Error correcting and detecting codes are essential to improving system reliability and have popularly been applied to computer systems and communication systems. Coding theory has been studied mainly using the code generator polynomials; hence, the codes are sometimes called polynomial codes. On the other hand, the codes designed by parity check matrices are referred to in this book as matrix codes. This timely book focuses on the design theory for matrix codes and their practical applications for the improvement of system reliability. As the author effectively demonstrates, matrix codes are far more flexible than polynomial codes, as they are capable of expressing various types of code functions..