Customer Reviews

Algorithms for Computer Algebra

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I found this book very useful as a reference while writing a small computer algebra system. It's a definate must-have for all the hordes of people out there who are rewriting subsets of Maple, Mathematica, etc. The explanation of the theory is relatively clear and helpful so that a not-so-theory-inclined person (such as myself) can understand the material. The cost of such clarity is a loss of some conciseness so someone who lives and breathes abstract algebra may desire a more esoteric book (like Winkler's). The biggest flaw of the book are the poorly debugged algorithms. Almost every algorithm presented in the book has some sort of minor flaw with serious reprecussions on correctness. This results in much frustration if you're actually trying to implement the algorithms.

We used this book in an advanced undergraduate/early graduate class in computer algebra. The book provides a concise and rigorous, but very readable introduction to computational algebra theory, with algorithms written in pseudo code.

Assuming proficiency in programming, as further pre-requisite I would suggest an undergraduate course in abstract algebra (or equivalent mathematical maturity) for maximum benefit.

An excellent collection of algorithms, proofs, and advanced introductory material, written in a (comparatively) breezy style.