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Math and computation algorithms: why are they needed in programming? (lemy.lol)

submitted 3 months ago by matcha_addict@lemy.lol to c/programming@programming.dev

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Sorry, the question in title sounds naive. I have no doubt that math is essential in programming, but I am thinking about philosophy of programming and want to summarize when they're needed in programming. My attempt is below:

Most applications of programming are making electronics do things through their interfaces. Whether that's telling a screen to display something, a network wire to transport data, a hard disk to persist data.

But we often need math because we often transform data, or we might make said electronics do things based on user input, or an event. Transforming an event to data is a mathematical construction.

Some applications are almost purely mathematical, like banking, crypto currency, or encryption.

In your opinion, does this fully explain why we need math in programming? Is there a better way to sum it up?

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[–] MagicShel@programming.dev 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

There is a need for heavy math in the field of programming, but most programmers will not ever need it. I've been a developer for over 25 years and I'll bet I've never needed anything more complicated than Boolean algebra except for maybe 3 times. Which is infuriating when I get asked to write a stupid algorithm on every damn job interview. Like I think there is a need for maybe one math guy in a whole department.

Most programming is not "web scale." Even though every hiring manager seems to think their needs are particularly unusual or complex. With the exception of maybe the S&P 50 or something, they aren't.