Maths knowledge

Question

What level of maths do you need to know before programming?
A friend said programming requires too much maths knowledge-I said that you just need to know the basics (addition, subtraction, division, multiplication). He also reckons HTML is a programming language ;-)
In the majority of cases the Maths is quite basic(working on general programs). In some cases(e.g. if you work in engineering, CAD) the Maths may be more complex.
What do you think? What level is your maths knowledge?

Mahesh Chand · Answer

You really don't need complex math to be a good programmer. However math helps solving problems. As long as you have probelm solving and analytical understanding you're good to go. I have not used any math that I learn after high school in my programming and I have been programming for over 13 years now. HTML is not a programming language ;). It is a standard to build Web pages user interfaces :).

Rog Rammer · Answer

I agree with everything you say :-)

Sam Hobbs · Answer

Yes many people consider XML and HTML to be programming languages. Many people will say that it is possible to use XML to ceate a new language. There are so many people that think that that it is not worth trying to explain the misconception. Many years ago back when programming was new and there were not many universities teaching programming it was believed that people needed to have good math skills to be a programmer. Those of us that are programers now know that math skills are needed only if we are doing math applications applications that need to do math. A mathematician that is not familiar with accounting won't do as well programming an accounting application as would someone with a degree in accounting. For most applications knowledge of other thngs such as databases are more mportant than mathematics.