A NETWORK FLOW APPROACH TO CONVOLUTIONAL-CODES

In this paper we present an alternative way of looking at convolutiona l codes as a network of flows. From this association, previous known c lasses of nonsystematic convolutional codes are reproduced. We also pr esent a decomposition of the problem of finding good convolutional cod es into well known and structured problems such as the maximum flow pr oblem, the knapsack problem, and the modular representation of block c odes. A spanning tree search algorithm is also proposed for finding go od codes. We consider the class of nonsystematic convolutional codes f or which the encoders satisfy an equivalent property related to the fe asibility of flow. Finally, extensive tables show the new and the prev ious known codes.