Research in discrete mathematics increased in the latter half of the twentieth century partly due to the development of digital computers which operate in "discrete" steps and store data in "discrete" bits. Concepts and notations from discrete mathematics are useful in studying and describing objects and problems in branches of computer science, such as computer algorithms, programming languages, cryptography, automated theorem proving, and software development. Conversely, computer implementations are significant in applying ideas from discrete mathematics to real-world problems. Graph theory, the study of graphs and networks, is often considered part of combinatorics, but has grown large enough and distinct enough, with its own kind of problems, to be regarded as a subject in its own right. [14] Graphs are one of the prime objects of study in discrete mathematics. They are among the most ubiquitous models of both natural and human-made structures. They can model many types of relations and process dynamics in physical, biological and social systems. In computer science, they can represent networks of communication, data organization, computational devices, the flow of computation, etc. In mathematics, they are useful in geometry and certain parts of topology, e.g. knot theory. Algebraic graph theory has close links with group theory and topological graph theory has close links to topology. There are also continuous graphs; however, for the most part, research in graph theory falls within the domain of discrete mathematics. Main article: Theoretical computer science Complexity studies the time taken by algorithms, such as this sorting routine. Computational geometry applies computer algorithms to representations of geometrical objects. Main article: Graph theory Graph theory has close links to group theory. This truncated tetrahedron graph is related to the alternating group A 4.

Logic is the study of the principles of valid reasoning and inference, as well as of consistency, soundness, and completeness. For example, in most systems of logic (but not in intuitionistic logic) Peirce's law ((( P→ Q)→ P)→ P) is a theorem. For classical logic, it can be easily verified with a truth table. The study of mathematical proof is particularly important in logic, and has accumulated to automated theorem proving and formal verification of software. Discrete geometry and combinatorial geometry are about combinatorial properties of discrete collections of geometrical objects. A long-standing topic in discrete geometry is tiling of the plane. Design theory is a study of combinatorial designs, which are collections of subsets with certain intersection properties.Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that can be considered "discrete" (in a way analogous to discrete variables, having a bijection with the set of natural numbers) rather than "continuous" (analogously to continuous functions). Objects studied in discrete mathematics include integers, graphs, and statements in logic. [1] [2] [3] By contrast, discrete mathematics excludes topics in "continuous mathematics" such as real numbers, calculus or Euclidean geometry. Discrete objects can often be enumerated by integers; more formally, discrete mathematics has been characterized as the branch of mathematics dealing with countable sets [4] (finite sets or sets with the same cardinality as the natural numbers). However, there is no exact definition of the term "discrete mathematics". [5] Graphs such as these are among the objects studied by discrete mathematics, for their interesting mathematical properties, their usefulness as models of real-world problems, and their importance in developing computer algorithms. In discrete calculus and the calculus of finite differences, a function defined on an interval of the integers is usually called a sequence. A sequence could be a finite sequence from a data source or an infinite sequence from a discrete dynamical system. Such a discrete function could be defined explicitly by a list (if its domain is finite), or by a formula for its general term, or it could be given implicitly by a recurrence relation or difference equation. Difference equations are similar to differential equations, but replace differentiation by taking the difference between adjacent terms; they can be used to approximate differential equations or (more often) studied in their own right. Many questions and methods concerning differential equations have counterparts for difference equations. For instance, where there are integral transforms in harmonic analysis for studying continuous functions or analogue signals, there are discrete transforms for discrete functions or digital signals. As well as discrete metric spaces, there are more general discrete topological spaces, finite metric spaces, finite topological spaces.

Logical formulas are discrete structures, as are proofs, which form finite trees [10] or, more generally, directed acyclic graph structures [11] [12] (with each inference step combining one or more premise branches to give a single conclusion). The truth values of logical formulas usually form a finite set, generally restricted to two values: true and false, but logic can also be continuous-valued, e.g., fuzzy logic. Concepts such as infinite proof trees or infinite derivation trees have also been studied, [13] e.g. infinitary logic.Theoretical computer science includes areas of discrete mathematics relevant to computing. It draws heavily on graph theory and mathematical logic. Included within theoretical computer science is the study of algorithms and data structures. Computability studies what can be computed in principle, and has close ties to logic, while complexity studies the time, space, and other resources taken by computations. Automata theory and formal language theory are closely related to computability. Petri nets and process algebras are used to model computer systems, and methods from discrete mathematics are used in analyzing VLSI electronic circuits. Computational geometry applies algorithms to geometrical problems and representations of geometrical objects, while computer image analysis applies them to representations of images. Theoretical computer science also includes the study of various continuous computational topics. Topological combinatorics concerns the use of techniques from topology and algebraic topology/ combinatorial topology in combinatorics.

Although the main objects of study in discrete mathematics are discrete objects, analytic methods from "continuous" mathematics are often employed as well.Algebraic structures occur as both discrete examples and continuous examples. Discrete algebras include: Boolean algebra used in logic gates and programming; relational algebra used in databases; discrete and finite versions of groups, rings and fields are important in algebraic coding theory; discrete semigroups and monoids appear in the theory of formal languages.