Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T08:08:14.208Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Harold Simmons
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Get access

Summary

As it says on the front cover this book is an introduction to Category Theory. It gives the basic definitions; goes through the various associated gadgetry such as functors, natural transformations, limits and colimits; and then explains adjunctions. This material could be developed in 50 pages or so, but here it takes some 220 pages. That is because there are many examples illustrating the various notions, some rather straightforward, and others with more content. More importantly, there are also over 200 exercises. And perhaps even more importantly, solutions to these exercises are available online.

The book is aimed primarily at the beginning graduate student, but that does not mean that other students or professional mathematicians will not find it useful. I have designed the book so that it can be used by a single student or small group of students to learn the subject on their own. The book will make a suitable text for a reading group. The book does not assume the reader has a broad knowledge of mathematics. Most of the illustrations use rather simple ideas, but every now and then a more advanced topic is mentioned. The book can also be used as a recommended text for a taught introductory course.

Every mathematician should at least know of the existence of category theory, and many will need to use categorical notions every now and then. For those groups this is the book you should have. Other mathematicians will use category theory every day.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Preface
  • Harold Simmons, University of Manchester
  • Book: An Introduction to Category Theory
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511863226.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Preface
  • Harold Simmons, University of Manchester
  • Book: An Introduction to Category Theory
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511863226.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • Harold Simmons, University of Manchester
  • Book: An Introduction to Category Theory
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511863226.001
Available formats
×