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The situation is this: a series of points are randomly located, a line is needed to represent the gradient of those points.

  ./ 
  /  .

. / ./ / .

I am a programmer but not math expert, I need the method to find such a line. Can anyone give me some direction?

Thanks in advance.

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There is a technique called "least squares linear fit." Those keywords should help you find a discussion in a textbook or on the web.

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