Error-correcting linear codes. Classification by isometry and applications. With CD-ROM (Q2500513)

The theory of error-correcting codes is a rather new addition to the list of mathematical disciplines. Currently, this theory is no more than 60 years old. It grew out of the need to communicate information electronically. Being an applied discipline by definition, a large number of mathematical areas are connected into Coding Theory -- Linear Algebra, Algebra and Combinatorics, Number Theory and Geometry, etc. This book contains 51 figures and 102 tables. It starts from the channel model of communication in the presence of noise. From there, the authors develop the fundamental concepts, like the Hamming metric and the maximum likelihood decoding principle. This book takes unusual turn after discussing dual codes and simple decoding procedures. After raising the question of what it means for codes to be ''essentially different'', the metric Hamming space is considered together with its isometries (the maps which preserving the metric structure). The authors call the codes isometric if they are equivalent as subspaces of the Hamming space. After that, the discussion shifts to a more abstract analysis of the different kinds of isometries. In essence, the book serves two purposes. On the one hand, the book introduces the fundamentals of the theory of error-correcting codes like parameters, bounds as well as known classes of codes (Chapter 1--4). Also included is an introduction to the theory of finite fields (Chapter 3). Moreover, the application of Coding Theory to CD-players is discussed in details (Chapter 5). On the other hand, the second part (Chapter 6--9) of the book covers more advanced and specialized topics like the classification of linear codes by isometry, the enumeration of isometry classes, random generation of codes, the use of lattice basis reduction to compute minimum distances, etc. Chapter A (the appendix) contains an introduction to the attached compact disc. It describes the instalation of the software in both a Windows and a Linux environment. It also gives a survey on the accompanying data. The included software allows one to compute the minimum distance and the weight distribution of given codes, construct codes with a given minimum distance and randomly generate linear codes which are uniformly distributed over the isometry classes with given parameters. The dynamic tables describe the isometry classes of linear codes. Moreover, there are tables containing information on optimal linear codes. In addition, corresponding generator matrices can be found. Altogether, in about two million isometry classes have been computed of which more than 800 000 are optimal codes. Nearly 200 000 generator matrices can be found on the attached compact disc, of which more than 70 000 generate optimal codes. The book provides access to all results at a level which is proper for graduate students of mathematics and computer science as well as for researchers.