Plus (+), Minus(-), Multiplication (*), and Division (/) are defined in all programming languages. They do what you would expect.
Math in a computer language is very similar to math on a calculator, or even the math you do in algebra.
The basic operations are: +, -, /, *. (plus, minus, division, multiplication). These are the same in all langauges.
Language specific Math operations are:
^ (the caret) is the power operator. 5 ^ 2 == 25;
mod (the modulo function). mod(5, 2) == 1 (5 divide by 2 leaves a remainder of 1)
^ (the caret) is BIT WISE AND. DO NOT USE IT (for this course);
pow (the power function). pow(5, 2) == 25 ( 5 raised to the 2nd power is 25)
% (the modulo operator). 5 % 2 == 1 (5 divide by 2 leaves a remainder of 1)
Precedence is the order in which a combination of mathematical operations take place. For example, if you have 5+6-7*8/9, do you do the + first, or the /, or perhaps the * or -?
Most programming languages have a list of dozens of precedence rules, but they can be summed as:
Examples:
5 + 6 * 7 is equivalent to 5 + ( 6 * 7 ) or 47
5 + 6 - 7 is equivalent to (5 + 6) - 7 or 4
5 * (6 - 7) is equivalent to 5 * (6 - 7) or -5
Almost all modern programming languages provide a "Library" of Math functions for use in Mathematical programming. These include trig functions (sin, cos, etc), max, min functions, modulo functions, etc.
sin( pi ); % compute the sin of pi
cos( pi ); % compute the cos of pi
max( [1 5 3 2] ); % produces 5
min( [1 5 3 2] ); % produces 1
// Must preface Math functions with Math. (Math dot)
Math.sin( pi ); // compute the sin of pi
Math.cos( pi ); // compute the cos of pi
Math.max( [1 5 3 2] ); // produces 5
Math.min( [1 5 3 2] ); // produces 1
// Must include <math.h> at the top of the file
#include <math.h>
sin( pi ); // compute the sin of pi
cos( pi ); // compute the cos of pi
max( [1 5 3 2] ); // produces 5
min( [1 5 3 2] ); // produces 1
Integers are "Whole Numbers" and an operation done in the realm of whole numbers remains in the realm of whole numbers, thus 5/2 is 2.
Dividing two real numbers, e.g., 5.0 / 3.0, gives a real number
For more information on Integer and Floating Point Math, see the chapter on this topic.