An (<i>n,k</i>) linear code over a finite field <i>F</i>
 is  <I>k</i>-dimensional subspace <I>V</i> of the vector space <I>F<sup>n</sup> = F &#8853 F &#8853 ... &#8853 F</i> (<i>n</i> copies of <I>F</i>) over a field <I>F</I>.  The members of <I>V</i> are called <i>code words</i>.
 When <I>F</i> is <i>Z<sub>2</sub></I>, the code is called <i>binary</i>.