Digital Typography (Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes) by Knuth, Donald E.(June 1, 1998) Paperback

by Donald Ervin Knuth

Donald Knuth's influence in computer-science ranges from the mathematical analysis of algorithms to the invention of literate programming. His award-winning textbooks have become classics that are often credited for shaping the field; his scientifc papers are widely referenced and stand as milestones of development over a wide range of topics. In the present volume, the third in a series of his collected works, Knuth explores the relationship between computers and typography. For more than a decade during the crucial formative years of the desktop publishing revolution, he directed a project that brought type designers, punch cutters, typographers, book historians, and scholars to Stanford University and led to what some consider the golden age of digital typography. Knuth regards the present work as his legacy to that field, in celebration of an enormously exciting period of research. Many of the papers reprinted here introduced new technologies at the time they were first printed, and they can be published today only with the help of an astonishing collection of software that has been developed during the past twenty years. This is truly a work that only Knuth himself could have produced.

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

Unknown Binding

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".