UNLV : Math : Corran Webster : Teaching : CCC

Communication, Codes and Cyphers

Spring 2002

Syllabus

HON 400, Section 005

Location:	BHS 202
Time:	9:30-10:20
Website:	http://www.nevada.edu/~cwebster
Instructor:	Dr. Corran Webster
Office Hours:	TBA
Office:	CBC B306
Phone:	895-0376 (extension x0376 on campus)
Fax:	895-4343
E-mail:	`cwebster@unlv.edu`

Prerequisite

To enrol in this course you must be enrolled in the honors program.

While not a prerequisite, you will get more from the course if you have taken one of the honours mathematics sequences (HON 181/182/283 or MAT 140/141) or an equivalent.

Course Objectives

The principal goal of this course is to provide an understanding of the role that various types of codes play in the modern world and historically; the strengths and weaknesses of various types of codes; and the relation of mathematics to this field. You will also learn how to construct simple codes of various types, as well as the basic techniques of codebreaking. Surprisingly, many recent developments in codes and cryptography have come from fields of pure mathematics which were thought to have no practical applications. We will look at three main types of codes in this course:

Cmprssn Cds: compression codes are used to squeeze as much information into as little space as possible. Examples include JPEG and GIF image formats used on the web.

EErrxroorr-CCoorreeccttiinngg CCooddeess: error-correcting codes are used to prevent loss of information in noisy communication channels. Examples include the encoding scheme for compact discs, and the encoding of DNA to amino acids.

Yptographiccray Odescay: cryptographic codes are used to prevent a message being read by an unwanted third party. Examples include the RSA cypher used in secure online transactions, and the German Enigma cypher which played a pivotal role in World War II.

Assessment

The grade in this class will be determined by class participation, completion of homework exercises, and a term project. There will be no examinations or final. The total grade for the course will be out of 100.

Class participation will be 20 points of the total for the class. Of these, 15 points will be for attendance, and 5 points will be for active participation in class and office hours.

Homework exercises will be 30 marks of the total. Homework will be handed out every week, and will be due on the last day of the semester. Homework which is submitted before the end of the semester will be graded and may be re-submitted. Homework problems will be graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis (ie. they are either right or wrong).

The term project will give the remaining 50 marks, with 10 marks coming from a detailed proposal, 10 marks from a final draft, and 30 from the completed assignment. The term project should extend your knowledge beyond what is covered in coursework. A separate handout will give more information about what is expected from the term project.

This course will be graded on the following curve:

A, A-:	85%-100%
B+, B, B-:	75%-85%
C+, C, C-:	60%-75%
D+, D:	50%-60%

+ and - grades will be awarded for borderline grades.

Tentative Schedule

Week 1:	(Martin Luther King Holiday) Introduction.
Week 2:	Alphabets, Codes, Trees and Kraft's Inequality
Week 3:	Information = Entropy = Surprise (Sort Of)
Week 4:	Lossless Compression of Random Data
Week 5:	(Washington's Birthday Recess) Lossless Compression of Non-Random Data
Week 6:	Lossy Compression
Week 7:	Capacity of a Noisy Channel
Week 8:	Error-Correcting Codes
Week 9:	Substitution Cyphers (and How to Break Them). Project Proposals Due.
Spring Break:	(March 24-31)
Week 10:	Other Classic Cyphers (and How to Break Them).
Week 11:	Public Key Cryptosystems and Digital Signatures.
Week 12:	RSA, DES and Diffie-Hellman. Project Drafts Due.
Week 13:	Computational Complexity (or Why It's Hard To Crack RSA).
Week 14:	Social and Legal Implications.
Week 15:	TBD. Project and Homework Due.

This is very tentative, and may change if I have mis-estimated the time required to cover some material.

Other Notes

If you have a documented disability that may require assistance, you will need to contact the Disability Resource Center for coordination in your academic accomodations. The DRC is located in the Reynolds Student Services Complex in room 137. The DRC phone number is 895-0866 (TDD 895-0652).