ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors present a type of code called a BCH code that is linear and can be constructed to be multiple-error correcting. BCH codes are named for their creators, Bose, Chaudhuri, and Hocquenghem. The authors describe the generator polynomial for a BCH code is chosen in a special way because of how it allows errors to be corrected in the resulting code. They also present the BCH code error correction method. Unlike Hamming codes, which are only one-error correcting, BCH codes can be constructed to be multiple-error correcting. Since Hamming codes are only one-error correcting, if more than one bit error occurs during transmission of a Hamming codeword, the received vector will not be correctable to the codeword that was sent. Moreover, since Hamming codes are perfect, if more than one bit error occurs, the received vector will be uniquely correctable, but to the wrong codeword.
