A clear and structured introduction to the subject. After a chapter on the definition of rings and modules there are brief accounts of Artinian rings, commutative Noetherian rings and ring constructions, such as the direct product, Tensor product and rings of fractions, followed by a description of free rings. Readers are assumed to have a basic understanding of set theory, group theory and vector spaces. Over two hundred carefully selected exercises are included, most with outline solutions.

The theory of rings of quotients has its origin in the work of (j). Ore and K. Asano on the construction of the total ring of fractions, in the 1930's and 40's. But the subject did not really develop until the end of the 1950's, when a number of important papers appeared (by R. E. Johnson, Y. Utumi, A. W. Goldie, P. Gabriel, J. Lambek, and others). Since then the progress has been rapid, and the subject has by now attained a stage of maturity, where it is possible to make a systematic account of it (which is the purpose of this book). The most immediate example of a ring of quotients is the field of fractions Q of a commutative integral domain A. It may be characterized by the two properties: (i) For every qEQ there exists a non-zero SEA such that qSEA. (ii) Q is the maximal over-ring of A satisfying condition (i). The well-known construction of Q can be immediately extended to the case when A is an arbitrary commutative ring and S is a multiplicatively closed set of non-zero-divisors of A. In that case one defines the ring of fractions Q = A [S-l] as consisting of pairs (a, s) with aEA and SES, with the declaration that (a, s)=(b, t) if there exists UES such that uta = usb. The resulting ring Q satisfies (i), with the extra requirement that SES, and (ii).

This is a concise 2000 introduction at graduate level to ring theory, module theory and number theory.

This book is a collection of invited papers and articles, many presented at the 2008 International Conference on Ring and Module Theory. The papers explore the latest in various areas of algebra, including ring theory, module theory and commutative algebra.

First Published in 2018. This book grew out of a course of lectures given to third year undergraduates at Oxford University and it has the modest aim of producing a rapid introduction to the subject. It is designed to be read by students who have had a first elementary course in general algebra. On the other hand, it is not intended as a substitute for the more voluminous tracts such as Zariski-Samuel or Bourbaki. We have concentrated on certain central topics, and large areas, such as field theory, are not touched. In content we cover rather more ground than Northcott and our treatment is substantially different in that, following the modern trend, we put more emphasis on modules and localization.

This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to module theory and the related part of ring theory, including original results as well as the most recent work. It is a useful and stimulating study for those new to the subject as well as for researchers and serves as a reference volume. Starting form a basic understanding of linear algebra, the theory is presented and accompanied by complete proofs. For a module M, the smallest Grothendieck category containing it is denoted by o[M] and module theory is developed in this category. Developing the techniques in o[M] is no more complicated than in full module categories and the higher generality yields significant advantages: for example, module theory may be developed for rings without units and also for non-associative rings. Numerous exercises are included in this volume to give further insight into the topics covered and to draw attention to related results in the literature.

''In writing this book, care was taken to use language and examples that gradually wean students from a simpleminded mechanical approach and move them toward mathematical maturity. We also recognize that many students who hesitate to ask for help from an instructor need a readable text, and we have tried to anticipate the questions that go unasked. The wide range of examples in the text are meant to augment the "favorite examples" that most instructors have for teaching the topcs in discrete mathematics. To provide diagnostic help and encouragement, we have included solutions and/or hints to the odd-numbered exercises. These solutions include detailed answers whenever warranted and complete proofs, not just terse outlines of proofs. Our use of standard terminology and notation makes Applied Discrete Structures a valuable reference book for future courses. Although many advanced books have a short review of elementary topics, they cannot be complete. The text is divided into lecture-length sections, facilitating the organization of an instructor's presentation.Topics are presented in such a way that students' understanding can be monitored through thought-provoking exercises. The exercises require an understanding of the topics and how they are interrelated, not just a familiarity with the key words. An Instructor's Guide is available to any instructor who uses the text. It includes: Chapter-by-chapter comments on subtopics that emphasize the pitfalls to avoid; Suggested coverage times; Detailed solutions to most even-numbered exercises; Sample quizzes, exams, and final exams. This textbook has been used in classes at Casper College (WY), Grinnell College (IA), Luzurne Community College (PA), University of the Puget Sound (WA).''--