Question

Is it really important to know algorithms to build mobile applications? I have strong understanding of development tools and design pattern as well as strong knowledge of OOP and MVC.

So, is it required to know hardcore algorithms to become a good mobile application developer?

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I can understand that if you want to create games then YES it is obvious that we must know all the AI related algos to be competent. But I am asking for just simple data driven application building.

Answer 1

Every computer program you write implements an algorithm or a set of algorithms. If you are concerned with the quality (deliberately vague term) of your programs then you have to be concerned with the quality of your algorithms.

For example, if you want your program to be fast (which is a quality that a program might have) better choose a fast algorithm than a slow algorithm for the same problem. If you want your program to fit into a small amount of RAM (another quality factor) best choose an algorithm which operates in a small amount of RAM rather than one which gobbles it up by the GB.

So, critical knowledge for a software developer includes the knowledge of how to analyse an algorithm for speed, memory usage, and all the other quality factors you might be interested in optimising. One way of analysing an algorithm is, of course, referring to texts which tell you what you want to know.

I conclude with the assertion that yes you do need to know hardcore algorithms to be a good developer, I don’t see any reason to modify my belief when it comes to mobile applications development. Of course, I don’t expect you to know all about all the algorithms there might be, but the principal ones found in all the basic text books, and the ones which are specific to your application domain, hell yes you gotta know those rascals !