# Structured Programming with go to Statements by Donald Knuth

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Structured Programming with go to Statements by Donald Knuth and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend reading the full paper, the source of a widely quoted sentiment, and call it a lovely read. One critic finds it hard to read.

## Why people recommend it

- Source of a widely quoted sentiment (4 comments): "Pro tip: You can skip to the very end of the article to get to this sentiment without losing context." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47851351)) "You can skip to the very end of the article to get to this sentiment without losing context." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47849636)) "I really encourage people to read the Donald Knuth essay that features this sentiment." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47849520))
- Worth reading in full (4 comments): "I really encourage people to read the Donald Knuth essay that features this sentiment." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47849520)) "just reading the Knuth article the quote is from might bring similar insights" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49499234)) "I'd recommend everyone who uses the phrase reads the rest of the paper" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47425034))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Windows 95 User Interface: A Case Study in Usability Engineering by Microsoft](https://hackerapproved.com/p/windows-95-user-interface-a-case-study-in-usability-engineering.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Structured Programming with go to Statements by Donald Knuth", https://hackerapproved.com/p/structured-programming-with-go-to-statements/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).