Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
The packing problem for (k, 3)-caps is that of finding (m, 3)r, q, the largest size of (k, 3)-cap in the Galois space Sr, q. The problem is tackled by exploiting the interplay of finite geometries with error-correcting codes. An improved general upper bound on (m, 3)3 q and the actual value of (m, 3)3, 4 are obtained. In terms of coding theory, the methods make a useful contribution to the difficult task of establishing the existence or non-existence of linear codes with certain weight distributions.