Programmers Backyard

It’s all about writing code. Programming is a process in which we organize data and use logic to do something with those data. The data are everything a computer can store; they can range from numbers to zombie characters in a video game. You do this by writing text into files called source code. Source code written into text files replaces punch cards used by the computing machines half a century ago. When data are combined with logic and then written into a single file, they’re called a class. Classes are also data, and as such can be managed with more logic. Classes are used to create objects in the computer’s memory and can be duplicated to have a life of their own. Classes are used to build objects. Each piece of data within the class becomes a part of that object. Different chunks of data inside of a class are called class members. Class members can also be chunks of logic called functions or methods. For Example, in a game with a horde of zombies, each zombie is...

With complex rules in mind, does programming require the knowledge of complex mathematics? Actually, unless you program mathematical software, only a bit of geometry is nice to have. Most of the examples here use only a tiny bit of math to accomplish their purposes. Mathematics and programming do overlap quite a lot in their methodology. Math taught in schools provides a single solution. Programming results tend to behave a bit like a math proof, but only the proof isn’t just another bit of math. Rather, the proof of your code means that your zombies chase after humans. A considerable amount of math required has been done for you by the computer. It is just up to you to know what math to use, and then plug in the right variables.