Re: XEmacs, TeX, and Re: Lengthy Debian install procedures
>On Wed, Sep 30, 1998 at 09:27:29PM -0500, john@dhh.gt.org wrote:
>>
>> I agree. It's too bad that he wasted time that he could have spent
>> finishing _The Art of Computer Programming_ on trivia like typesetting.
>
>It's just that he realized that typesetting isn't trivia at all, but very
>interesting. And, IMHO, he was interested in it as an art. And furthermore,
>he tried some interesting Meta-ness on it, influencing a lot of geniuses
>(for example, Douglas Hofstadter).
>
>However, he is a mathematician, and, there was no typesetting systems for
>mathematicians only a few years ago. Books were written with a typing
>machine, and symbols added manually. Ever read some of those higher math
>books from the time before TeX was available? It's a pain to read them. TeX
>was a major relief for all scientists all over the world.
>
>And, he's still living, last time I checked, and is still working on TAOCP,
>very concentrated, as he says. Please see for more info:
>http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth
>
Also, Addison-Wessley just rerpublished TAOCP redone in TeX. Sent my father
a free set to have. :)
Shaya
Reply to: