Chapter 10

Error Detection
and
Correction

10.1
 10-1 INTRODUCTION

some issues related, directly or indirectly, to error

detection and correction.

Topics discussed in this section:

Types of Errors
Redundancy
Detection Versus Correction
Modular Arithmetic

10.2
 Figure 10.1 Single-bit error

In a single-bit error, only 1 bit in the data

unit has changed.

10.3
 Figure 10.2 Burst error of length 8

A burst error means that 2 or more bits

in the data unit have changed.
10.4
 Error detection/correction
 Error detection
 Check if any error has occurred
 Don’t care the number of errors
 Don’t care the positions of errors
 Error correction
 Need to know the number of errors
 Need to know the positions of errors
 More difficult

10.5
 Figure 10.3 The structure of encoder and decoder

To detect or correct errors, we need to

send extra (redundant) bits with data.
10.6
 Modular Arithmetic
 Modulus N: the upper limit
 In modulo-N arithmetic, we use only the
integers in the range 0 to N −1, inclusive.
 If N is 2, we use only 0 and 1
 No carry in the calculation (sum and
subtraction)

10.7
 Figure 10.4 XORing of two single bits or two words

10.8
 10-2 BLOCK CODING

In block coding, we divide our message into blocks,

each of k bits, called datawords. We add r redundant
bits to each block to make the length n = k + r. The
resulting n-bit blocks are called codewords.

Topics discussed in this section:

Error Detection
Error Correction
Hamming Distance
Minimum Hamming Distance

10.9
 Figure 10.5 Datawords and codewords in block coding

10.10
 Example 10.1

The 4B/5B block coding discussed in Chapter 4 is a

good example of this type of coding. In this coding
scheme, k = 4 and n = 5.

As we saw, we have 2k = 16 datawords and 2n = 32

codewords. We saw that 16 out of 32 codewords are
used for message transfer and the rest are either used
for other purposes or unused.

10.11
 Figure 10.6 Process of error detection in block coding

10.12
 Table 10.1 A code for error detection (Example 10.2)

10.13
 Figure 10.7 Structure of encoder and decoder in error correction

10.14
 Table 10.2 A code for error correction (Example 10.3)

10.15
 Hamming Distance
 The Hamming distance between two
words is the number of differences
between corresponding bits.
 The minimum Hamming distance is the
smallest Hamming distance between
all possible pairs in a set of words.

10.16
 We can count the number of 1s in the Xoring of two
words

1. The Hamming distance d(000, 011) is 2 because

2. The Hamming distance d(10101, 11110) is 3 because

10.17
 Example 10.5

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding

scheme in Table 10.1.

Solution
We first find all Hamming distances.

The dmin in this case is 2.

10.18
 Example 10.6

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding

scheme in Table 10.2.

Solution
We first find all the Hamming distances.

The
10.19
d min in this case is 3.
 Minimum Distance for
Error Detection
 To guarantee the detection of up to s
errors in all cases, the minimum Hamming
distance in a block code must be dmin = s
+ 1.
 Why?

10.20
 Example 10.7

•The minimum Hamming distance for our first code

scheme (Table 10.1) is 2. This code guarantees detection of
only a single error.
•For example, if the third codeword (101) is sent and one
error occurs, the received codeword does not match any
valid codeword. If two errors occur, however, the received
codeword may match a valid codeword and the errors are
not detected.
10.21
 Example 10.8

•Table 10.2 has dmin = 3. This code can detect up to two

errors. When any of the valid codewords is sent, two errors
create a codeword which is not in the table of valid
codewords. The receiver cannot be fooled.
•What if there are three error occurrance?

10.22
 Figure 10.8 Geometric concept for finding dmin in error detection

10.23
 Figure 10.9 Geometric concept for finding dmin in error correction

To guarantee correction of up to t errors in

all cases, the minimum Hamming distance
in a block code must be dmin = 2t + 1.

10.24
 Example 10.9

A code scheme has a Hamming distance dmin = 4. What is

the error detection and correction capability of this
scheme?

Solution
This code guarantees the detection of up to three errors
(s = 3), but it can correct up to one error. In other words,
if this code is used for error correction, part of its capability
is wasted. Error correction codes need to have an odd
minimum distance (3, 5, 7, . . . ).

10.25
 10-3 LINEAR BLOCK CODES

•Almost all block codes used today belong to a

subset called linear block codes.
•A linear block code is a code in which the
exclusive OR (addition modulo-2 / XOR) of two
valid codewords creates another valid codeword.

10.26
 Example 10.10

Let us see if the two codes we defined in Table 10.1 and

Table 10.2 belong to the class of linear block codes.

1. The scheme in Table 10.1 is a linear block code

because the result of XORing any codeword with any
other codeword is a valid codeword. For example, the
XORing of the second and third codewords creates the
fourth one.

2. The scheme in Table 10.2 is also a linear block code.

We can create all four codewords by XORing two
other codewords.
10.27
 Minimum Distance for
Linear Block Codes
 The minimum hamming distance is the number of 1s in
the nonzero valid codeword with the smallest number
of 1s

10.28
 Linear Block Codes
 Simple parity-check code
 Hamming codes

10.29
 Table 10.3 Simple parity-check code C(5, 4)

•A simple parity-check code is a single-bit

error-detecting code in which n = k + 1 with dmin = 2.
•The extra bit (parity bit) is to make the total number
of 1s in the codeword even
•A simple parity-check code can detect an odd
10.30 number of errors.
 Figure 10.10 Encoder and decoder for simple parity-check code

10.31
 Example 10.12

Let us look at some transmission scenarios. Assume the

sender sends the dataword 1011. The codeword created
from this dataword is 10111, which is sent to the receiver.
We examine five cases:

1. No error occurs; the received codeword is 10111. The

syndrome is 0. The dataword 1011 is created.
2. One single-bit error changes a1 . The received
codeword is 10011. The syndrome is 1. No dataword
is created.
3. One single-bit error changes r0 . The received codeword
is 10110. The syndrome is 1. No dataword is created.
10.32
 Example 10.12 (continued)

4. An error changes r0 and a second error changes a3 .

The received codeword is 00110. The syndrome is 0.
The dataword 0011 is created at the receiver. Note that
here the dataword is wrongly created due to the
syndrome value.
5. Three bits—a3, a2, and a1—are changed by errors.
The received codeword is 01011. The syndrome is 1.
The dataword is not created. This shows that the simple
parity check, guaranteed to detect one single error, can
also find any odd number of errors.

10.33
 Figure 10.11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

10.34
 Figure 10.11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

10.35
 Figure 10.11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

10.36
 Table 10.4 Hamming code C(7, 4)

1. All Hamming codes discussed in this book have dmin = 3.

2. The relationship between m and n in these codes is
10.37 n = 2m
− 1.
 Figure 10.12 The structure of the encoder and decoder for a Hamming code

10.38
 Table 10.5 Logical decision made by the correction logic analyzer

r0=a2+a1+a0 S0=b2+b1+b0+q0

r1=a3+a2+a1 S1=b3+b2+b1+q1

r2=a1+a0+a3 S2=b1+b0+b3+q2

10.39
 Example 10.13

Let us trace the path of three datawords from the sender

to the destination:
1. The dataword 0100 becomes the codeword 0100011.
The codeword 0100011 is received. The syndrome is
000, the final dataword is 0100.
2. The dataword 0111 becomes the codeword 0111001.
The codeword 0011001 is received. The syndrome is \
011. After flipping b2 (changing the 1 to 0), the final
dataword is 0111.
3. The dataword 1101 becomes the codeword 1101000.
The codeword 0001000 is received. The syndrome is
101. After flipping b0, we get 0000, the wrong dataword.
10.40This shows that our code cannot correct two errors.
 10-4 CYCLIC CODES

Cyclic codes are special linear block codes with one

extra property. In a cyclic code, if a codeword is
cyclically shifted (rotated), the result is another
codeword.

10.41
 Table 10.6 A CRC code with C(7, 4)

10.42
 Figure 10.14 CRC encoder and decoder

10.43
 Figure 10.21 A polynomial to represent a binary word

10.44
 10-5 CHECKSUM

The last error detection method we discuss here is

called the checksum. The checksum is used in the
Internet by several protocols although not at the data
link layer. However, we briefly discuss it here to
complete our discussion on error checking

Topics discussed in this section:

Idea
One’s Complement

10.45
 Example 10.18

Suppose our data is a list of five 4-bit numbers that we

want to send to a destination. In addition to sending these
numbers, we send the sum of the numbers. For example,
if the set of numbers is (7, 11, 12, 0, 6), we send (7, 11, 12,
0, 6, 36), where 36 is the sum of the original numbers.
The receiver adds the five numbers and compares the
result with the sum. If the two are the same, the receiver
assumes no error, accepts the five numbers, and discards
the sum. Otherwise, there is an error somewhere and the
data are not accepted.

10.46
 Example 10.19

We can make the job of the receiver easier if we send the

negative (complement) of the sum, called the checksum.
In this case, we send (7, 11, 12, 0, 6, −36). The receiver
can add all the numbers received (including the
checksum). If the result is 0, it assumes no error;
otherwise, there is an error.

10.47
 Example 10.20

How can we represent the number 21 in one’s

complement arithmetic using only four bits?

Solution
The number 21 in binary is 10101 (it needs five bits). We
can wrap the leftmost bit and add it to the four rightmost
bits. We have (0101 + 1) = 0110 or 6.

10.48
 Example 10.21

How can we represent the number −6 in one’s

complement arithmetic using only four bits?

Solution
In one’s complement arithmetic, the negative or
complement of a number is found by inverting all bits.
Positive 6 is 0110; negative 6 is 1001. If we consider only
unsigned numbers, this is 9. In other words, the
complement of 6 is 9. Another way to find the
complement of a number in one’s complement arithmetic
is to subtract the number from 2n − 1 (16 − 1 in this case).

10.49
 Figure 10.24 Example 10.22

1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0

10.50
 Note

Sender site:
1. The message is divided into 16-bit words.
2. The value of the checksum word is set to 0.
3. All words including the checksum are
added using one’s complement addition.
4. The sum is complemented and becomes the
checksum.
5. The checksum is sent with the data.

10.51
 Note

Receiver site:
1. The message (including checksum) is
divided into 16-bit words.
2. All words are added using one’s
complement addition.
3. The sum is complemented and becomes the
new checksum.
4. If the value of checksum is 0, the message
is accepted; otherwise, it is rejected.

10.52
 Example 10.23

Let us calculate the checksum for a text of 8 characters

(“Forouzan”). The text needs to be divided into 2-byte
(16-bit) words. We use ASCII (see Appendix A) to change
each byte to a 2-digit hexadecimal number. For example,
F is represented as 0x46 and o is represented as 0x6F.
Figure 10.25 shows how the checksum is calculated at the
sender and receiver sites. In part a of the figure, the value
of partial sum for the first column is 0x36. We keep the
rightmost digit (6) and insert the leftmost digit (3) as the
carry in the second column. The process is repeated for
each column. Note that if there is any corruption, the
checksum recalculated by the receiver is not all 0s. We
leave this an exercise.
10.53
 Figure 10.25 Example 10.23

10.54