A Course In Constructive Algebra

A Course in Constructive Algebra

A Course in Constructive Algebra

The constructive approach to mathematics has enjoyed a renaissance, caused in large part by the appearance of Errett Bishop's book Foundations of constr"uctiue analysis in 1967, and by the subtle influences of the proliferation of powerful computers. Bishop demonstrated that pure mathematics can be developed from a constructive point of view while maintaining a continuity with classical terminology and spirit; much more of classical mathematics was preserved than had been thought possible, and no classically false theorems resulted, as had been the case in other constructive schools such as intuitionism and Russian constructivism. The computers created a widespread awareness of the intuitive notion of an effecti ve procedure, and of computation in principle, in addi tion to stimulating the study of constructive algebra for actual implementation, and from the point of view of recursive function theory. In analysis, constructive problems arise instantly because we must start with the real numbers, and there is no finite procedure for deciding whether two given real numbers are equal or not (the real numbers are not discrete) . The main thrust of constructive mathematics was in the direction of analysis, although several mathematicians, including Kronecker and van der waerden, made important contributions to construc tive algebra. Heyting, working in intuitionistic algebra, concentrated on issues raised by considering algebraic structures over the real numbers, and so developed a handmaiden'of analysis rather than a theory of discrete algebraic structures.

Commutative Algebra: Constructive Methods

Translated from the popular French edition, this book offers a detailed introduction to various basic concepts, methods, principles, and results of commutative algebra. It takes a constructive viewpoint in commutative algebra and studies algorithmic approaches alongside several abstract classical theories. Indeed, it revisits these traditional topics with a new and simplifying manner, making the subject both accessible and innovative. The algorithmic aspects of such naturally abstract topics as Galois theory, Dedekind rings, Prüfer rings, finitely generated projective modules, dimension theory of commutative rings, and others in the current treatise, are all analysed in the spirit of the great developers of constructive algebra in the nineteenth century. This updated and revised edition contains over 350 well-arranged exercises, together with their helpful hints for solution. A basic knowledge of linear algebra, group theory, elementary number theory as well as the fundamentals of ring and module theory is required. Commutative Algebra: Constructive Methods will be useful for graduate students, and also researchers, instructors and theoretical computer scientists.