Blog posts tagged with 'math':
binomial coefficients
Date: 10 Apr 2011Tags: [ coefficients ] [ math ] [ pascals triangle ]
Question: how can a simple question asked by a colleague turn into a blog post? Answer: when he asked: how many different queries can I build when I have 270 fields? The answer to solve this problem: binomial coefficients.
Now I do enjoy math. I’m definitely no guru in math but I (hopefully) know a thing or two. Just like with programming and everything computer related: if you know something vaguely, at least you know enough to look up the actual application for it. Our first instinct on the answer to my colleague was 270! (factorial of 270, which is 1x2x3x4x…x267x270, which is a VERY large number) but I knew something was not right. Turns out: it wasn’t right. The problem was mixing up combinations and permutations, which I knew there was a big difference, but I didn’t knew the math involved anymore..