Knuth was writing in an era when scientific programs tended to be dominated by inner loops. There was an input part, a compute part that did some number-crunching, and an output part. Only performance in the compute part mattered.
Many programs today have no inner loop. Compilers were the first important programs that didn't. Most interactive programs have an outer loop processing events, rather than an inner compute loop.
Note that "AI" programs are much more like the scientific problems of Knuth's era. All the compute is in tight loops wrangling matrices.
Many programs today have no inner loop. Compilers were the first important programs that didn't. Most interactive programs have an outer loop processing events, rather than an inner compute loop.
Note that "AI" programs are much more like the scientific problems of Knuth's era. All the compute is in tight loops wrangling matrices.