Donald Knuth was framed (buttondown.email)

Article summary

The article discusses the concept of literate programming, introduced by Donald Knuth, and how it was demonstrated through a programming example. The example was criticized by Douglas McIlroy, who provided a simpler solution using shell scripting. However, the article argues that Knuth's example was misrepresented and that his goal was to demonstrate the literate programming technique, not to provide the most efficient solution. The article also explores the differences between Knuth's and McIlroy's approaches and their implications for programming.

Main themes

• Literate Programming
• Programming Techniques
• Software Development
• Code Readability
• Efficiency
• JavaScript and Archiving
• Programming Philosophy
• Industry Dynamics

What commenters say

• The criticism of Knuth's example is unfair because it was meant to demonstrate literate programming, not provide the most efficient solution.
• McIlroy's shell script solution is more practical and efficient than Knuth's example.
• The comparison between Knuth's and McIlroy's approaches is misleading because they were solving different problems.
• Literate programming is a valuable technique that can improve code readability and maintainability.
• The use of shell scripting can be a more efficient and effective way to solve certain problems.
• The article's title is clickbait and does not accurately reflect the content of the article.
• The web's reliance on JavaScript is making it difficult for archive.org to preserve website content.
• The dynamic between programmers wanting to build perfect tools and businesses needing quick and dirty solutions is a common theme in the industry.