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Rather start with Concrete Mathematics (also by Knuth and friends). If you don’t like that book, you will probably hate TAOCP. It also covers the requisite math
by laichzeit0 7y ago
Rather start with Concrete Mathematics (also by Knuth and friends). If you don’t like that book, you will probably hate TAOCP. It also covers the requisite mathematics that you’ll need for working through TAOCP.
- Jtsummers 7y agoI like Concrete Mathematics, and jumped into it while going through Chapter 1 of TAOCP. However, I wouldn't consider an opinion of CM when considering TAOCP. The first part of Chapter 1 of TAOCP is very math heavy. Concrete Mathematics was developed from a course meant to expand on that content and prepare students better for it. While the style is very similar between the two books (Knuth was an author of both, of course), the content is very different. TAOCP is probably more accessible to programmers who have an aversion or difficulty with the math in Concrete Mathematics and shouldn't turn away just because a math book is challenging or not their interest.