Comp Sci Isn't Caesar cipher a monoalphabetic cipher?

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The discussion clarifies that the Caesar cipher is indeed a type of monoalphabetic cipher, characterized by its simple substitution method where the alphabet order remains unchanged. Some participants argue against teaching the Caesar cipher before introducing monoalphabetic ciphers, claiming it misrepresents the relationship between the two. They suggest that while the Caesar cipher has vulnerabilities, these are better addressed by homophonic ciphers rather than monoalphabetic ones. The ease of solving a Caesar cipher through frequency analysis is highlighted, contrasting it with the complexity of decoding more intricate monoalphabetic ciphers. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the need for accurate teaching regarding the classification and problem-solving capabilities of different cipher types.
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Homework Statement
Caeser cipher, monoalphabetic cipher
Relevant Equations
Cipher=(Plain+k)%26, Plain=(Cipher-k)%26
I feel so, but some are teaching ceaser cipher before monoalphabetic cipher and telling "there are problems of ceaser cipher" that were solved by "monoalphabetic cipher". It sound wrong. While homophonic cipher could've solved ceaser cipher's problem. But telling monoalphabetic cipher solves ceaser cipher problem is wrong sounding. What do you think?
 
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The Caesar cipher is a monoalphabetic substitution.
The simple substitution is the same throughout the message.
The order of the alphabet is not changed, which makes it trivial to solve.
 
shivajikobardan said:
I feel so, but some are teaching ceaser cipher before monoalphabetic cipher and telling "there are problems of ceaser cipher" that were solved by "monoalphabetic cipher". It sound wrong. While homophonic cipher could've solved ceaser cipher's problem. But telling monoalphabetic cipher solves ceaser cipher problem is wrong sounding. What do you think?
The Caesar cipher is a special case of a monoalphabetic cipher. It is particularly easy to solve by frequency analysis in a way that less trivial monoalphabetic ciphers are not: can you think what that is?
 
You can solve a Caesar cipher in your head, try solving a monoalphabetical cipher in your head!
EG if head encodes to khdg, then decode jrrg erb - it's easy, there's enough data to work with, you don't even need to know that khdg means head, just trying variation after variation is enough.

But in a monoalphabetic cipher, if head encodes to qrri, decode afgdw pleo - you can't, too little data.

While monoalphabetical is relatively easy with a computer and a reasonable amount of data -a dozen sentances and you're there, usually, it has big problems when dealing with just two or three words to work with. Therefore monoalphabetic solves the simplicity of Caesar in some cases.
 
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