In coding theory

Coding theory

Coding theory is the study of the properties of codes and their fitness for a specific application. Codes are used for data compression, cryptography, error-correction and more recently also for network coding...

 the BCH codes form a class of parameterised error-correcting codes

Error detection and correction

In information theory and coding theory with applications in computer science and telecommunication, error detection and correction or error control are techniques that enable reliable delivery of digital data over unreliable communication channels...

 which have been the subject of much academic attention in the last fifty years. BCH codes were invented in 1959 by Hocquenghem

Alexis Hocquenghem

Alexis Hocquenghem was a French mathematician. He is known for his discovery of Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem codes, today better known under the acronym BCH codes. This class of error correcting codes was published by Hocquenghem in 1959. The code also bears the names of R. C. Bose and...

, and independently in 1960 by Bose

Raj Chandra Bose

Raj Chandra Bose was an Indian mathematician and statistician best known for his work in design theory and the theory of error-correcting codes in which the class of BCH codes is partly named after him. He was notable for his work along with S. S. Shrikhande and E. T...

 and Ray-Chaudhuri. The acronym BCH comprises the initials of these inventors' names.

The principal advantage of BCH codes is the ease with which they can be decoded, via an elegant algebraic

Abstract algebra

Abstract algebra is the subject area of mathematics that studies algebraic structures, such as groups, rings, fields, modules, vector spaces, and algebras...

 method known as syndrome decoding.