A question about programming and math

[Archbishop99]

I am about to start taking college classes to get my programming degree. I heard that alot of math is used (advanced math such as algebra and calculus) alot in programming. Is that true? And if it is would me learning just algebra and not calculus be a big disadvantage?

 

[DavesTips]

While there are areas of programming where maths is required, the majority of normal commercial programming requires little more than +-*/. OTOH, they'll pump you full of computing theory anyway, I would say... Hope that this helped!

 

[chiph]

I haven't ever done a logarithm in my 12 years of computing work, much less done something like an integral.

IMO, pay close attention in the discrete math (boolean logic, etc) and statistics classes.

Chip H.

 

[jtm111]

Well, I specialize in programming statistical and data mining algorithms. The pay is unbelievable, the work is personally challenging, and the demand is strong even in this bad economy. In short, I'm glad I have a specialty, but it is certainly not required in order to be a good programmer.

I agree you should study statistics not necessarily math.

Also, don't underestimate your ability to teach yourself these mathematical topics. A good book or piece of software can teach you better than a bad teacher.