The Theory Of Error Correcting Codes

Fundamentals of Error Correcting Codes is an in-depth introduction to coding theory from both an engineering and mathematical viewpoint. As well as covering classical topics, there is much coverage of techniques which could only be found in specialist journals and book publications. Numerous exercises and examples and an accessible writing style make this a lucid and effective introduction to coding theory for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and engineers, whether approaching the subject from a mathematical, engineering or computer science background.

Teaching the theory of error correcting codes on an introductory level is a difficulttask. The theory, which has immediate hardware applications, also concerns highly abstractmathematical concepts. This text explains the basic circuits in a refreshingly practical way thatwill appeal to undergraduate electrical engineering students as well as to engineers and techniciansworking in industry.Arazi's truly commonsense approach provides a solid grounding in the subject,explaining principles intuitively from a hardware perspective. He fully covers error correctiontechniques, from basic parity check and single error correction cyclic codes to burst errorcorrecting codes and convolutional codes. All this he presents before introducing Galois fieldtheory - the basic algebraic treatment and theoretical basis of the subject, which usually appearsin the opening chapters of standard textbooks. One entire chapter is devoted to specific practicalissues, such as Reed-Solomon codes (used in compact disc equipment), and maximum length sequences(used in various fields of communications). The basic circuits explained throughout the book areredrawn and analyzed from a theoretical point of view for readers who are interested in tackling themathematics at a more advanced level.Benjamin Arazi is an Associate Professor in the Department ofElectrical and Computer Engineering at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His book is includedin the Computer Systems Series, edited by Herb Schwetman.

The book offers an original view on channel coding, based on a unitary approach to block and convolutional codes for error correction. It presents both new concepts and new families of codes. For example, lengthened and modified lengthened cyclic codes are introduced as a bridge towards time-invariant convolutional codes and their extension to time-varying versions. The novel families of codes include turbo codes and low-density parity check (LDPC) codes, the features of which are justified from the structural properties of the component codes. Design procedures for regular LDPC codes are proposed, supported by the presented theory. Quasi-cyclic LDPC codes, in block or convolutional form, represent one of the most original contributions of the book. The use of more than 100 examples allows the reader gradually to gain an understanding of the theory, and the provision of a list of more than 150 definitions, indexed at the end of the book, permits rapid location of sought information.

One of the most remarkable and beautiful theorems in coding theory is Gleason's 1970 theorem about the weight enumerators of self-dual codes and their connections with invariant theory, which has inspired hundreds of papers about generalizations and applications of this theorem to different types of codes. This self-contained book develops a new theory which is powerful enough to include all the earlier generalizations.

A complete introduction to the many mathematical tools used to solve practical problems in coding. Mathematicians have been fascinated with the theory of error-correcting codes since the publication of Shannon's classic papers fifty years ago. With the proliferation of communications systems, computers, and digital audio devices that employ error-correcting codes, the theory has taken on practical importance in the solution of coding problems. This solution process requires the use of a wide variety of mathematical tools and an understanding of how to find mathematical techniques to solve applied problems. Introduction to the Theory of Error-Correcting Codes, Third Edition demonstrates this process and prepares students to cope with coding problems. Like its predecessor, which was awarded a three-star rating by the Mathematical Association of America, this updated and expanded edition gives readers a firm grasp of the timeless fundamentals of coding as well as the latest theoretical advances. This new edition features: * A greater emphasis on nonlinear binary codes * An exciting new discussion on the relationship between codes and combinatorial games * Updated and expanded sections on the Vashamov-Gilbert bound, van Lint-Wilson bound, BCH codes, and Reed-Muller codes * Expanded and updated problem sets. Introduction to the Theory of Error-Correcting Codes, Third Edition is the ideal textbook for senior-undergraduate and first-year graduate courses on error-correcting codes in mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering.