..or do geodevelopers require mathematics?
Alan Skorkin has a great post on “you don’t need math skills to be a good developer but you do need them to be a great one.” Geo-technology developers have similar requirements, and the majority of GISs revolve around CRUD operations. However due to the nature of spatial data we occasionally get to meddle in the world’s of projections, geometry, typology, and set theory more than our counterparts in other sectors.
The Ancient Mysteries
Whilst concentrating on algorithms and recursion is a definite benefit to all developers, us spatial developers need a few more specific tricks. Euler’s 1736 paper on Seven Bridges of Königsberg is one of the first academic writings on modern topology. The titles of these mathematics puzzles create an aura of mysteriousness and arcane knowledge that definitely sweetens the somewhat dour algebra underneath.
The solution (or non-solution) to this problem underpins many of the more advanced techniques used by GIS packages today. The “Travelling Salesman”, whilst conjuring up less interesting images, relies on similar principles of graph theory. Continue reading »