Author S.A. Stepanov thoroughly investigates the current state of the theory of Diophantine equations and its related methods. Discussions focus on arithmetic, algebraic-geometric, and logical aspects of the problem. Designed for students as well as researchers, the book includes over 250 excercises accompanied by hints, instructions, and references. Written in a clear manner, this text does not require readers to have special knowledge of modern methods of algebraic geometry.

"Addresses contemporary developments in number theory and coding theory, originally presented as lectures at summer school held at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. Includes many results in book form for the first time."

This is a self-contained introduction to algebraic curves over finite fields and geometric Goppa codes. There are four main divisions in the book. The first is a brief exposition of basic concepts and facts of the theory of error-correcting codes (Part I). The second is a complete presentation of the theory of algebraic curves, especially the curves defined over finite fields (Part II). The third is a detailed description of the theory of classical modular curves and their reduction modulo a prime number (Part III). The fourth (and basic) is the construction of geometric Goppa codes and the...