Math for Programming

by Ronald T. Kneusel

Learn all of the core mathematical topics that professional software engineers need to know—in a single book!This book summarizes all the core mathematical topics a typical professional software engineer needs to know. In condensing the various concepts covered in an undergraduate computer science program into a single volume, it provides an excellent starting point for independent study, or a refresher for those who haven’t been in a classroom for years. Early chapters cover preliminary subjects like number representation systems, set theory, and Boolean algebra, followed by a dive into the field of discrete mathematics, including functions, induction proofs, number theory, combinatorics, graphs, and trees. Later sections examine essential topics in probability, statistics, linear algebra, and calculus.Rather than confine itself to abstract theory, the book focuses on practical applications and numerical methods at the level typically encountered by working software developers. In addition, hands-on code examples in Python and C make the topics concrete.

Genres: Mathematics, Programming, Computer Science

502 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 22, 2025

About the author

My infatuation with computers began in 1981 with an Apple II. I've been active in machine learning since 2003, and deep learning since before AlexNet was a thing.

My background includes a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Colorado, Boulder (deep learning), and an M.S. in physics from Michigan State University.

By day, I work in industry building deep learning systems. By night, I type away on my keyboard generating the books you see here. I sincerely hope that if you explore my books, you gain as much enjoyment from them as I had in creating them.

Please see my full list of books here: www.rkneusel.com

Questions? Comments? Let me know at rkneuselbooks@gmail.com

Reviews

[Brandon Rosenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a hidden gem—elegantly written, brilliantly structured, and packed with insights that bridge math and code like a perfectly optimized algorithm. Reading it feels like stepping into a mythical quest, where functions have form, logic has beauty, and every theorem is a power-up. It’s math for coders—compiled with clarity, executed with purpose. Highly recommend for anyone ready to cross the abstraction boundary.