Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Beginners
So far, the best single-page elliptic curve primer for generalist programmers I know of is Adam Langley&#x27;s:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imperialviolet.org&#x2F;2010&#x2F;12&#x2F;04&#x2F;ecc.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imperialviolet.org&#x2F;2010&#x2F;12&#x2F;04&#x2F;ecc.html</a><p>I understand the urge to try to get a high-level grok of curves without much math, but I spent years bouncing off the outermost surface of curve understanding by trying to start with the curve picture and the intuitive geometry of curve shape, and what finally made curves click for me (and quickly) was to simply take the curve equation --- which is itself high school math! --- and play with it a bit.<p>So if you&#x27;re a programmer and you want a baseline understanding how curves work, do what you&#x27;d do with any other subject you&#x27;re trying to understand: pop open an editor, take the Weierstrass curve equation, pick a y, solve for x; then do it in a finite field (ie, mod a prime). Then write an &quot;add&quot;, then a &quot;scalar mult&quot;. It&#x27;s a couple hours of noodling, tops.<p>As always, but particularly with curves, remember that the basic understanding of what&#x27;s going on is nowhere nearly enough to ever use them safely!