Coding theory: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:01, 11 February 2005

Revision as of 01:15, 14 March 2005

Line 1:

'''Coding theory''' deals with the properties of [[code]]s and thus with their fitness for a specific application.

The aim of coding theory is to find codes which transmit fastquickly, contain many valid [[code word (telecommunication)|code word]]s and can correct or at least [[error detection|detect]] many errors. These aims are mutually exclusive however, so different codes are optimal for different applications. The needed properties of this code mainly depend on the probability of errors happening during transmission.

The term '''algebraic coding theory''' denotes the sub-field of coding theory where the properties of codes are expressed in algebraic terms and then further researched.

It analyzes the following three properties of a code -- mainly:

* [[code word]] length

* total number of valid codewordscode words

* the minimum [[Hamming distance]] between two valid codewordscode words

Another concern of coding theory is designing codes that help [[synchronization]]. A code may be designed so that a [[phase shift]] can be easily detected and corrected and that multiple signals can be sent on the same channel.

== See also ==