Why Calculus Is Important

Same with linear algebra, calculus is also closely related to programming.

You might know the first two courses in the first grade of computer science and engineering (I don’t even mention the rest of the departments). You’d wonder how well they work out in real scenarios. Here, we’ll break out why calculus is important in programming. Here are the details.

The algorithm’s logic depends on one mathematical topic

And it’s the functions in calculus. It might seem odd when you learn calculus in the first year and you might be asking why. I asked the same question and after starting to learn calculus while paying attention to the topics by Khan Academy. And then I realized that they’re simply basic mathematics that would pave the way to understand computer science and programming.

Even more, I realized as I was learning computer science that the logic of the algorithm is highly dependent on the topic of functions as an algorithm is the steps of solving a problem by design. As there are a problem and a solution to a problem (algorithm), functions are coming into hand even though there are lots of solutions in your domain, you can only choose one from the set of solutions (g(x)) for your problem (f(x)).

Provides bases for a statistical programming

Especially if you start to learn data science, probability, and artificial intelligence. It might not be needed in the first place as you study the basics of statistics but when you come into the topic of probability and advancing further into statistics where you need every piece of math available to solve your problems. Moreover, topics like linear algebra, differential equations, and multivariate calculus require a full understanding of calculus.

Provides bases for mathematical programming

Same with statistical programming. They all require calculus as they’re built upon the foundations of each topic in calculus especially derivatives and integrals. And the topics build up each other and are used frequently in different topics in mathematics and programming to build up complex systems, teaching, creating projects with high value to improve other people’s lives.

Life depends upon mathematics

It’s not just programming. The whole life systems are built upon mathematics and our very existence depends on maths and we’re becoming ever dependent on math. And the base for any intermediate to advanced mathematics is reliant on calculus. Understanding mathematics and the life systems derive from calculus were mechanics, chemistry, and other systems for our understanding.

According to you, why calculus is important for programming? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.