Codes

Abstract

The length n, the minimum distance d, and the total number of codewords (or size) M = |C| are the basic parameters of a code C. Increasing d is usually possible at the expense of decreasing M or increasing n. If d and M are fixed, the most interesting codes for the given d, M are those of shortest length n. If d and n are fixed, one looks for a code of largest possible size M.