Digital Typography (Volume 78)

by Donald Ervin Knuth

In this collection, the second in the series, Knuth explores the relationship between computers and typography. The present volume, in the words of the author, is a legacy to all the work he has done on typography. When he thought he would take a few years' leave from his main work on the art of computer programming, as is well known, the short typographic detour lasted more than a decade. When type designers, punch cutters, typographers, book historians, and scholars visited the University during this period, it gave to Stanford what some consider to be its golden age of digital typography. By the author's own admission, the present work is one of the most difficult books that he has prepared. This is truly a work that only Knuth himself could have produced.

Genres: Programming, Art, Computer Science, Design, Computers, Reference

685 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Donald Ervin Knuth, born January 10th 1938, is a renowned computer scientist and Professor Emeritus of the Art of Computer Programming at Stanford University.

Author of the seminal multi-volume work The Art of Computer Programming ("TAOCP"), Knuth has been called the "father" of the analysis of algorithms, contributing to the development of, and systematizing formal mathematical techniques for, the rigorous analysis of the computational complexity of algorithms, and in the process popularizing asymptotic notation.

In addition to fundamental contributions in several branches of theoretical computer science, Knuth is the creator of the TeX computer typesetting system, the related METAFONT font definition language and rendering system, and the Computer Modern family of typefaces.

A prolific writer and scholar, Knuth created the WEB/CWEB computer programming systems designed to encourage and facilitate literate programming, and designed the MMIX instruction set architecture.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago (probably 2004?) and I didn't read the whole thing... since it's a Knuth book I'd be lying if I said I did. Still, it's an interesting book, the highlight for me was the included correspondence back and forth between Knuth and Hermann Zapf about font design. It also goes in depth on the dynamic programming algorithms TeX uses to do typesetting, so if you're a big-brain-type and you have tons of excess time on your hands you can sit and study those. However, you can skip past the highly technical parts and still get a good understanding of how TeX creates beautiful documents.

[Asher Mancinelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first few papers (which were wonderful), though the latter chapters dig into more typesetting detail than I imagine is useful in the written format; at some point, one might as well read the code of the TeX engine itself. This was wonderful, and his passion for well-set documents shines through.

Some other chapters were extremely short and delightful; they demonstrate how his passion for typesetting wove its way into every part of his life. Especially the chapter about how he typeset one of his wife’s family recipes.

[Graham Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knuth's passion and attention to detail are inspiring. The thread running through this book goes "I have a problem, I have a computer, I think this problem can be solved using a computer".