Symbolic dynamics is a rapidly growing area of dynamical systems. Although it originated as a method to study general dynamical systems, it has found significant uses in coding for data storage and transmission as well as in linear algebra. This book is the first general textbook on symbolic dynamics and its applications to coding. Mathematical prerequisites are relatively modest (mainly linear algebra at the undergraduate level) especially for the first half of the book. Topics are carefully developed and motivated with many examples, and there are over 500 exercises to test the reader's understanding. The last chapter contains a survey of more advanced topics, and a comprehensive bibliography is included. This book will serve as an introduction to symbolic dynamics for advanced undergraduate students in mathematics, engineering, and computer science.
Douglas A. Lind earned his B.S. in Business from Bowling Green State University, and his Ph.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Toledo. He is Emeritus Professor at Coastal Carolina University and the University of Toledo. Dr. Lind is a co-author of Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics with the late Robert D. Mason and William G. Marchal. He has more than 38 years of college teaching experience, including teaching statistics at the introductory, intermediate, and advanced undergraduate levels, as well as graduate courses in statistics and research methods. Dr. Lind is a past recipient of the Tony DeJute Outstanding Teacher Award.