On weight distributions of shifts of Goethals-like codes (Q2388476)

The authors derive results on the weight distributions of shifts of Goethals-like codes (codes that have the same weight distribution as the Goethals code -- in particular, the minimum weight is 8) and punctured Goethals-like codes (minimum weight 7). The weight of a shift is the minimum weight of all the shifted codewords. A leader of a shift is a minimum-weight vector in the shift. The authors prove that for a Goethals-like code: for a shift of weight 4, the weight distribution of the shift is uniquely determined by the number of leaders in the shift; and for a shift of weight 1, 2, 3, 5, or 6, the weight distribution of the shift is uniquely determined by the weight of the shift. Similar results for punctured Goethals-like codes are also derived.