Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. How much knowing math well helps programmer?!

How much knowing math well helps programmer?!

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
questiondiscussion
88 Posts 49 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • H hakz code

    Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

    H Offline
    H Offline
    hairy_hats
    wrote on last edited by
    #11

    Which area of maths? Having a firm grasp of logic will be more important on a daily basis than being able to perform loop integrals.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • H hairy_hats

      But what is Art?

      K Offline
      K Offline
      Keith Barrow
      wrote on last edited by
      #12

      The shortest route to flipping burgers :)

      Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
      -Or-
      A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^]

      C 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • H hairy_hats

        But what is Art?

        T Offline
        T Offline
        TorstenH
        wrote on last edited by
        #13

        Art is overrated. Beside of that is programming a creative workflow. But not much more creative than a craftsmen's job.

        regards Torsten I never finish anyth...

        H 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • H hakz code

          Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

          D Offline
          D Offline
          Dalek Dave
          wrote on last edited by
          #14

          Algebra is important, other than that, general arithmatic is al you need unless you are developing for a very arcane discipline that requires obtuse and cryptic sums.

          ------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] Trolls[^]

          H 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • H hakz code

            Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

            R Offline
            R Offline
            rah_sin
            wrote on last edited by
            #15

            Without understanding maths you can not understand how to apply logic and entire programing is based on logic. rahul

            M 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • D Dalek Dave

              Algebra is important, other than that, general arithmatic is al you need unless you are developing for a very arcane discipline that requires obtuse and cryptic sums.

              ------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] Trolls[^]

              H Offline
              H Offline
              hairy_hats
              wrote on last edited by
              #16

              Dalek Dave wrote:

              unless you are developing for a very arcane discipline that requires obtuse and cryptic sums.

              Such as accounting, where very large sums on the Income sheet magically become small ones when moved to the Tax Due sheet.

              D 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • H hakz code

                Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

                D Offline
                D Offline
                David1987
                wrote on last edited by
                #17

                Not all area's of math help equally much, and it depends on the kind of program. Linear algebra knowledge is useful when doing 3D graphics but not so much outside of it. Knowledge of bitwise math is useful when optimizing for speed and in low level hardware access, but otherwise not often needed. I've never seen calculus skills being useful, and calculus is IMO best left to Wolfram Alpha, because it makes far fewer mistakes than you would. Personally I've found that when designing algorithms, knowing techniques used in other algorithms is more useful than math.

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • T TorstenH

                  Art is overrated. Beside of that is programming a creative workflow. But not much more creative than a craftsmen's job.

                  regards Torsten I never finish anyth...

                  H Offline
                  H Offline
                  hairy_hats
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #18

                  TorstenH. wrote:

                  Art is overrated.

                  A lot of art certainly is, but I don't think you can dismiss the total artistic output of the human race as overrated.

                  T 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • L Lost User

                    But logic is (a subset of) maths.

                    Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

                    M Offline
                    M Offline
                    musefan
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #19

                    I am not sure if you are for or against my comment with that one? However, there are multiple definitions of "Logic" so if you are against me then I meant one of the other ones :laugh:

                    My opinions are right, and yours are wrong! (or at least that is my opinion)

                    L 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • H hakz code

                      Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

                      P Offline
                      P Offline
                      PIEBALDconsult
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #20

                      About the hardest math I've ever needed was a little simple algebra to place something on the screen in the desired location. I don't consider myself good at math.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • L Lost User

                        Something you do to make yourself happy and then everyone else argues about whether it is shit or not.

                        Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

                        N Offline
                        N Offline
                        Nagy Vilmos
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #21

                        ChrisElston wrote:

                        Something you do to make yourself happy and then everyone else argues about whether it is sh*t or not.

                        Sounds like coding to me. :-D


                        Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • H Henry Minute

                          Mental block or deliberate error[^]?

                          Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.

                          Mike HankeyM Offline
                          Mike HankeyM Offline
                          Mike Hankey
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #22

                          Good eye. He does seem hung up on that word doesn't he?

                          I may be schizophrenic, but at least I have each other.

                          M 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • H Henry Minute

                            Mental block or deliberate error[^]?

                            Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is.

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            musefan
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #23

                            I will say that one is deliberate. I have a habit of using that one quite a lot when I mean though - personally I think it does the job so I am happy enough with that. I do tend to make a lot a grammar mistakes similar to this though (2 extra seconds wasted they're :)) and that just comes with typing what I think and not taking time to look back at the context of the words. Knowing how picky you all are over grammar thou, I know that you will all understand exactly what I am trying to say anyway, so proof reading before I post is a waste of time

                            My opinions are right, and yours are wrong! (or at least that is my opinion)

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • H hairy_hats

                              TorstenH. wrote:

                              Art is overrated.

                              A lot of art certainly is, but I don't think you can dismiss the total artistic output of the human race as overrated.

                              T Offline
                              T Offline
                              TorstenH
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #24

                              Art can just be valued on rating it. Most times the pure piece of art is not much - but as it gets rated it becomes "something special".

                              regards Torsten I never finish anyth...

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • H hakz code

                                Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

                                T Offline
                                T Offline
                                Tim Carmichael
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #25

                                Depending on the type of work being performed, math may be very important. Working in a manufacturing environment, I use math every day to: determine the volume of a product produced (massive rolls of paper) determine the volume of a product in a cylinder (natural gas or LPG) Since we are a multi-national company, we are also required to convert between US and Metric systems and be able to report in either. Paper can be measured in pounds per ream (a standard size) or grams per square metre. Understanding the math, and hence the equation, is absolutely required. Tim

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • M musefan

                                  I am not sure if you are for or against my comment with that one? However, there are multiple definitions of "Logic" so if you are against me then I meant one of the other ones :laugh:

                                  My opinions are right, and yours are wrong! (or at least that is my opinion)

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #26

                                  You said maths is not required, but logic is. Therefore your comment made no sense. Unless of course you meant philosophical logic rather than mathematical logic. In which case you are lacking in logic because you do not fully understand the argument we are having.

                                  Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

                                  M D 2 Replies Last reply
                                  0
                                  • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

                                    Good eye. He does seem hung up on that word doesn't he?

                                    I may be schizophrenic, but at least I have each other.

                                    M Offline
                                    M Offline
                                    musefan
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #27

                                    Yes, I was physically abused with a copy of Hamlet as a child. My shrink says that is the reason I use it so much... I often have to see a shrink in to keep my grammar in check you see

                                    My opinions are right, and yours are wrong! (or at least that is my opinion)

                                    Mike HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • H hairy_hats

                                      Dalek Dave wrote:

                                      unless you are developing for a very arcane discipline that requires obtuse and cryptic sums.

                                      Such as accounting, where very large sums on the Income sheet magically become small ones when moved to the Tax Due sheet.

                                      D Offline
                                      D Offline
                                      Dalek Dave
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #28

                                      And where Fees are a discipline all on their own! :) [Evil Laugh]

                                      ------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] Trolls[^]

                                      H 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • H hakz code

                                        Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

                                        I Offline
                                        I Offline
                                        Ian Shlasko
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #29

                                        Aside from the obvious need to understand logic, you need to have a firm grasp of algebra in many cases... Trigonometry and geometry are useful for graphics or game programming, but not that important for anything else. Calculus, you probably don't need, unless you're doing REALLY advanced stuff, like market trading algorithms or maybe some kinds of scientific research... EDIT: Ok, maybe Trig and Geometry have other uses (Seeing Tim's post above mine)... But if you're only using it that infrequently, you can probably just look up the formulas.

                                        Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
                                        Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • H hakz code

                                          Recently I had a fun discussion with my colleague(he works on algorithms) on this topic, thought you guys would give some insight.

                                          J Offline
                                          J Offline
                                          Joan M
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #30

                                          I think that the most appropiate answer here falls in the category of "depending on the task to be accomplished". :rose:

                                          [www.tamelectromecanica.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups