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Everything about Literate programming

Approach to software development

Literate programming (LP) is a programming paradigm introduced in 1984 by Donald Knuth in which a computer program is given as an explanation of how it works in a natural language, such as English, interspersed (embedded) with snippets of macros and traditional source code, from which compilable source code can be generated. The approach is used in scientific computing and in data science routinely for reproducible research and open access purposes. Literate programming tools are used by millions of programmers today. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: Literate programmingA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: teemi: An open-source literate programming approach for iterative design-build-test-learn cycles in bioengineeringInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: HamletThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: Literate ProgrammingCited 892 times
  5. Go sideways: Web (programming system)A closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: TeXA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

Noun A programming paradigm in which a program is given as an explanation of the program logic in a natural language (such as English), interspersed with snippets of macros and traditional source code, from which compilable representation can be generated.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. History and philosophy
  2. Concept
  3. Workflow
  4. Example
  5. Literate programming practices

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics