Combinatorics

Combinatorics is the mathematical area interested in specific finite sets. In a lot of instances this comes down to counting things and is often first encountered by mathematicians through combinations and permutations. Computers are useful when doing this as they can be used to generate the finite sets considered. You can essentially count things “by hand”’ (using a computer) to confirm theoretic results.

Important

In this chapter you will cover:

• Generating configurations of elements that correspond to permutations and/or combinations.

• Counting these configurations.

• Directly computing \(^n C_i={n \choose i}\).

• Directly computing \(^n P_i\).