Book Notes/The Art of Computer Programming

The Art of Computer Programming

by Donald Knuth

"The Art of Computer Programming" by Donald Knuth is a comprehensive series that covers various algorithms and programming techniques in depth. It emphasizes mathematical analysis and provides a detailed exploration of data structures, algorithms, and their applications. The work is renowned for its rigorous approach and has become a foundational text in computer science.

10 curated highlights from this book

Key Insights & Memorable Quotes

Below are the most impactful passages and quotes from The Art of Computer Programming, carefully selected to capture the essence of the book.

The best way to get a good idea is to get lots of ideas.
Premature optimization is the root of all evil.
An algorithm must be seen to be believed.
The real problem is that programmers have spent far too much time worrying about efficiency in the wrong places and at the wrong times.
You should measure the time it takes to execute your algorithms.
It is better to have an approximate answer to the right problem than an exact answer to the wrong problem.
A programming language is a tool for expressing ideas.
The art of programming is the art of organizing complexity.
Good programmers know what to write. Great programmers know what to rewrite.
Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.