We adress the problem of the algebraic decoding of any cyclic code up to the
true minimum distance. For this, we use the classical formulation of the
problem, which is to find the error locator polynomial in terms of the syndroms
of the received word. This is usually done with the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm
in the case of BCH codes and related codes, but for the general case, there is
no generic algorithm to decode cyclic codes. Even in the case of the quadratic
residue codes, which are good codes with a very strong algebraic structure,
there is no available general decoding algorithm. For this particular case of
quadratic residue codes, several authors have worked out, by hand, formulas for
the coefficients of the locator polynomial in terms of the syndroms, using the
Newton identities. This work has to be done for each particular quadratic
residue code, and is more and more difficult as the length is growing.
Furthermore, it is error-prone. We propose to automate these computations,
using elimination theory and Grbner bases. We prove that, by computing
appropriate Grbner bases, one automatically recovers formulas for the
coefficients of the locator polynomial, in terms of the syndroms