Focused codes for channels with skewed errors

Consider a channel with inputs and outputs in the field F/sub q/(q>2). It is said that the channel is skewed on a set B contained in/implied by F/sub q/* if the additive noise generated by the channel is likely to lie in B, i.e. B is a set of common errors. The concern is the construction of focused codes that are appropriate for such channels. It is said that a code is (t/sub 1/,t/sub 2/)-focused on B if it can correct up to t/sub 1/+t/sub 2/ errors provided at most t/sub 1/ of those errors lie outside of B; the strategy is to offer different levels of protection against common and uncommon errors and so provide novel tradeoffs between performance and rate. Techniques for constructing focused codes and bounds on their rates are described.<
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