Introduction to Coding Theory

Lecture notes and exercise sheets can be found here.

This course is an introduction to algebraic coding theory. Topics covered will include

• Linear algebraic codes
• First examples: Golay and RM codes
• Reed-Solomon codes and their (list)-decoding algorithms
• Efficient decoding: the displacement method
• Codes from algebraic geometry
• Codes over rings
• Expander graphs and expander codes

The course consists of one weekly lecture (90 minutes on Thursdays from 13:15 to 15:00pm, given by Amin Shokrollahi) and one weekly exercise session (90 minutes on Thursdays from 15:15 to 17:00pm, given by Bertrand Meyer). The course and the exercises will be in English. Grading is based on the final exam.

Office hours : On appointment by email (firstname.lastname@epfl.ch). Room BC 128

• “Theory of Error Correcting Codes,” by F.J. MacWilliams and N. Sloane
• “Introduction to Coding Theory,” by J.H. van Lint

Other relevant material will be advertised in the class.

Written exam. Date : June 30 2011. Time : 8:15am-11:15am. Place: CM3. Duration : 3h. No material allowed except a recto-verso handwritten A4 cheat-sheet.

Exam with solutions