Transcript Mathematics in Computer Science at Loras College Steve Mosiman

Mathematics in Computer
Science at Loras College
Steve Mosiman
Brief History
• Calc I and Calc II required when CS started
• Discrete Math added to requirements
• Calc II replaced by Statistics
– Stat course was College Algebra Level
– Math Stat course had Calc III prerequisite
• Math program dropped Math Stat course and
replaced it by Probability & Statistics
• CS changed math requirement to new course
– Resulting Requirements: Calc I, Discrete Math, Prob
& Stat
– CS revision integrated math courses into CS
Prerequisite Structure
Digital Logic
Web
Technologies
Computer
Architecture &
Organization
Operating
Systems
Software Basics
Calculus I
Data Structures
and Algorithms
Software
Engineering
Discrete
Math
Foundations of
Programming
Languages
Capstone Project
Probability
& Statistics
Algorithm
Design &
Analysis
Prerequisite
Co-requisite
Calculus
• Partly used as a prerequisite to obtain
“mathematical maturity”
• Some feeling that someone at a liberal
arts school in the sciences should have it
• Some calculus topics could be used in
Algorithm Design & Analysis (e.g. big-O)
• Necessary prerequisite to Probability &
Statistics
Probability & Statistics
• Also required for mathematics majors
• Some use in Algorithm Design & Analysis
(e.g. average case behavior of algorithms)
• Better to require for operating systems
except
– No queuing theory
– Program timing sometimes does not allow
Discrete Math
• Required for Math majors (“bridge course”)
• In Algorithms – counting, recurrence
relations, induction
• In Software Engineering – graphs, proofs
for program correctness
• In Foundations of Programming
Languages – set theory, induction and
recurrence relations for context free
grammars and regular expressions
Questions?