Rapid advances in electronic and optical technology have enabled the implementation of powerful error-control codes, which are now used in almost the entire range of information systems with close to optimal performance. These codes and decoding methods are required for the detection and correction of the errors and erasures which inevitably occur in digital information during transmission, storage and processing because of noise, interference and other imperfections.

Error-control coding is a complex, novel and unfamiliar area, not yet widely understood and appreciated. This book sets out...