Should developers know discrete math? [closed]

Question

Is it important for developers to know discrete math? Most of the books about algorithms and analysis have at least some references to math. I can easily understand the algorithms in principle and can implement them without any problem, but when it comes to the math parts I get stuck. Is it generally assumed that developers will have deep knowledge of math to understand algorithms and methods?

Answer 1

It depends on the kind of developer you're talking about and the kind of math you're talking about. I'm pretty sure that most of the "ordinary" developers don't need to know much about math. But, do you want to be "ordinary" developer?

• If you're developing web applications that just display and allow editing of data in database, then you'll probably never need any math.
• On the other hand, if you're developing a GPS system that shows a path to the target (or some other application that does more complicated calculations) then discrete math is going to be useful.
• It doesn't necessarily be discrete math though - for example, in the finance industry, people need probability and statistics far more often.

That said, knowing math will definitely make you a better developer, because it trains your mind in a way that is useful not only for solving specific (math) problems, but also teaches you how to think about problems in a more formal fashion (which, I believe, is important for writing correct code).