Networking Explained

Let us define a codeword to have the following structure (each X i is a bit in the data set):
Also, let every bit with a subscript that is a power of two be a check bit, denoted by r j, which will contain redundant information for error-correction. Thus, X 1, X 2, X 4, and X 8 are check bits and we replace them with r 1, r 2, r 4, and r 8, respectively.
Since the X i bits are predetermined (they represent user data), we need a rule for forming check bits. This rule is based on parity and is defined as follows:
Each check bit, r j, is formed by collecting all corresponding X i, bits. These are determined by expressing the subscript of each X i as the sum of a power of 2. For example, X 3 corresponds to r 1 and r 2 because its subscript, 3, is equal to the sum of check bits...