The Art of Computer Programming Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

The Art of Computer Programming is a comprehensive monograph written by Donald Knuth which covers all kinds of programming algorithms. The first three volumes are published, two others are planned. Originally, it was planned as a single volume of ten chapters, but Knuth soon discovered that a single volume could not hold all the material that needed inclusion. Along the way, Knuth was interrupted by his increasing dissatisfaction with the quality of scientific typesetting, and decided to spend a few months working up something more suitable. Eight years later, he returned with TeX. The intended ninth and tenth chapters, on language parsing and compilation techniques, are promised at some time in the distant future.

• 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, in preparation (alpha-test version of some parts downloadable from Knuth's page below).
  • Volume 4A, Enumeration and Backtracking
    • Chapter 7 - Combinatorial searching
  • Volume 4B, Graph and Network Algorithms
    • Chapter 7 cont.
  • Volume 4C and possibly 4D, Optimization and Recursion
    • Chapter 7 cont.
    • Chapter 8 - Recursion
• Volume 5 - Syntactic Algorithms, in preparation.
  • Chapter 9 - Lexical scanning
  • Chapter 10 - Parsing techniques
• Volume 6 - Theory of Context-Free Languagess, planned.
• Volume 7 - Compiler Techniques, planned.

All examples in the books use a language called "MIX assembly language," which runs on the hypothetical MIX computer. (Currently, the MIX computer is being replaced by the MMIX computer, which is a RISC version). Some readers are chagrined at the use of assembly language, but Knuth considers this necessary because algorithms need a context to judge speed and memory usage. Fortunately, there are free MIX emulators available for download.

American Scientist has included this work among the best twelve scientific monographs of the twentieth century.

English editions

• Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms. Third Edition (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997), xx+650pp. ISBN 0-201-89683-4
• Volume 2: Seminumerical Algorithms. Third Edition (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997), xiv+762pp. ISBN 0-201-89684-2
• Volume 3: Sorting and Searching. Second Edition (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1998), xiv+780pp.+foldout. ISBN 0-201-89685-0

External link

Overview of topics (Knuth's personal homepage)

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