From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
The usual: Kahn, Denning, and some of the old Dover Press books on crypto. Also, Herbert Zim wrote a nice little book about 40-50 years ago on codes. Some of the standard crypto textbooks will of course have more pointers to cryptanalysis. (Not to sound harsh to Allen, but why would anyone ask here on the list for recommendations to such a standard subject when Schneier, Garfinkel, Denning, etc. all have books listed?)
Thanks, I'll check. I don't happen to _have_ a copy of Applied Cryptography, etcetera, immediately available, and I had gotten the impression that those concentrated on cyphers as opposed to codes.
And there are so many interesting areas to pursue with using and furthering modern crypto, that I just can't understand how people can think that classical cryptanalysis is useful. It might be fun, as a hobby, but it has no bearing on modern systems. (Well, I'm exaggerating a bit. I suspect that classical cryptanalysts at the NSA or GCHQ might have some insights into some problems with modern systems, such as traffic analysis. So I shouldn't say there is "no use" for it. But I hope you all understand my point in general. It is unlikely in the extreme that anyone who fools around a little with classical cryptanalysis will have anything important to contribute as a result of this.)
I never said I was interested in putting stuff about codes into practical usage. Actually, I'm a roleplaying gamer, and I wanted the info for historical settings. True codes appear to be the historical equivalent of OTPs. -Allen