Agenerator matrix for the dual code is the parity-check matrix for the original code and vice versa. The dual of the dual code is always the original code.
Aself-dual code is one which is its own dual. This implies that n is even and dim C = n/2. If a self-dual code is such that each codeword's weight is a multiple of some constant , then it is of one of the following four types:[1]
Type I codes are binary self-dual codes which are not doubly even. Type I codes are always even (every codeword has even Hamming weight).
Type II codes are binary self-dual codes which are doubly even.
Type III codes are ternary self-dual codes. Every codeword in a Type III code has Hamming weight divisible by 3.
Type IV codes are self-dual codes over F4. These are again even.
Codes of types I, II, III, or IV exist only if the length n is a multiple of 2, 8, 4, or 2 respectively.
If a self-dual code has a generator matrix of the form , then the dual code has generator matrix, where is the identity matrix and .