Basically I have been trying to forge an understanding of matrix maths over the last few weeks and after reading (and re-reading) many maths heavy articles and documentation I think I have an adequate understanding, but I just wanted to make sure!
The definitions i have ended up with are:
/*
Minor
-----
-A determinant of a sub matrix
-The sub matrix used to calculate a minor can be obtained by removing more then one row/column from the original matrix
-First minors are minors of a sub matrix where only the row and column of a single element have been removed
Cofactor
--------
-The (signed) minor of a single element from a matrix
ie. the minor of element 2,3 is the determinant of the submatrix, of the matrix, defined by removing row 2 and column 3
Determinant
-----------
-1. Choose any single row or column from a Matrix.
2. For each element in the row/column, multiply the value of the element against the First Minor of that element.
3. This result is then multiplied by (-1 raised to the power of the elements row index + its column index) which will give the result of step 2 a sign.
4. You then simply sum all these results to get the determinant (a real number) for the Matrix.
*/
Please let me know of any holes in my understanding?
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org /Cofactor_(linear_algebra) & /Minor_(linear_algebra) & /Determinant
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~mrmeanie/matrix/matrices.htm
http://www.geometrictools.com/Documentation/LaplaceExpansionTheorem.pdf (the most helpful)
Geometric tools for computer graphics (this may have missing pages, i have the full copy)
Sounds like you understand determinants -- now go forth and write code! Try writing a solver for simultaneous linear equations in 3 or more variables, using Cramer's Rule.
Since you tagged this question 3dgraphics, matrix and vector multiplication might be a good area to explore next. They come up everywhere in 3d graphics programming.