Selected unsolved problems in coding theory. (Q636050)

This is a book for mathematicians interested in learning, in a pleasant and instructive way, some main topics of coding theory. It is also a book for coding theorists interested in learning the program \texttt{SAGE} to perform computations with error-correcting codes. It should be noted first that, since this is not a textbook, the exposition is far from systematic or even ordered sometimes. The authors have chosen six topics within this theory and develop them in the six chapters of the book. These subjects vary in interest and difficulty, but they all have in common the beauty of their mathematical developments. Each chapter contains an exposition of the relevant facts, often without proofs but always giving appropriate references, and a list of 31 open problems found on the fly. These problems can be explored numerically using \texttt{SAGE} through small programs. Roughly speaking, the ordering of chapters and topics ranges from the most basic to more complex ones (requiring higher math knowledge). Chapter 1 contains a brief introduction to codes, fundamentals and applications. Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to some of the most beautiful parts of the theory (and probably the most accomplished ones of this book). Chapter 2 surveys the intersection between self-duality, lattices and invariant theory. Chapter 3 discusses the interrelations between codes, designs, groups and orthogonal arrays. The remaining chapters are much harder and technical. Chapter 4 explores the Duursma zeta function of a code and the relation to the zeta function of an algebraic curve. Chapter 5 discuses asymptotic bounds on binary linear codes and the relation of this problem with the number of roots of a hyperelliptic equation \( y^2 = f (x) \). Finally, Chapter 6 is devoted to algebraic geometry codes, and mainly those coming from modular curves. Despite the large number of open problems existing on this topic, this chapter lists just one. Instead, the authors include some examples to experiment with \texttt{SAGE}. Overall, the book is interesting and enjoyable to read, and offers a good opportunity to learn about some of the most fascinating aspects of the mathematical theory of codes. It is also a good source for learning \texttt{SAGE} in a useful and entertaining way. The main criticism one could raise concerns the choice of topics and open problems, which seems to simply obey the preferences of the authors rather than scientific or academic criteria.