A Student's Guide to Coding and Information Theory

This easy-to-read guide provides a concise introduction to the engineering background of modern communication systems, from mobile phones to data compression and storage. Background mathematics and specific engineering techniques are kept to a minimum so that only a basic knowledge of high-school mathematics is needed to understand the material covered. The authors begin with many practical applications in coding, including the repetition code, the Hamming code and the Huffman code. They then explain the corresponding information theory, from entropy and mutual information to channel capacity and the information transmission theorem. Finally, they provide insights into the connections between coding theory and other fields. Many worked examples are given throughout the book, using practical applications to illustrate theoretical definitions. Exercises are also included, enabling readers to double-check what they have learned and gain glimpses into more advanced topics, making this perfect for anyone who needs a quick introduction to the subject.

Stefan M. Moser received the diploma (MSc) in electrical engineering in 1999, the MSc degree in industrial management (MBA) in 2003, and the PhD (Dr. sc. techn.) in the field of information theory in 2004, all from ETH Zurich, Switzerland. From 1999 to 2003 he was a Research and Teaching Assistant, and from 2004 to 2005 a Senior Research Assistant, with the Signal and Information Processing Laboratory at ETH Zurich. From 2005 to 2013, he was a Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), Hsinchu, Taiwan. Currently he is a Senior Researcher with the Signal and Information Processing Laboratory at ETH Zurich and an Adjunct Professor at National Chiao Tung University. His research interests are in information theory and digital communications. Dr Moser was the recipient of the Wu Ta-You Memorial Award by the National Science Council of Taiwan in 2012, and the Best Paper Award for Young Scholars by the IEEE Communications Society Taipei and Tainan Chapters and the IEEE Information Theory Society Taipei Chapter in 2009. Further, he has received various awards from the National Chiao Tung University, two awards for outstanding teaching (in 2007 and 2012), and was presented with the Willi Studer Award of ETH and the ETH Medal (both in 1999), and the Sandoz (Novartis) Basler Maturandenpreis (1993).

Po-Ning Chen is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU). Amongst his awards, he has received the 2000 Young Scholar Paper Award from Academia Sinica. He was also selected as the Outstanding Tutor Teacher of NCTU in 2002 and he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2003.