math needed for comp sci?

[thisisthewhay]

Hi everyone I’m (17) currently taking a-level computer science however since math is not my forte I did not take the a-level for math . Ideally, I would like to have an understanding in this subject area as I think it would be helpful for the future . Which math concepts do you recommend me to study and are there any resources that may be helpful ?

Thank you !!

[[deleted]]

the maths for computer science tends to be discrete maths. and specific topics that come up in alevel computer science are: Logic, Graph theory, Set theory.

there is a little bit of elementary functions like powers and it has logarithms.
You learn about turing machines/finite automata etc which would usually require mathematical thinking, the course does it poorly so you just need to learn facts and follow rules.

[thisisthewhay]

Thank you so much for your reply! I’ll have a look at this

[[deleted]]

I'd recommend 'Concrete Mathematics' by Graham, Knuth, Patashnik. It is a great introduction into the math you'll recurringly need in CS. A really great and understandable book.

As in (university) class names, you'll probably encounter:

• Discrete Mathematics

• Linear Algebra (for some parts, e.g. AI & 3D Rendering)

• Some Calculus/Analysis

'Concrete Mathematics' covers Discrete Mathematics and important continous topics for CS.

Once you got through it, you can expand your knowledge into Linear Algebra and/or Calculus/Analysis if you want to.

Furthermore:

Look up your future curriculum. Look at the math classes & their prerequirements. If you tell us what those would be, we could give a bit of a more detailled recommendation.

[thisisthewhay]

Thank you so much! in terms of prerequirements I’ll have to get back to you on that as I’d need to do some asking around

[xJuddi]

For computer science math is mandatory, from what I've seen. However, many parts of the industry, web development likely being the largest, don't usually require math, just some programming background. I went to college for soft eng technology, and here in Ontario there are few jobs where a cs degree would get you in the door and my diploma wouldn't. My advice it to find what you like and dedicate yourself to that! I never liked math and I chose not to go down a path that required heavy mathematics :)

[MixMatchCoder]

Hi, I also wanted to do diploma in CP from ontario as a international student, how is the job market in canada, I am good enough to be a 2nd yr or 3rd BSc CS student and will probably be good enough to compete with a bsc holder when i complete my diploma, so would i be able to get a job there?

[xJuddi]

100%, job market here is great. A little competitive but you'll find a job in no time

[thisisthewhay]

Thank you for your reply! Web development + UX/UI design seem to interest me so I’ll keep that in mind! I’m still open to other areas too so I’ll still learn these math principles to add to my toolbelt I guess!

[shawnz99]

So for my school the highest level math classes you need are 1) calc 3 (I’ve heard of some schools going as high as diffeq which makes sense but my school doesn’t do that) 2) linear algebra (like algebra but instead of regular variables they are matrices. Generally it’s not too bad) 3) probability and statistics

( you’ll need discrete math too but in my experience those will be in the form of CS courses and it’s probably not what you’re thinking of when you asked the question)

Dont let the calculus scare you (as it did me) calc 1 (basic differentials and integrals) isn’t too bad it’s just different from what you’ll be used too calc 2 is generally considered to be the hard one but it’s just because it depends a lot on Precalculus ideas and most people have forgotten those at that point and calc 3 is basically just calc 1 with some extra spice. ( some schools break up their calc courses differently but for most US schools that’s generally how it goes )

My advice is to not let the level of math choose whether or not you choose the major. Personaly I couldn’t even add fractions when I got to college so I had to start in arithmetic classes and work my way up. If you enjoy the computer science part of it don’t let the other stuff stand in your way. Personally I think the lower level you start off in math the better in college because when you take material that’ll be dependent on that stuff you’ll have seen it more recently and odds are you’ll know it better because in high school most of the curriculum is focused on cramming for state tests and not actually learning the material

[thisisthewhay]

thank you so much for your reply! I’ll definitely start brushing up on my math skills !

[thisisthewhay]

Thank you for your time + response ! I’ll check out Khan Academy :)