Error-correcting code

In information theory and coding, an error-correcting code is a code in which each data signal conforms to specific rules of construction so that departures from this construction in the received signal can generally be automatically detected and corrected. This concept is applied in telecommunication.

Note 1: If the number of errors is less than or equal to the maximum correctable threshold of the code, all errors will be corrected.

Note 2: Error-correcting codes require more signal elements than are necessary to convey the basic information.

Note 3: The two main classes of error-correcting codes are block codes and convolutional codes.

See also Hamming code and Reed-Solomon code; or, for state-of-the-art codes developed from 1993 to 2003, see sparse graph codes, specifically low-density parity-check codes, turbo codes, and digital fountain codes.

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C and from MIL-STD-188

External links

• The on-line textbook: Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms, by David MacKay, contains chapters on elementary error-correcting codes; on the theoretical limits of error-correction; and on the latest state-of-the-art error-correcting codes, including low-density parity-check codes, turbo codes, and digital fountain codes.