Aimed at the first years of graduate school, this is one of the first books on the subject to be aimed at covering the entire field rather than specialized sub-segments. It is also intended that the book will be useful at the researcher level where specialists in one field may get an overall background. The book has been used by the authors at Delft University of Technology since 2002.



The book does not have the standard set of questions for the student at the end of the chapters. Instead it has what the authors call Control Questions that are presented just after a subject is covered. These questions are to provide a check to the student to insure that he understands what has been presented.



The book presents an extensive mathematical/theoretical treatment of the subject. It provides a common baseline from which the specialist can move in several directions.