I'm in the process of (very slowly) trying to learn how to program. I havent actually gotten on to learning a fully-fledged programing language yet as i'm trying to become competent at a few scripting languages first to get the feel of it (learning XHTML at the mo). anyway, my question is:

 

What branch(es) of mathematics do I need to study in order to be able to program, and to what level do I need to become proficient?

It depends on what you want to program . Basic programming doesn't require much maths, however most computer scientist have at least some knowledge of discrete mathematics, which is closely tied to the language of the computer.

You should be good at algebra but anything more advanced is not really required unless your programs demand so. What is it you plan on creating?

You should be good at algebra but anything more advanced is not really required unless your programs demand so. What is it you plan on creating?

 

I'd agree with you, most of the time just basic mathematics and algebra are all you'll need unless your doing somethign specialist then the more advanced stuff may be required.

 

Programming languages tend to handle all the maths themselves

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

Classic Euclidean geometry. I say that because Euclidean geometry, the way it use to be taught in the old days was one of the best introductions to procedural logic that one could have. I mostly drew on the cognitive skills that I learned there when I started to learn FORTRAN.

back in college, in one of my computer sceince class, one of my classmates was a math major with a minor in computer science. So if you really like to program, I recommand you minor in computer sceince. And the programming languages I recommand are C, C++, and perhaps Java or C#. Scripting languages I recomamnd are PHP and Perl.

 

goodluck

to get the basics down, you should be competant in algebra and problem solving. You should be able to take something you want to do, then figure out steps to the solution. If you get frustrated very easily by word problems in your math classes, then you'll probably get frustrated when writing programs.

Cheers all

 

You should be good at algebra but anything more advanced is not really required unless your programs demand so. What is it you plan on creating?

hmm... actually, i just like learning, and computer programing intrests me. I hadn't actually thought ahead to what i'd wright. Im taking an online course in malware removal, so i might try to wright a few removal tools for individual infections of the more tricky malwares, and possibly a few little computer games (cos i love rpg's).

 

----------

 

As for first language... i was thinking java (mainly 'cos it's free)... does that sound like a good first language?

if you plan to do some 3D graphics programming, linear algebra is helpful

^^ umm... vectors, line equasions, geometry and related gubbins?

^^ umm... vectors, line equasions, geometry and related gubbins?

 

 

Matricies are used quite a bit I'm told by my comp sci buddies when to run to me for teh maths help...

yes, linear algebra is mostly vectors and matrices, and is especially useful in defining light interactions, collision detection, etc.

When I was in college the friends of mine that were majoring in comp sci had to take calculus and linear algebra. The classes were just so you knew how to work with vectors and matrices.

I don't think there is real use for maths in general software engineering.

 

If you're creating software for an avionics system, then mathematics plays a much more important role

(e.g. calculating trajectory would need advanced understanding of parabolas and other such mathematical modelling).

Math is not implicitly needed to program. Most programming languages are similar as they consist of

- sequences of commands,

- conditions (branching),

- loops.

 

XHTML is not a programming language, it's a document description language.

If you don't want to install a programming environment you could try Javascript which can be edited with a text editor and runs in your web browser.