Math/numerical formula every computer programmer should know

Posted by aaa on Stack Overflow See other posts from Stack Overflow or by aaa
Published on 2010-04-22T03:50:20Z Indexed on 2010/04/22 3:53 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 419

Filed under:

subjective

|

math

|

programming

This is a follow-up question to What should every programmer know and Is mathematics necessary.

So the question is, as a computer programmer, what is the most important/useful mathematical or numerical formula that you use? By Formula I mean anything that involves less obvious manipulations, whenever binomial coefficients or bit hacks.

I work with multidimensional arrays and various matrix representations. So for me most commonly used formulas are:

A(i,j,k,..) = a[i + j*Dim0 + k*Dim0*Dim1 + ... to map indexes to one dimension ( which is basic address calculation which many people do not seem to know).

And triangular number T(i) = (i*i + i)/2 which is related to binomial coefficients, used to calculate address in triangular matrixes and many other things.

What is your workhorse formula that you think programmer should know?

© Stack Overflow or respective owner

Related posts about subjective

Scoring/analysis of Subjective testing for skills assessment

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I am lucky in the sense that I have been given the opportunity to be a 'Technical Troubleshooter' for our offshore development team. While I am confident and capable of dealing with most issues, I have come across something that I am not. Based on initial discussions with various team members both… >>> More
Best Practise/Subjective: Implement a finite state automaton in OOP

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi guys, I am thinking about implementing a programm with finite state automaton in an OOP language like Java or C++. What would you think is the best way to implement this with a manageable amount of available states, regarding to good software design? Is it good to implement for each state an… >>> More
"Best" language /architecture for browser-based app with ODBC and sockets? (subjective)

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Sorry to ask a subjective question, but I would welcome some advice. I am an experienced programmer of embedded s/w, but haven't done much network programming, although I have done a fair bit of hobbyist PHP. Anyway, I have to develop what is probably a fairly general type of app, as shown in this… >>> More
Subjective question...would you use the Action delegate to avoid duplication of code?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hello, I just asked a question that helps about using generics (or polymorphism) to avoid duplication of code. I am really trying to follow the DRY principle. So I just ran into the following code... Sub OutputDataToExcel() OutputLine("Output DataBlocks", 1) OutputDataBlocks() … >>> More
The best terminal emulator for a heavy terminal user?

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I spend a lot of time at the command-line during the workday and at home too since I run Ubuntu exclusively. I've been using the default gnome terminal but I've reached a point where I'd really like to get my terminal tricked out so that my common tasks are as easy as possible. Specifically, I find… >>> More

Related posts about math

how to make a function recursive

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
i have this huge function and i am wondering how to make it recursive. i have the base case which should never come true, so it should always go to else and keep calling itself with the variable t increases. any help would be great thanks def draw(x, y, t, planets): if 'Satellites' in planets["Moon"]: … >>> More
Sunrise / set calculations

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm trying to calculate the sunset / rise times using python based on the link provided below. My results done through excel and python do not match the real values. Any ideas on what I could be doing wrong? My Excel sheet can be found under .. http://transpotools.com/sun_time.xls # Created on… >>> More
Android-Java: Constructing a triangle based on Coordinates on a map and your bearing

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi Guys, I'm constructing a geolocation based application and I'm trying to figure out a way to make my application realise when a user is facing the direction of the given location (a particular long / lat co-ord). I've got the math figured, I just have the triangle to construct. //UPDATE So… >>> More
Math.max and Math.min outputting highest and lowest values allowed

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
so I'm trying to make a program that will output the sum, average, and smallest and largest values. I have everything basically figured out except the smallest and largest values are outputting 2147483647 and -2147483647, which I believe are the absolute smallest and largest values that Java will… >>> More
Is Programming == Math?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I've heard many times that all programming is really a subset of math. Some suggest that OO, at its roots, is mathematically based. I don't get the connection. Aside from some obvious examples: using induction to prove a recursive algorithm formal correctness proofs functional languages lambda calculus asymptotic… >>> More