On 4/11/2012 6:03 AM, Antti J Ylikoski wrote:
I wrote about a straightforward way to program D. E. Knuth in Python,
and received an excellent communcation about programming Deterministic
Finite Automata (Finite State Machines) in Python.
The following stems from my Knuth in Python programming exercises,
according to that very good communication. (By Roy Smith.)
I'm in the process of delving carefully into Knuth's brilliant and
voluminous work The Art of Computer Programming, Parts 1--3 plus the
Fascicles in Part 4 -- the back cover of Part 1 reads:
"If you think you're a really good programmer -- read [Knuth's] Art of
Computer Programming... You should definitely send me a résumé if you
can read the whole thing." -- Bill Gates.
(Microsoft may in the future receive some e-mail from me.)
You don't need those books as much as you used to.
You don't have to write collections, hash tables, and sorts much
any more. Those are solved problems and there are good libraries.
Most of the basics are built into Python.
Serious programmers should read those books, much as they should
read von Neumann's "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC", for
background on how things work down at the bottom. But they're
no longer essential desk references for most programmers.
John Nagle
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