error-correcting code

noun

UK /ˈerə kəˈrektɪŋ kəʊd/

US /ˈerər kəˈrektɪŋ koʊd/

A special set of rules that helps a computer find and fix mistakes in information it sends or stores.

The satellite uses an error-correcting code so the pictures it sends back stay clear even when the signal is weak.

SYNONYMS

error-correction code ECC self-correcting code check code

RELATED WORDS

parity bit checksum redundancy data transmission decoder

OTHER MEANINGS

2. A coding scheme in which extra bits are added so that a receiver can detect and repair transmission errors without asking for a resend.

Engineers chose a strong error-correcting code to protect data traveling to deep space.

3. Any method of encoding data with enough redundancy to recover the original message even if part of it is damaged.

The memory module includes an error-correcting code that fixes single-bit flips automatically.

4. In mathematics and information theory, a structured set of codewords designed so that small changes do not turn one valid codeword into another.

Hamming codes are an early and famous example of an error-correcting code.