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.

• The first textbook on symbolic dynamics • Assumes only a modest mathematical background (mainly linear algebra at the undergraduate level) and so is accessible to most mathematics and engineering students • Over 100 figures and 500 exercises to aid the reader's understanding

Contents

1. Shift spaces; 2. Shifts of finite type; 3. Sofic shifts; 4. Entropy; 5. Finite-state codes; 6. Shifts as dynamical systems; 7. Conjugacy; 8. Finite-to-one codes and finite equivalence; 9. Degrees of codes and almost topological conjugacy; 10. Embeddings and factorings; 11. Realization; 12. Equal entropy factors; 13. Guide to advanced topics.

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