For physics students interested in the mathematics they use, and for math students interested in seeing how some of the ideas of their discipline find realization in an applied setting. The presentation strikes a balance between formalism and application, between abstract and concrete. The interconnections among the various topics are clarified both by the use of vector spaces as a central unifying theme, recurring throughout the book, and by putting ideas into their historical context. Enough of the essential formalism is included to make the presentation self-contained.

《范畴论》作者在书中使用的是现代范畴论通用的概念和术语，但是在对一些基本概念和理论的处理过程中，作者尝试使用比较简洁直接的方法，避免烦琐的论述。《范畴论》的前3章是范畴论的基础内容，适合高年级本科生和研究生的教学以及科研人员对范畴论基础知识的需要，第4章可供从事代数拓扑学尤其是同调代数研究的研究生和科研人员学习和参考，第5章既可以为从事代数几何的科研人员参考，同时也可为希望进一步学习Topos理论的读者提供层论方面的预备知识。