The Art of Computer Programming
The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuthby Donald Knuth
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 28 computer science textbooks by recommenders
Donald Knuth's multi-volume classic on algorithms, praised for rigor, depth and lasting relevance; critics say its MIX pseudo-assembly language feels dated.
Donald Knuth's multi-volume classic on algorithms, praised for rigor, depth and lasting relevance; critics say its MIX pseudo-assembly language feels dated.
34 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 28
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 28 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 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
Timeless fundamentals that stay relevant
“It's the only thing he could've done if he wanted the books to stand the test of time”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth” “it is about the fundamentals of computation which don't really change”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: What is it like being in a CS major program these days?” “I read the timeless books of our craft (e.g., TAOCP)”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Is it just me or techno-optimism died in the past few years?” - Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore”
- Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “The cleaner: One woman's mission to help Britain's hoarders”
- Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: What is it like being in a CS major program these days?”
Beautiful, clear algorithms and data structures
“Don is trying to make the algorithms understandable and correct, and by hiding some details that are handled efficiently by compilers, it benefits the human reader.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth” “there are many beautiful algorithms (such as the ones in Knuths books) that are more beautiful than any music for me personally”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Learning to code is still worthwhile” “The combinatorial algorithms and data structures are just fascinating.”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “"Code was never the hard part" is an insult to all programmers” - Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Mathematicians still don't know the fastest way to multiply numbers”
Influential series, widely respected
“One of the most important series ever written in the history of computer science”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Programming is Art” “one of the most influential and comprehensive series of books on the subject”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Good developers learn to program. Most courses teach a language” Enjoyable to read and dip into
“when I open it from time to time and read through some sections, it can be a lot of fun”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth” “a wonderful read that breaks up tough sections with humor”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
MIX pseudo-assembly language feels dated
“MIX assumes a single accumulator register for arithmetic, which hasn't been a common processor architecture since around the 1980s.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth” “I never liked that code examples were in a pseudo assembly language.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth” “his pseudo-assembler is arcane”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth” Often bought but rarely read
“Yet nobody reads it. But it looks nice on the shelf!”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Programming is Art” “Gave up reading TAOCP because of it.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: What is it like being in a CS major program these days?”
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 Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman and Julie Sussman | 55 | 5 | 92% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Art of Computer Programmingby Donald KnuthThis page | 28 | 6 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programsby Abelson and Sussman | 12 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Quantum Computation and Quantum Informationby Michael A. Nielsen and Isaac L. Chuang and CAMBRIDGE INDIA | 12 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Digital Design and Computer Architectureby Sarah Harris and David Money Harris | 8 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
34 of the 40 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Sad that people aren't giving a shit about it any longer.”
“Yet nobody reads it. But it looks nice on the shelf!”
“One of the most important series ever written in the history of computer science”
“Wow, congratulations on finding this most epic bug!”
“The combinatorial algorithms and data structures are just fascinating.”
“This is one of my favorite section of TAOCP!”
“Educational books are an investment in the future”
“you could buy groceries for 6 months on that price”
“he specs the machine. It does exactly what he says it does.”
“it does sap the treatise of its supposedly timeless quality”
“TAoCP is not a handbook-like book, it is well beyond that.”
“Don is trying to make the algorithms understandable and correct, and by hiding some details that are handled efficiently by compilers, it benefits the human reader.”
“his pseudo-assembler is arcane”
“Now, half a century later, he is chickening out”
“when I open it from time to time and read through some sections, it can be a lot of fun”
“MIX assumes a single accumulator register for arithmetic, which hasn't been a common processor architecture since around the 1980s.”
“It's the only thing he could've done if he wanted the books to stand the test of time”
“given the timespan and the focus on completely analysis of running times and not just asymptotics, in the end maybe it wasn't so terrible a choice”
“There are M/MIX assemblers and interpreters you can download and run - in some ways they're better than "real" programming languages”
“a wonderful read that breaks up tough sections with humor”
“I never liked that code examples were in a pseudo assembly language.”
“I'm really happy to have it in my library.”
“They're really good quality though”
“there are many beautiful algorithms (such as the ones in Knuths books) that are more beautiful than any music for me personally”
“The stuff in those books will never get old”
“they are a gorgeous set of books and I am so happy he did this”
“I found it incredibly useful, but obviously YMMV.”
“one of the most influential and comprehensive series of books on the subject”
“Gave up reading TAOCP because of it.”
“it is about the fundamentals of computation which don't really change”
“my Knuth volumes remain relevant”
“Most underlying technology is timeless”
“I would feel much safer taking a passage from Knuth at face value than a comparable LLM passage on algorithms.”
“I read the timeless books of our craft (e.g., TAOCP)”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.