If you’re a corporate programmer, TeX is worth studying closely because it is like something from another dimension:
- you can take a math paper written in the 80s, typeset it today, and get identical output. Try that with a random C or C++ program and Clang
- the TeXbook is one of the best manuals for any piece of software ever. Compare that to your README.md
- a second book “TeX: the program” lays out the entire source code side by side with detailed explanations and cross references. Note that all of the code *fits* in a single book. Compare that to your million-line codebase with no comments that nobody understands
Slava Pestov
npub1t2…82wfh
2026-10-28 12:21:36 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…2hfe
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