Hacker Neue

Preferences
revskill parent
The problem with algebra teaching is, they just declare a thing without explaining the root reason of why it's there in first place.
deepnet
Root reason & comp sci application is mentioned near start :

“ Many moons back I was self-learning Galois Fields for some erasure coding theory applications.”

Erasure codes are based on finite fields, e.g. Galois fields.

The author is fraustrated by access to Galois fields for the non-mathematician due to Jargon obscucification.

Also large Application section : “

Applications

The applications and algorithms are staggering. You interact with implementations of abstract algebra everyday: CRC, AES Encryption, Elliptic-Curve Cryptography, Reed-Solomon, Advanced Erasure Codes, Data Hashing/Fingerprinting, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, etc.

Having a solid-background in Galois Fields and Abstract Algebra is a prerequisite for understanding these applications.

“

I sympathise with your fraustration at math articles.

This is not one of them, it is rich and deep. Xorvoid leads us into difficult theoretic territority but the clarity of exposition is next level - a programmer will grok some of the serious math that underpins our field by reading the OP.

pk-protect-ai
I would not agree that the use of Galois Fields in Reed-Solomon code requires a background in Abstract Algebra. For what it's worth, decades ago, studying Galois Fields for Reed-Solomon code opened my eyes to the fact that you can create your own algebra... I'll never forget that "wow" moment. But being mathematically illiterate, I never found a reason to create my own algebra for any application. :)

This item has no comments currently.