The Art of Computer Programming Volume 2
The Art of Computer Programming Volume 2 by Donald Knuthby Donald Knuth
Shares rank 9 of 28 computer science textbooks by recommenders
Praised for classical theorems, polynomial evaluation tricks and fascinating number topics; critics say it is too long, so start with the division chapter.
Praised for classical theorems, polynomial evaluation tricks and fascinating number topics; critics say it is too long, so start with the division chapter.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Covers long division and multiplication
“it has a section called 'How fast can we multiply?' it should provide more insight”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Mathematicians still don't know the fastest way to multiply numbers” “I recall fondly algorithm D... one of my first programming experiences in the 90s”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “A decades-old bug in Knuth's long division (TAOCP Vol II, Algorithm 4.3.1D)” “I found a bug in Algorithm D, the long division algorithm in Knuth's”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “A decades-old bug in Knuth's long division (TAOCP Vol II, Algorithm 4.3.1D)” Classical theorems and useful tricks
“it is a really interesting gathering of classical theorems and useful tricks to evaluate quickly polynomials”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Show HN: Compute polynomials twice as fast” “A nice course for this is of course TAOCP volume 2 old testament”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Online Book: Exploring Mathematics with Python”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Too many pages overall
“TAOCP from the beginning is too many pages. It would help to read the division algorithm chapter.”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “A decades-old bug in Knuth's long division (TAOCP Vol II, Algorithm 4.3.1D)” Bug reported in Algorithm D
“I found a bug in Algorithm D, the long division algorithm in Knuth's”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “A decades-old bug in Knuth's long division (TAOCP Vol II, Algorithm 4.3.1D)”
Other computer science textbooks people recommend
The four most recommended other computer science textbooks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programsby Abelson and Sussman | 55 | 5 | 92% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Art of Computer Programmingby Donald E. Knuth | 28 | 6 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programsby Abelson and Sussman | 12 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Quantum Computation and Quantum Informationby Nielsen and Chuang | 12 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Art of Computer Programming Volume 2by Donald KnuthThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it is a really interesting gathering of classical theorems and useful tricks to evaluate quickly polynomials”
“It's also an absolutely fascinating topic and will change the way you think about numbers.”
“TAOCP from the beginning is too many pages. It would help to read the division algorithm chapter.”
“I recall fondly algorithm D... one of my first programming experiences in the 90s”
“I found a bug in Algorithm D, the long division algorithm in Knuth's”
“it has a section called 'How fast can we multiply?' it should provide more insight”
“A nice course for this is of course TAOCP volume 2 old testament”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.