Topics that software developers learned most about in their education.
The top 25 topics according to question 1 of the survey. This is what educational institutions teach, although it is not necessarily the most important material for the practitioners to know.
Sample of data from the
1998 Survey of Software Practitioners|
Rank |
Topic |
Mean of Q1 |
Std. dev. |
% rating 4 or 5 |
% rating > 1 |
|
1 |
Specific Programming Languages |
3.2 |
1.36 |
44% |
89% |
|
2 |
Differential and Integral Calculus |
3.2 |
1.41 |
52% |
89% |
|
3 |
Linear Algebra and Matrices |
3.1 |
1.43 |
45% |
85% |
|
4 |
Probability and Statistics |
2.9 |
1.25 |
34% |
87% |
|
5 |
Data Structures |
2.9 |
1.55 |
42% |
78% |
|
6 |
Physics |
2.7 |
1.42 |
31% |
82% |
|
7 |
Differential Equations |
2.7 |
1.44 |
30% |
79% |
|
8 |
Set Theory |
2.5 |
1.52 |
29% |
75% |
|
9 |
Design of Algorithms |
2.3 |
1.54 |
26% |
68% |
|
10 |
Operating Systems |
2.3 |
1.49 |
20% |
71% |
|
11 |
Computer System Architecture |
2.2 |
1.65 |
28% |
63% |
|
12 |
Programming Language Theory |
2.2 |
1.50 |
19% |
68% |
|
13 |
Predicate Logic |
2.2 |
1.64 |
25% |
65% |
|
14 |
Chemistry |
2.2 |
1.40 |
14% |
70% |
|
15 |
Computational Methods for Numeric Problems |
2.2 |
1.50 |
18% |
67% |
|
16 |
Formal Languages |
2.2 |
1.66 |
29% |
63% |
|
17 |
Digital Electronics & Digital Logic |
2.1 |
1.70 |
25% |
59% |
|
18 |
Computational Complexity & Algorithm Analysis |
2.1 |
1.65 |
25% |
59% |
|
19 |
Software Architecture |
2.0 |
1.54 |
17% |
59% |
|
20 |
Microprocessor Architecture |
1.9 |
1.59 |
19% |
56% |
|
21 |
File Management |
1.9 |
1.48 |
16% |
57% |
|
22 |
Databases |
1.9 |
1.58 |
18% |
56% |
|
23 |
Graph Theory |
1.9 |
1.55 |
20% |
56% |
|
24 |
Analysis and Design Methods |
1.9 |
1.52 |
13% |
57% |
|
25 |
Second Language Other than English |
1.8 |
1.61 |
15% |
57% |