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Art of Computer Programming, Volume 2: Seminumerical Algorithms (3rd Edition) 3rd Edition

by
Donald E. Knuth (Author)
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Donald E. Knuth (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars 14 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 078-5342896848
ISBN-10: 0201896842
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 784 pages
  • Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 3 edition (November 14, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0201896842
  • ISBN-13: 978-0201896848
  • Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.8 x 9.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Numbers: random generations and arithmetic
By Vincent Poirier on August 9, 2006
Format: Hardcover
Volume 2 of "The Art of Computer Programming" is about random numbers and also about relearning one of the three Rs from grade school, viz. arithmetic. Each topic gets one chapter.

When you generate random numbers in Excel, or VBA, or Perl, or C using functions packaged with the software, you are really using a deterministic algorithm that is not random at all; the results do however look random and so we call them "pseudorandom".

Chapter 3 contains four main sections. First a section devoted to the linear congruence method (Xn+1=(aXn + c) mod m) of generating a pseudorandom sequence; with subsections on how to choose good values for a, c, and m. Second we get a section about how to test sequences to find if they are acceptably random or not. Third we find a section on other methods, expanding on linear congruence. Finally in a particularly fascinating section, DK provides a rigorous definition of randomness.

I haven't looked much at chapter 4 yet, on arithmetic. In it Knuth covers positional arithmetic, floating point arithmetic, multiplication and division at the machine level, prime numbers and efficient ways of investigating the primeness of very large numbers.

Again, DK is thorough and methodical. Again this is not a for dummies book. Again it is about theorems, algorithms, mechanical processes, and timeless truths. Again the exercises are a fascinating blend of the practical (investigate the random generating functions on the computers in your office) to the mathematical (he asks readers to formally prove many of the theorems he cites). And yes, again Knuth uses MIX, that wonderfully archaic fictional 60s machine language. But that should not stop readers; I use Perl.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Can we shave a constant off this running time?
By A Customer on April 3, 1998
Format: Hardcover
To an ordinary computer scienist, an algorithm is polynomial-time. To Knuth, it takes 3*n^2 + 17*x + 5 steps on MIX, not counting the time required to display the output, but there might be a way to reduce the number of steps to 3*n^2 + 17*x + 4. For precision and rigor, the Art of Computer Programming books are hard to beat. But, at least for an undergraduate CS student like me, they are slow going. Their greatest value seems to be as a reference for mathematical ideas needed in analysis of algorithms: recurrence relations, combinatorial identities, etc. Like the Bible, the TAOCP books are good to have around even if you don't plan to read them.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
State of the art reference for computer scientists
By Henrik Sandin on October 7, 1997
Format: Hardcover
This book offers a stringent treatment of random number generators and algorithms not found anywhere else. It is particularly valuable for those that deal with encryption and the analysis of cyphers. The exercises add admirably to the text. References to other books in the field are extensive. The book is written in a non-wordy, but still very readable style, making it accessible to serious computer scientists at all levels. A mathematical background is necessary.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating
By A Customer on March 5, 1998
Format: Hardcover
Of course this is a classic programming text, but the book is fascinating from a mathematical point as well. The discussion of random number generation is worth the price alone. Also neat is the discussion of why numbers with lower initial digits are 'more common' in practice than those with higher initial digits, a topic I've never seen treated elsewhere.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Difficult book, great source for exercises.
By A Customer on April 1, 1998
Format: Hardcover
Knuth's presentation is obscure and difficult, but he's awfully comprehensive. If you want to learn algorithms, or even if you're looking for a reference, there are many better choices (especially Introduction to Algorithms, the CLR book). That said, I can't point to a more thorough book. Among other things, The Art of Computer Programming series is a great source of problems if you're teaching, learning, or just looking for fun. It might be worth the price just for that.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Well, it's Knuth
By A Customer on March 25, 1998
Format: Hardcover
These volumes are considered first-class references on the subject of computing and algorithms. And they are... but these aren't really books to read. Nobody has time for that. However, for those computer scientists that really are hard up for something to read one of those rainy nights, Knuth has a personal flair and humor that spills into his algorithm summaries and exercises that is unsurpassed, at least in the field of CS handbooks. An excellent source for solutions to commonly asked questions and problems.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Simply excellent
By aj on November 11, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
It is simply excellent. Also, the paper and print quality are excellent. Commenting on the paper may sound trivial, but I just received an expensive textbook that looks like a fourth-generation photocopy.
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