Author of The Art of Computer Programming. TEX and he is the creator of METAFONT. The strangest software ever He is the inventor of the version control system. He is known for many reasons, but he is famous for several reasons. Donald Ervin Knuth is indeed a legend in his lifetime.
His book series The Art of Computer Programming ['TAOCP'] was first published in 1968. It's still in production. Volumes 1 to 3 are sold at bookstores nationwide, and Volume 5 is scheduled to appear in 2010. Pre-order now. With Volume 5 complete, Donald thinks it's time to overhaul Volumes 1-3. Don't expect this any time soon.
Knuth offers $2.56 to anyone who finds an error in his published work. Why $2.56? Because, of course, that's the number of pennies on a dollar in hexadecimal.
Probably the most famous and respected computer of all time.While he wrote science texts, served as a retired professor, worked as an accomplished organist, and won numerous awards, Knuth developed his TEX software and spawned his METAFONT language.
The version control system used in his work is unique and somewhat unique. Newer versions of TEX are numbered with versions closer to pi. Similarly, METAFONT z's version control system. Once Knuth leaves this realm, development of the software and language will cease and all remaining bugs will remain as "features". This seems to be the inspiration behind much of the development of the Windows operating system, which contains more and more interesting "features".
Quote from the author:
"Please note the error in the code above. I have only proven it, I have not tried it."
