Geometric and algebraic properties of discrete structures

In the thesis we study two dimensional simplicial complexes and linear codes. We say that a linear code C over a field F is triangular representable if there exists a two dimensional simplicial complex ∆ such that C is a punctured code of the kernel ker ∆ of the incidence matrix of ∆ over F and dim C = dim ker ∆. We call this simplicial complex a geometric representation of C. We show that every linear code C over a primefield is triangular representable. In the case of finite primefields we construct a geometric representation such that the weight enumerator of C is obtained by a simple formula from the weight enumerator of the cycle space of ∆. Thus the geometric representation of C carries its weight enumerator. Our motivation comes from the theory of Pfaffian orientations of graphs which provides a polynomial algorithm for weight enumerator of the cut space of a graph of bounded genus. This algorithm uses geometric properties of an embedding of the graph into an orientable Riemann surface. Viewing the cut space of a graph as a linear code, the graph is thus a useful geometric representation of this linear code. We study embeddability of the geometric representations into Euclidean spaces. We show that every binary linear code has a geometric representation that can be embed- ded into R4 . We characterize..