Information theory and network coding

Abstract

Part I of this book by itself may be regarded as a comprehensive textbook in information theory. The main reason why the book is in the present form is because in my opinion, the discussion of network coding in Part II is incomplete without Part I. Nevertheless, except for Chapter 21 on multi-source network coding, Part II by itself may be used satisfactorily as a textbook on single-source network coding.An elementary course on probability theory and an elementary course on linear algebra are prerequisites to Part I and Part II, respectively. For Chapter 11, some background knowledge on digital communication systems would be helpful, and for Chapter 20, some prior exposure to discrete-time linear systems is necessary. The reader is recommended to read the chapters according to the above chart. However, one will not have too much difficulty jumping around in the book because there should be sufficient references to the previous relevant sections.This book inherits the writing style from the previous book, namely that all the derivations are from the first principle. The book contains a large number of examples, where important points are very often made. To facilitate the use of the book, there is a summary at the end of each chapter.This book can be used as a textbook or a reference book. As a textbook, it is ideal for a two-semester course, with the first and second semesters covering selected topics from Part I and Part II, respectively. A comprehensive instructor's manual is available upon request.