Point-set topology. A working textbook (Q6553102)

This book is intended as a companion book to intermediate or introductory texts on general topology, so it contains theorems generally without proofs, illustrated by many working examples (more than 160), worked exercises with full solutions (almost 300) and suggested exercises without solutions.\N\NThe material is structured into 11 chapters divided into sections, and contains: 1) Introduction 2) Topological spaces 3) Proximity on a topological space (this title is somewhat misleading: no proximity space in the meaning of [\textit{S. A. Naimpally} and \textit{B. D. Warrack}, Proximity spaces. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1970; Zbl 0206.24601)] is treated, but instead such operations as interior, closure and notions of filter base and convergence of sequences) 4) Metric spaces 5) Continuity 6) Homeomorphisms and topological invariants 7) Product topology 8) Connectedness 9) Compactness 10) Quotient topology 11) The fundamental group (homotopy).\N\NThis structure is flexible enough, so this workbook may be used e.g. together with [\textit{J. L. Kelley}, General topology. Reprint of the 1955 original published by van Nostrand. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications (2017; Zbl 1358.54001)] (but then MS-convergence remains uncovered) or even the old [\textit{J. Dugundji}, Topology. Series in Advanced Mathematics. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc (1966; Zbl 0144.21501)], but [\textit{R. Engelking}, Topologia ogólna (Polish). 3rd ed. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (2007; Zbl 1281.54001)] and the new [\textit{A. Błaszczyk}, Aspekty topologiczne algebr Boole'a (Polish). Katowice: Uniwersytet Śląski (1982; Zbl 0539.06015)] are too encyclopedic and extensive to be used together with this workbook, and -- on the other hand -- texts such as [\textit{B. Mendelson}, Introduction to topology. Reprint of the 3rd ed. New York etc.: Dover Publications, Inc. (1990; Zbl 0722.54002)] are slightly too brief and concise. Comparing different syllabuses on introductory general topology, the chapters concerning separation axioms (Definition 3.4.3 and Exercises 7.25 and 9.7 on Haudorff space are too few: normal, completely normal, Tychonoff etc. are also important), and countability axioms (compared with separability; scattered as Definition 4.2.5, Example 4. 17, \dots) would have liked to be added. It is a contemporary practice to present objects and morphisms of categories together (without even mentioning the category language), but Chapters 2, 5, 6 may serve also for such a layout of content. In the next edition it would also be nice among examples to take into account topologies (only completely regular, not normal) important in the study of real functions: density topology, r-topology, a.e.-topology and Hashimoto *-topology with respect to various \(\sigma\)-ideals. Tables concerning properties of dispersed examples (as in Engelking) would be also welcomed.\N\NThe main competitors of the textbook under review are: [\textit{A. V. Arkhangel'skij} and \textit{V. I. Ponomarev}, Fundamentals of general topology: problems and exercises. Transl. from the Russian by V. K. Jain. Dordrecht: Springer (1984; Zbl 0568.54001)] and [\textit{L. A. Steen} and \textit{J. A. Seebach jun.}, Counterexamples in topology. Reprint of the 2nd edition published 1978 by Springer. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications (1995; Zbl 1245.54001)], but all the 3 are different and somewhat complementary, so I hope that this valuable workbook, meeting all the requirements of demanding modern pedagogy will be widely used as companion to various textbooks and will contribute to raise the level of teaching the contemporary general topology for undergraduates.