should I read these books?

Thanks,

napKIN

Shiro · 05-13-2002, 01:15 PM

>Are these books appropriate for a beginnger programmer?

Most beginning programmers are not mathematicians who understand logic, algebra etc., assuming you are one of those beginning programmers, I'd say: no.

>Should I read these books?

If you take programming seriously and really want to understand the math behind programming: yes, but you should understand the underlying math first.

At university I've had some subjects together with the students of computer science, one of those was algorithms and datastructures. The books our prof referred to mostly were these books of Knuth. They're not easy, but they do make programming an art.

Nick · 05-13-2002, 03:02 PM

Part of the problem is that not only are the topics difficult, Knuth does not do enough explaining for the beginning student. As an example of the problem, see the exercise or section on supplicants or neighborhoods. He introduces the material fast with limited explanation. If you don't have access to intro books on real anyalsis that will cover surpremums and nhds in more depth it's almost impossible to understand.

View Poll Results: Have you Read the Series of books "The Art of Computer Programming"
Yes	2	12.50%
Nope	14	87.50%
No, and I dread reading them !!!	0	0%
Voters: 16. You may not vote on this poll

05-12-2002, 08:04 PM	#1
Liam Battle Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 114	Have u Coders Read "the Art of Computer Programming" Well the reason why i asked it on this board and not in the General Discussion board is because i am curious if the C++ coders here have read it. Alot of you on the C++ forum are constant posters and i see a familiar bunch alot... They are an excellent series, i suggest reading them if you have spare time. anyhow poll away __________________ LB0: * Life once school is done LB1: N <- WakeUp; LB2: N <- C++_Code; LB3: N >= Tired : N <- Sleep; LB4: JMP-3; Last edited by Liam Battle; 05-12-2002 at 08:06 PM.*
Liam Battle is offline

05-12-2002, 08:29 PM	#2
Prelude Code Goddess Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 9,664	I've read them, but I can't guarantee that I understood it all. I recall reading somewhere that Bill Gates wants your resume if you can read all of them and still know what's going on the whole way through. -Prelude __________________ My best code is written with the delete key.
Prelude is offline

05-12-2002, 08:56 PM	#3
Liam Battle Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 114	Hehe yea that is on the back of the first book well i had trouble understanding all the Mathematical Algorithms in the first book section 1, Altho when we got to the Mix in section Two of Book 1 , it was more clear and some of the mathematical algorthims came into play.. of course i didnt understand the whole set, and I dont think there are many people out there who will understand it 100% right off the bat without doing the exercises and reading it twice... But the fact remains that if you got through those books or even just 1 of them, i give you a C++ salute... cuz its not easy... unless you just looked at the words and didnt try to make sense of what they were saying :P __________________ LB0: * Life once school is done LB1: N <- WakeUp; LB2: N <- C++_Code; LB3: N >= Tired : N <- Sleep; LB4: JMP*-3;
Liam Battle is offline

05-12-2002, 08:57 PM	#4
Xei Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 719	I shall attempt to acquire these books. Then read them later.
Xei is offline

05-12-2002, 09:01 PM	#5
Liam Battle Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 114	They are expensive for the whole set, but if you are very serious about being a coder, i suggest taking a look... they are not in C++ , they are mostly Mathematical Algorithms , Assembly algorithms, and concept work... But they help alot. They are the Bible of Computer Programming, without a doubt... __________________ LB0: * Life once school is done LB1: N <- WakeUp; LB2: N <- C++_Code; LB3: N >= Tired : N <- Sleep; LB4: JMP*-3;
Liam Battle is offline

05-12-2002, 09:04 PM	#6
Xei Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 719	Well new concepts are good to learn. Do you know where I can purchase these books online?
Xei is offline

05-12-2002, 09:07 PM	#7
Liam Battle Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 114	I bought mine in Chapters couple years ago... im sure any online book companies have em... __________________ LB0: * Life once school is done LB1: N <- WakeUp; LB2: N <- C++_Code; LB3: N >= Tired : N <- Sleep; LB4: JMP*-3;
Liam Battle is offline

05-12-2002, 09:08 PM	#8
Prelude Code Goddess Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 9,664	>Do you know where I can purchase these books online? Amazon is usually a good start. -Prelude __________________ My best code is written with the delete key.
Prelude is offline

05-12-2002, 09:18 PM	#9
Xei Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 719	$150 USD for 3 books? Wow, that is cheap(for 3 books). I'll trust your words, and I'll buy it when I get the money. I hope their worth it. I might buy the "Phyics For Game Developers" afterwards. Last edited by Xei; 05-12-2002 at 09:20 PM.
Xei is offline

05-12-2002, 09:25 PM	#10
Prelude Code Goddess Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 9,664	>I hope their worth it. They are, but be warned, it's an acquired taste. -Prelude __________________ My best code is written with the delete key.
Prelude is offline

05-12-2002, 09:37 PM	#11
Liam Battle Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 114	I agree with prelude, It is hard to read them, but if you get upset with them right away try again, and you will soon begin to love them... Soon enough they are the only thing you are reading at the current time... __________________ LB0: * Life once school is done LB1: N <- WakeUp; LB2: N <- C++_Code; LB3: N >= Tired : N <- Sleep; LB4: JMP*-3;
Liam Battle is offline

05-13-2002, 11:26 AM	#12
Liam Battle Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 114	Wow I guess me and Prelude are the only ones so far who have read the books... I guess some of you guys could vote yes if you read one of the books. __________________ LB0: * Life once school is done LB1: N <- WakeUp; LB2: N <- C++_Code; LB3: N >= Tired : N <- Sleep; LB4: JMP*-3;
Liam Battle is offline

05-13-2002, 11:45 AM	#13
napkin111 napKINfolk.com Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 310	Are these books appropriate for a beginnger programmer? I've been programming for a few months now and I think I've got the basics down, and I'm going on to windows programming currently. Should I read these books? Thanks, napKIN
napkin111 is offline

05-13-2002, 01:15 PM	#14
Shiro .... Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Groningen (NL) Posts: 2,386	>Are these books appropriate for a beginnger programmer? Most beginning programmers are not mathematicians who understand logic, algebra etc., assuming you are one of those beginning programmers, I'd say: no. >Should I read these books? If you take programming seriously and really want to understand the math behind programming: yes, but you should understand the underlying math first. At university I've had some subjects together with the students of computer science, one of those was algorithms and datastructures. The books our prof referred to mostly were these books of Knuth. They're not easy, but they do make programming an art.
Shiro is offline

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Have you gotten through Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming?"	SilentStrike	A Brief History of Cprogramming.com	4	12-27-2004 05:17 PM
Computer will not boot.	RealityFusion	Tech Board	25	09-10-2004 04:05 PM
Unknown Memory Leak in Init() Function	CodeHacker	Windows Programming	3	07-09-2004 09:54 AM
Experienced coders read. ( Common/efficient writing )	knave	C++ Programming	8	04-23-2003 09:07 PM
computer science majors..read!	nextus	C++ Programming	12	02-26-2003 12:32 AM

05-13-2002, 03:02 PM	#15
Nick Blank Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 1,034	Part of the problem is that not only are the topics difficult, Knuth does not do enough explaining for the beginning student. As an example of the problem, see the exercise or section on supplicants or neighborhoods. He introduces the material fast with limited explanation. If you don't have access to intro books on real anyalsis that will cover surpremums and nhds in more depth it's almost impossible to understand. Last edited by Nick; 05-13-2002 at 03:44 PM.
Nick is offline

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode