HAKMEM, alternatively known as AI Memo 239, is a February 1972 "memo" (
technical report
A technical report (also scientific report) is a document that describes the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem. It might also include recommendations and co ...
) of the
MIT AI Lab
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is a research institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) formed by the 2003 merger of the Laboratory for Computer Science (LCS) and the Artificial Intelligence La ...
containing a wide variety of
hack
Hack may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game
* ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack''
Music
* ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...
s, including useful and clever
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...
s for mathematical computation, some
number theory
Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic function, integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777â ...
and
schematic diagram
A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic usually omits all details that are not relevant to the key information the sc ...
s for hardware
– in
Guy L. Steele's words, "a bizarre and eclectic potpourri of technical trivia".
Contributors included about two dozen members and associates of the AI Lab. The title of the report is short for "hacks memo", abbreviated to six upper case characters that would fit in a single
PDP-10
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)'s PDP-10, later marketed as the DECsystem-10, is a mainframe computer family manufactured beginning in 1966 and discontinued in 1983. 1970s models and beyond were marketed under the DECsystem-10 name, especi ...
machine word (using a six-bit character set).
History
HAKMEM is notable as an early compendium of
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...
ic technique, particularly for its practical bent, and as an illustration of the wide-ranging interests of AI Lab people of the time, which included almost anything other than AI research.
HAKMEM contains original work in some fields, notably
continued fraction
In mathematics, a continued fraction is an expression (mathematics), expression obtained through an iterative process of representing a number as the sum of its integer part and the multiplicative inverse, reciprocal of another number, then writ ...
s.
Introduction
:Compiled with the hope that a record of the random things people do around here can save some duplication of effort -- except for fun.
:Here is some little known data which may be of interest to computer hacker
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
s. The items and examples are so sketchy that to decipher them may require more sincerity and curiosity than a non-hacker can muster. Doubtless, little of this is new, but nowadays it's hard to tell. So we must be content to give you an insight, or save you some cycles, and to welcome further contributions of items, new or used.
See also
*
Hacker's Delight
''Hacker's Delight'' is a software algorithm book by Henry S. Warren, Jr. first published in 2002. It presents fast bit-level and low-level arithmetic algorithms for common tasks such as counting bits or improving speed of division by using m ...
*
AI Memo
AI is artificial intelligence, intellectual ability in machines and robots.
Ai, AI or A.I. may also refer to:
Animals
* Ai (chimpanzee), an individual experimental subject in Japan
* Ai (sloth) or the pale-throated sloth, northern Amazonian ma ...
References
External links
Its official record at the DSpace@MIT's AI Memos collection* {{citation , title=HAKMEM , author-first1=Michael , author-last1=Beeler , author-first2=Ralph William , author-last2=Gosper , author-link2=Bill Gosper , author-first3=Richard C. , author-last3=Schroeppel , author-link3=Richard C. Schroeppel , contribution=compilation , contributor-first1=Richard C. , contributor-last1=Schroeppel , contributor-link1=Richard C. Schroeppel , contributor-last2=Orman , contributor-first2=Hilarie K. , date=1972-02-29 , publisher=
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA , edition=retyped & converted (April 1995) , editor-first=Henry , editor-last=Baker , id=MIT AI Memo 239 , type=report , url=http://home.pipeline.com/~hbaker1/hakmem/hakmem.html , access-date=2016-01-02 , archive-date=2019-10-08 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008012414/http://home.pipeline.com/~hbaker1/hakmem/hakmem.html , url-status=dead
HAKMEM facsimile (PDF)searchable version
Algorithms
Computer science papers
1972 in Massachusetts
Memoranda
February 1972 events in the United States
History of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology