Description:
"Code" has become a household word, and probably everybody knows (vaguely) that good codes determine much of modern life. Mathematically, a good code is a very regular arrangement of codewords, or what we call a design. In this course we treat the basics of designs and codes, discuss several important examples, and focus on the algebraic methods for constructing good designs with given parameters or proving their nonexistence.
Course contents:
Introduction, basic concepts of designs, projective planes, Hadamard matrices, non-existence results, Latin squares, Euler's conjecture, basics of coding theory, linear codes, perfect codes.
Additional Information:
Prerequisites include successful completion of Discrete Maths I and II, as well as a firm knowledge of linear algebra and matrices. A good background in finite fields is strongly recommended.