3 ms·

Thanks that's a great idea. I'm more worried about the time investment than the cost of the book. But giving it a go is probably the best way to find out.

• adastra22 4y ago
  Just skim it and read a section or two to see for yourself. It's been more than a decade since I read any of it, but IIRC it's a from-first-principles build up of theoretical computer science. Basic algorithms, stuff like that. It is foundational, but it is also common knowledge and covered in tons of other very good textbooks. I usually recommend people read "Algorithms" by Sedgewick instead.
  • slavapestov 4y ago
    > I usually recommend people read "Algorithms" by Sedgewick instead. I mean, they’re not really comparable. One will teach you computer science and algorithms. The other will tell you about Bernoulli numbers and the Gamma function, with a historical aside about the solution to the cubic equation, and then show you a neat trick for encoding some linked list manipulation in a handful of instructions on a fantasy CPU.
    • adastra22 4y ago
      You are correct. Let me rephrase: if, like OP, you are a working professional wondering if you should get a firmer foundation in your field by reading Knuth, my recommendation would be to read Sedgewick first. (Or one of many other comparable works; Sedgwick is just the one I used.) The useful, practical knowledge is roughly the same in both works. But Knuth comes at it from a very unique, principled, ab initio perspective that is perhaps more valuable if you want to go into academic research.