I need an expert in C++ and Java....who is also a top notch mathematician

man_from_uncle

man_from_uncle

man_from_uncle

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I've got a problem to solve for a friend. Basically what it boils down to is that I need to find a world beating software programmer/games designer. I've scoured modding boards but i'm not expert enough to know an undergrad from designer with 20 years experiance. So I thought I'd come here and at least get some honest answers and maybe a few suggestions about where to look.

Does anyone here qualify as a real expert in this field? If not do you know where I can find one? Or at least where I can look?

Many Thanks
 
Try topcoder.com and rentacoder.com. There's some awesome people on topcoder.com, mainly because a handful can beat the best programmer I know :mad: :)
 
Beansprout, thanks. That's pretty useful. They do have some good people there by the looks of it, but it's pretty commercial as well and i don't know if I would count as a 'sponsor' as such even though, as arty asks, it will be paid work if it's the right person.

Are you any good arty? If so, in what area?

EDIT: I just looked at your profile arty. I don't suppose you're still study are you?
 
If you need an incredibly expert C++ programmer, the chances are your design is flawed. Spend more time on your design and you can place less emphasis on the programmer's skill, ideally achieving a happy medium. I've spent years developing in C++ all the way back from the original Zortech C++ compiler and Turbo C++ 2.0 and if there's one thing I can tell you, it's that you shouldn't need to rely on the programmer's skill to get you out of a hole. Good programming is about developing elegant, efficient and thoroughly tested code. Good design is about producing a clear, concise description of the system to be developed. Put the two together and you get a great system. Remember, great software is engineered that way :)
 
my problem with the OP's original post is that its very vague (perhaps deliberately so). I would be interested to hear more details such as "what areas of mathematics are you requiring expertise in?". Also, have you considered looking for 2 people, one to do the math and sort out the algorithms and one to take charge of engineering/ coding? I think you will be more likely to find 2 specialists than a "jack of all trades", as I don't think you will really find someone who fits that criteria outside of academic circles tbh
 
A good design should be able to abstract the programmer away from the mathematical detail, therefore the idea of using two people, a specialist mathematician and a programmer, is probably a good one.
 
Yeah, I think if you need a "world beating software programmer/games designer", in both C++ and Java, and a top-class mathemitician to boot, you're probably out of your league/not sure what you want/need.

If you post a few more details, then we might be of more help.


jonc
 
Thanks for the response and advice. Let me come clean a bit, a friend of a friend is fairly successful games designer and is looking for someone to work with. My friend, knowing that I am into computers, asked me if i knew anyone. Sadly i'm more into hardware than software so I thought i'd move from the CPU and graphics cards forums to here and just try my luck.

I don't want to get caught soliciting for him, I really was just curious and I know that it's a great opportunity to the right person. If the right person was someone I knew from a message board then all the better, i'd like to keep success within the community.

The level of mathematics required I think is pretty advanced. The test I was told to ask of someone was whether they could draw a circle in Java without using a circle command; effectively having to plot it using a mathematical equation rather than a tool. There is no point in anyone telling me how to do it, i wouldn't understand, it's just something he said as an example.

Because of the T&Cs about advertising (which I suppose counts for possible jobs as well) I don't really think I should probably start talking about who, what, where or how much. But if there are any enthusiasts who are qualified and interested then please let me know and i'll give you my email address.

As a point of fact, I went to topcoder, but that really is properly a commercial advertising site aimed at supplying coders to corporations. They aren't really into helping out a friend of a friend.
 
man_from_uncle said:
The level of mathematics required I think is pretty advanced. The test I was told to ask of someone was whether they could draw a circle in Java without using a circle command; effectively having to plot it using a mathematical equation rather than a tool. There is no point in anyone telling me how to do it, i wouldn't understand, it's just something he said as an example.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but that made me lol.. if drawing a circle without the circle command is what they consider 'advanced'.. then they shouldn't have any problems finding someone ;) I'm pretty sure Sin and Cos were covered in early GCSE maths when I was at school :)
 
Code: 
protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs paintEvnt)
        {
            // Get the graphics object 
            Graphics gfx = paintEvnt.Graphics;
            // Create a new pen that we shall use for drawing the line 
            Pen myPen = new Pen(Color.Black);
            //start the calculations
            double a1 = 0;
            double a2 = 2 * Math.PI;
            int n = 360;//number of points
            int r = 50;//radius
            double inc = (a2 - a1) / n;
            for (double i = a1; i<=a2; i=i+inc)
            {
                double x = r * Math.Sin(i);
                double y = r * Math.Cos(i);                
                gfx.DrawLine(myPen, 140, 80, 140+(float)x, 80+(float)y);              
            }
        }

A quick circle routine knocked up in C#, I'm sure the maths you are talking about is a bit more complex than this.
 
as has been said, your example of the level of mathematics ability required is hardly advanced. honestly if that really is the required level you may as well drop the advanced maths requirement, anyone with decent coding experience will either be able to do that straight off, or will be at least smart enough to be able to work out how to from scratch.

might be worth just confirming it with the guy to be sure he has communicated to you the correct level he requires.

when you said advanced maths, i was thinking it'd be along the lines of fourier analysis, laplacian functions, principal component analysis or somesuch.
 
I'm pretty sure, that the level he's talking about is quite advanced, but if I start turning this into a 'skill-set specification' for a job then that is advertising.

However, if anyone here is interested you can write to me at [email protected] and i'll go into proper details. It is by the sounds of it probably a dream opportunity for the right person because the guy in question is actually it turns out wikpedia famous (for all that's worth)!
 
:D C#? C++? All we had in my day was 68000 assembler. I worked as a games programmer many years ago, developing in 68K on the Amiga and when we hit the hardware, we *hit* the hardware, and that means switching off the OS completely. And you try telling that to the young people today, and they don't believe you ;)
 
phykell said:
:D C#? C++? All we had in my day was 68000 assembler. I worked as a games programmer many years ago, developing in 68K on the Amiga and when we hit the hardware, we *hit* the hardware, and that means switching off the OS completely. And you try telling that to the young people today, and they don't believe you ;)
Click to expand...

I used to *dream* of writing in assembler.

In my day it was all done in zeros and ones. And there was none of this 'keyboard' malarkey - all we had was a Morse key......
 
Visage said:
I used to *dream* of writing in assembler.

In my day it was all done in zeros and ones. And there was none of this 'keyboard' malarkey - all we had was a Morse key......
Click to expand...
Ones and zeroes? LUXURY! We had to etch our own transistors onto a silicon wafer and implement our own micro-code! :D
 
Visage said:
I used to *dream* of writing in assembler.

In my day it was all done in zeros and ones. And there was none of this 'keyboard' malarkey - all we had was a Morse key......
Click to expand...

you don't know you're born.

when i was a lad we had to push electrons around copper tracks with our bare hands, 18 hours a day, 6 days a week for half an apple and a lick of coal......
 
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