Ideals, Varieties, and Algorithms

This book bases its discussion of algorithms on a generalization of the division algorithm for polynomials in one variable that was only discovered in the 1960s. Although the algorithmic roots of algebraic geometry are old, the computational aspects were neglected earlier in this century. This has changed in recent years, and new algorithms, coupled with the power of fast computers, have led to some interesting applications, for example in robotics and in geometric theorem proving. This book is an introduction to algebraic geometry and commutative algebra aimed primarily at undergraduates. Emphasizing applications and the computational and algorithmic aspects of the subject, the text has much less abstract flavor than standard treatments. With few prerequisites, it is also an ideal introduction to the subject for computer scientists.