Chapter 1

Error Detection
and
Correction
Dr. Abdullah Alrabba
2019

10.1
 Note

Data can be corrupted

during transmission.

Some applications require that

errors be detected and corrected.

1.2
 Some issues related, directly or indirectly, to error
detection and correction.

Topics discussed in this section:

Types of Errors
Redundancy Coding
ModularArithmetic

1.3
 Types of Errors

Single-bit error

Burst error

1.4
 In a single-bit error, only 1 bit in the data
Note
unit has changed.

Figure 1.1: Single-bit error

1.5
 Note A burst error means that 2 or more bits
in the data unit have changed.

Figure 1.2: Burst error of length 8

1.6
 Redundancy

The central concept in detecting or correcting

errors is redundancy. To be able to detect or correct
errors, we need to send some extra bits with our
data. These redundant bits are added by the sender
and removed by the receiver. Their presence
allows the receiver to detect or correct corrupted
bits.

Note
To detect or correct errors, we need to
send extra (redundant) bits with data.

1.7
 Coding

Redundancy is achieved through various coding schemes. The

sender adds redundant bits through a process that creates a
relationship between the redundant bits and the actual data bits. The
receiver checks the relationships between the two sets of bits to
detect or correct the errors. The ratio of redundant bits to the data
bits and the robustness of the process are important factors in any
coding scheme.

We can divide coding schemes into two broad categories: block

coding and convolution coding.
In this Chapter, we concentrate on block coding.

1.8
 Figure 1.3 The structure of encoder and decoder

1.9
 ModularArithmetic

The basic concept to error detection and

correction is the modular arithmetic.

In modulo-N arithmetic, we use only the

Note integers in the range 0 to N −1,
inclusive.

1.10
 Figure 1.4 XORing of two single bits or two words

1.11
 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

1.12
 Figure 1.5 Datawords and codewords in block coding

1.13
 Example
1.1
The 4B/5B block coding 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.

1.14
 Error Detection

Enough redundancy is added to detect

an error.
The receiver knows an error occurred
but does not know which bit(s) is(are)
in error.
Has less overhead than error correction.

1.15
 Figure 1.6 Process of error detection in block coding

1.16
 Example 1.2

Let us assume that k = 2 and n = 3. Table 1.1 shows the

list of datawords and codewords. Later, we will see
how to derive a codeword from a dataword.

Table 1.1: A code for error detection (Example1.2)

1.17
 Example 1.2

Assume the sender encodes the dataword 01 as 011

and sends it to the receiver. Consider the following
cases:
1. The receiver receives 011. It is a valid codeword. The receiver
extracts the dataword 01 from it.

2. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and 111 is

received. This is not a valid codeword and is discarded.

3. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and 000 is

received. This is a valid codeword. The receiver incorrectly
extracts the dataword 00. Two corrupted bits have made the
error undetectable.

1.18
 Note

An error-detecting code can detect

only the types of errors for which it is
designed; other types of errors may
remain undetected.

1.19
 Figure 1.7 Structure of encoder and decoder in error correction

1.20
 Example 1.3

• Let us add more redundant bits to Example 1.2 to see if the

receiver can correct an error without knowing what was
actually sent.
• We add 3 redundant bits to the 2-bit dataword to make 5-bit
codewords.
• Table 1.2 shows the datawords and codewords.

Table 1.2: A code for error correction)

1.21
 Example 1.3 (continued)
1. Assume the dataword is 01.The sender creates the codeword
01011. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and
01001 is received. First, the receiver finds that the received
codeword is not in the table. This means an error has
occurred. The receiver, assuming that there is only 1 bit
corrupted, uses the following strategy to guess the correct
dataword.
2. Comparing the received codeword with first codeword in the
table (01001 versus 00000), the receiver decides that the first
codeword is not the one that was sent because there are two
different bits.
2. By the same reasoning, the original codeword cannot be the
third or fourth one in the table.
3. The original codeword must be the second one in the table
because this is the only one that differs from the received
codeword by 1 bit. The receiver replaces 01001 with 01011
1.22 and consults the table to find the dataword 01.
 Note

The Hamming distance between two

words is the number of differences
between corresponding bits.

1.23
 Example 1.4

Let us find the Hamming distance between two pairs of

words.

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

because

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

because

1.24
 Note

The minimum Hamming distance is the

smallest Hamming distance between
all possible pairs in a set of words.

1.25
 Example 1.5

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding

scheme in Table 1.1.
Solution

1.26
 Example 1.6

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding

scheme in Table 1.2.

Solution

The dmin in this case is 3.

1.27
 Note

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.

1.28
 Example 1.7

The minimum Hamming distance for our first code

scheme (Table 1.1) 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.

1.29
 Example 1.8

Our second block code scheme (Table 1.2) has dmin = 3.

This code can detect up to two errors. Again, we see that
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.

However, some combinations of three errors change a

valid codeword to another valid codeword. The receiver
accepts the received codeword and the errors are
undetected.

1.30
 Note

To guarantee correction of up to t errors

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

1.31
 Example 1.9

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

the error detection and correction capability of this
scheme?

Solution

1.32
 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) of two
valid codewords creates another valid codeword.

Topics discussed in this section:

Minimum Distance for Linear Block Codes
Some Linear Block Codes

1.33
 Note

In a linear block code, the exclusive OR

(XOR) of any two valid codewords
creates another valid codeword.

1.34
 Example 1.10

Let us see if the two codes we defined in Table 1.1 and

Table 1.2 belong to the class of linear block codes.

1. The scheme in Table 1.1 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 1.2 is also a linear block code.

We can create all four codewords by XORing two
other codewords.

1.35
 Example 1.11

In our first code (Table 1.1), the numbers of 1s in the

nonzero codewords are 2, 2, and 2. So the minimum
Hamming distance is dmin = 2. In our second code (Table
1.2), the numbers of 1s in the nonzero codewords are 3,
3, and 4. So in this code we have dmin = 3.

1.36
 Note

A simple parity-check code is a

single-bit error-detecting
code in which
n = k + 1 with dmin = 2.
Even parity (ensures that a codeword
has an even number of 1’s) and odd
parity (ensures that there are an odd
number of 1’s in the codeword)

1.37
 Table 1.3 Simple parity-check code C(5, 4) - n=5, k = 4

1.38
 Figure 1.10 Encoder and decoder for simple parity-check code

1.39
 Example 1.12

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.
1.40
 Example 1.12 (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.

1.41
 Note

A simple parity-check code can detect an

odd number of errors.

1.42
 Note

All Hamming codes discussed in this

book have dmin = 3 (2 bit error detection
and single bit error correction).
A codeword consists of n bits of which k
are data bits and r are check bits.
Let m = r, then we have: n = 2m -1
and k = n-m

1.43
 Figure 1.11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

1.44
 Figure 1.11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

1.45
 Figure 1.11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

1.46
 Table 1.4 Hamming code C(7, 4) - n=7, k = 4

1.47
 Figure 1.12 The structure of the encoder and decoder for a Hamming code

1.48
 Calculating the parity bits at the transmitter:

Modulo 2 arithmetic:

r0 = a2 + a1 + a0
r1 = a3 + a2 + a1
r2 = a1 + a0 + a3
Calculating the syndrome at the receiver:

s0 = b2 + b1 + b0 + q0
s1 = b3 + b2 + b1 + q1
s2 = b1 + b0 + b3 + q2

1.49
 Table 1.5 Logical decision made by the correction logic analyzer

1.50
 Example 1.13

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 received codeword is: 0011001. 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 (two errors). The syndrome
is 101. After flipping b0, we get 0000,the wrong dataword.
This shows that our code cannot correct two errors.

1.51
 Example 1.14

We need a dataword of at least 7 bits. Calculate values of

k and n that satisfy this requirement.

C(15, 11)

1.52
 1-4 Burst Errors

Burst errors are very common, in particular in

wireless environments where a fade will affect a
group of bits in transit. The length of the burst is
dependent on the duration of the fade.
One way to counter burst errors, is to break up a
transmission into shorter words and create a block
(one word per row), then have a parity check per
word.
The words are then sent column by column. When a
burst error occurs, it will affect 1 bit in several
words as the transmission is read back into the block
format and each word is checked individually.
1.53
 Figure 1.13 Burst error correction using Hamming code

1.54
 One of the error detection methods is called the
checksum. The checksum is used in the Internet by
several protocols although not at the data link layer.

Topics discussed in this section:

Idea
One’s Complement
Internet Checksum

1.55
 Example 1.15

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.

1.56
 Example 1.16

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
checksum) . If the result is 0, it assumes no errors;
otherwise, there is an error.

1.57
 Example 1.17

How can we represent the number 21 in one’s

complement arthematic 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

1.58
 Example 1.18

How can we represent the number -6 in one’s complement

arithmetic using only four bits?

Solution
In one’s complement arithmetic, the negative complement
of a number is found by inverting all bits. Positive 6 is 0110;
negative 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 is one’s complement
arithmetic is to subtract the number from 2n - 1 (16 - 1) in
this case).

1.59
 Example 1.19

Figure 1.14 shows the process at the sender and at the

receiver. The sender initializes the checksum to 0 and adds
all data items and the checksum (the checksum is
considered as one data item and is shown in color). The
result is 36. However, 36 cannot be expressed in 4 bits. The
extra two bits are wrapped and added with the sum to
create the wrapped sum value 6. In the figure, we have
shown the details in binary. The sum is then
complemented, resulting in the checksum value 9 (15 − 6 =
9). The sender now sends six data items to the receiver
including the checksum 9.

1.60
 Example 1.19 (continued)

The receiver follows the same procedure as the sender.

It adds all data items (including the checksum); the
result is
45. The sum is wrapped and becomes 15. The wrapped
sum is complemented and becomes 0. Since the value of
the checksum is 0, this means that the data is not
corrupted. The receiver drops the checksum and keeps
the other data items. If the checksum is not zero, the
entire packet is dropped.

1.61
 Figure 1.14 Example 1.19

1 1
1 0

1.62
 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.

1.63
 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.

1.64
 Example 1.20

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 to change each byte to a
2-digit hexadecimal number. For example, F is
represented as 0x46 and o is represented as 0x6F. Figure
1.15 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.
1.65
 Figure 1.15 Example 1.20

1.67