Computers & Typesetting, Volume D : Metafont: The Program

Rating:
Summary: Useful in ways you wouldn't imagine
Review: MF: The Program is a surprisingly readable batch of source code (at least partially co-written by John Hobby, by the way). Yes, you can reproduce (almost) the book from the source code (and get a printout that includes post-publication bugs fixes and enhancements), but it's not quite as convenient and lacks the page-by-page mini-indices. Whether the convenience is worth [the money] is up to you.

Where the book is especially helpful is for someone who's looking to see graphical algorithims spelled out by a master programmer in a literate and enteratining way. Me, I've got the full 5 volume set of TeX/MF books, but then, once upon a time, this was how I made my living.

Rating:
Summary: --
Review: Seven years after his 1979 landmark book "TEX and METAFONT" heralded a revolution that led to ubiquitous desktop publishing, Knuth published a set of five books on TEX, METAFONT, and typefaces.

His paedagogical purpose was to show off a new way to write and document computer programs -- "literate" programming. He published two sizeable PASCAL applications for computerized typesetting, inventing a documentation tool (CWEB) that eases programmer comprehension for debugging and maintenance while preserving the textual accuracy of the source code.

The peer review process implied by Knuth's demonstration, his careful attention to the tiniest details, and his gift of the source code to the public domain are all foundation stones of today's open source community.

This is hardly an introductory text on programming and very few of us read computer programs for fun. That said, a programmer with some experience could learn a great deal by thorough study and imitation of the master craftsmen (don't forget about John D. Hobby) at work here.