Knuth's multivolume work, widely recognized as the definitive description of classical computer science, is now available in an attractive, boxed set. The three volumes included in this set have each been revised recently to reflect developments in the field. As earlier editions clearly demonstrated, they comprise an invaluable resource in programming theory and practice for students, researchers, and practitioners alike. Countless readers have spoken about the profound personal influence of Knuth's work. Scientists have marveled at the beauty and elegance of his analysis, while ordinary programmers have successfully applied his "cookbook" solutions to their day-to-day problems. All have admired Knuth for the breadth, clarity, accuracy, and good humor found in his books.

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This multivolume work on the analysis of algorithms has long been recognized as the definitive description of classical computer science. The three complete volumes published to date already comprise a unique and invaluable resource in programming theory and practice. Countless readers have spoken about the profound personal influence of Knuth’s writings. Scientists have marveled at the beauty and elegance of his analysis, while practicing programmers have successfully applied his “cookbook” solutions to their day-to-day problems. All have admired Knuth for the breadth, clarity, accuracy, and good humor found in his books.

 

To begin the fourth and later volumes of the set, and to update parts of the existing three, Knuth has created a series of small books called fascicles, which will be published at regular intervals. Each fascicle will encompass a section or more of wholly new or revised material. Ultimately, the content of these fascicles will be rolled up into the comprehensive, final versions of each volume, and the enormous undertaking that began in 1962 will be complete.

 

Volume 4, Fascicle 1

This fascicle, enlivened by a wealth of Knuth’s typically enjoyable examples, describes basic “broadword” operations and an important class of data structures that can make computer programs run dozens–even thousands–of times faster. The author brings together and explains a substantial amount of previously scattered but eminently practical information known only to a few specialists. The book also includes nearly five-hundred exercises for self-study, with detailed answers given in nearly every case; dozens of these exercises present original material that has never before been published. Simply put, this fascicle is a must-have for anybody who is faced with tough problems of a combinatorial flavor. It demonstrates how ordinary programmers can make use of powerful techniques that heretofore seemed to be available only to people who used specialized languages and software. It shows how ideas once thought to be “far out” are now ready to become a part of the programming mainstream.

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The Stanford GraphBase: A Platform for Combinatorial Computing represents the first efforts of Donald E. Knuth's preparation for Volume Four of The Art of Computer Programming. The book's first goal is to use examples to demonstrate the art of literate programming. Each example provides a programmatic essay that can be read and enjoyed as readily as it can be interpreted by machines. In these essays/programs, Knuth makes new contributions to several important algorithms and data structures, so the programs are of special interest for their content as well as for their style. The book's second goal is to provide a useful means for comparing combinatorial algorithms and for evaluating methods of combinatorial computing. To this end, Knuth's programs offer standard, freely available sets of data - the Stanford GraphBase - that may be used as benchmarks to test competing methods. The data sets are both interesting in themselves and applicable to a wide variety of problem domains. With objective tests, Knuth hopes to bridge the gap between theoretical computer scientists and programmers who have real problems to solve. As with all of Knuth's writings, this book is appreciated not only for the author's unmatched insight, but also for the fun and the challenge of his work. He illustrates many of the most significant and most beautiful combinatorial algorithms that are presently known and provides sample programs that can lead to hours of amusement. In showing how the Stanford GraphBase can generate an almost inexhaustible supply of challenging problems, some of which may lead to the discovery of new and improved algorithms, Knuth proposes friendly competitions. His own initial entries into such competitions are included in the book, and readers are challenged to do better. Features *Includes new contributions to our understanding of important algorithms and data structures *Provides a standard tool for evaluating combinatorial algorithms *Demonstrates a more readable, more practical style of programming *Challenges readers to surpass his own efficient algorithms 0201542757B04062001...