Answers to frequently asked questions and hints on exercise questions and project assignments can quite often be found here. You should consider this page as a repository for useful course related knowledge. If you get stuck on a particular subject, exercise or assignment, check this page first.

1. Some very general tips and pointers on how to make the debugging process more efficient (and less frustrating), and how to improve your programming skills. Hints on debugging and program efficiency.

2. My code is correct because it works for all smaller examples, just not the bigger one. What to do about it.

3. How to calculate modular inverses by hand. Multiplicative inverses in Z_n.

4. On factoring polynomials in finite fields. How do you determine if a polynomial is reducible or irreducible? How do you factor it into irreducible factors? Explained here. Factoring polynomials in finite fields.

5. On primitive polynomials and how to write a very handy multiplication table for F_q[x]/<f(x)>. Primitive polynomials and multiplication tables.

6. Hints for Project 2 Home Exercise 1.3. Hint.