Generalized Hamming weights of linear codes

The generalized Hamming weight, d_r(C), of a binary linear code C is the size of the smallest support of any r-dimensional subcode of C. The parameter d_r(C) determines the code's performance on the wire-tap channel of Type II. Bounds on d_r(C), and in some cases exact expressions, are derived. In particular, a generalized Griesmer bound for d_r(C) is presented and examples are given of codes meeting this bound with equality