Yeah as you say it's just opinion/preference, but re:
> source code is the primary source of understanding a concept, and English text is just an accompanying explanation, not the other way round
note that most algorithms in TAOCP are only described in English (pseudocode), no (MIX) source code. (So if you want source code as primary you simply won't find it… but then again, a typical algorithm textbook like CLRS also would have only pseudocode).
The TAOCP pseudocode is also in a unique style that's not similar to modern programming languages — e.g. here's a note that Knuth wrote just earlier this year: https://cs.stanford.edu/~knuth/papers/cvm-note.pdf explaining (and generalizing/correcting) in his own style, the algorithm from a recent paper (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.10191v1.pdf): compare how the algorithm is described in Knuth (first page) vs the paper (second page): Knuth is simultaneously more high-level and more low-level (and also uses “goto” rather than “structured programming” for-loops, about which heretical preference of his I can write a long essay some other time :D).
It is possible to have different opinions about which one is the best way to learn the stuff today, but clearly Knuth rewrote it in his style because he thought it was better. ;)
> source code is the primary source of understanding a concept, and English text is just an accompanying explanation, not the other way round
note that most algorithms in TAOCP are only described in English (pseudocode), no (MIX) source code. (So if you want source code as primary you simply won't find it… but then again, a typical algorithm textbook like CLRS also would have only pseudocode).
The TAOCP pseudocode is also in a unique style that's not similar to modern programming languages — e.g. here's a note that Knuth wrote just earlier this year: https://cs.stanford.edu/~knuth/papers/cvm-note.pdf explaining (and generalizing/correcting) in his own style, the algorithm from a recent paper (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.10191v1.pdf): compare how the algorithm is described in Knuth (first page) vs the paper (second page): Knuth is simultaneously more high-level and more low-level (and also uses “goto” rather than “structured programming” for-loops, about which heretical preference of his I can write a long essay some other time :D).
It is possible to have different opinions about which one is the best way to learn the stuff today, but clearly Knuth rewrote it in his style because he thought it was better. ;)