Book excerpt: Eliminating the need for heavy number-crunching, sophisticated mathematical software packages open the door to areas like cryptography, coding theory, and combinatorics that are dependent on abstract algebra. Applications of Abstract Algebra with Maple and MATLAB®, Second Edition explores these topics and shows how to apply the software programs to abstract algebra and its related fields. Carefully integrating MapleTM and MATLAB®, this book provides an in-depth introduction to real-world abstract algebraic problems. The first chapter offers a concise and comprehensive review of prerequisite advanced mathematics. The next several chapters examine block designs, coding theory, and cryptography while the final chapters cover counting techniques, including Pólya's and Burnside's theorems. Other topics discussed include the Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA) cryptosystem, digital signatures, primes for security, and elliptic curve cryptosystems. New to the Second Edition Three new chapters on Vigenère ciphers, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and graph theory as well as new MATLAB and Maple sections Expanded exercises and additional research exercises Maple and MATLAB files and functions available for download online and from a CD-ROM With the incorporation of MATLAB, this second edition further illuminates the topics discussed by eliminating extensive computations of abstract algebraic techniques. The clear organization of the book as well as the inclusion of two of the most respected mathematical software packages available make the book a useful tool for students, mathematicians, and computer scientists.