Applied Algebra: Codes, Ciphers, and Discrete Algorithms by Darel W. Hardy, and Carol L. Walker was published by Prentice Hall in 2003
There had been an interest in an applied algebra course at Colorado State University, but no general agreement on the contents of such a course. It could contain topics of interest to computer science, such as the theory of machines and automata, it could contain topics related to combinatorics such as shortest path algorithms, or it could focus on applications of number theory. Bob Liebler suggested the topics of error control codes and cryptography. I taught an applied algebra course using the textbook Elementary Number Theory and Its Applicataions by Ken Rosen and gradually developed a set of class notes. I enlisted the help of Carol Walker to refine the manuscript and in 2003 it was published by Prentice Hall.
In 2005 the book was translated into Japanese. The translation sold well, but the international royalties are paid at a greatly reduced rate.
We added Fred Richman as a third author and the second edition was published in 2008 by CRC, with series editor Ken Rosen. The textbook included an electronic version with simulations that used Scientific Notebook.
