The Engineer’s Error Coding Handbook

Error coding is a fascinating subject as much, if not more so, as it is an indispensable part of modem engineering systems. Unfortunately, in a bid to remain general and to create a solid foundation upon which to build, many books on this subject are out of the reach of those with more engineering-based, or non-mathematical backgrounds. This is a pity because in many cases the maths is tractable with few and simple rules. If we are content to believe that it works, and let others worry about the deeper mysteries of how or why, then with a little practice the design and implementation of practical error coding systems becomes straightforward. In this text I have attempted to reveal the useful kernel of the subject, removing the shell of terms and proofs that usually surrounds it. Being somewhat empirical in nature ( an empiricist), and occasionally heard to quote the adage, 'if it works twice it's a law', my explanations take this form. For many, including myself, abstract ideas are often better grasped by practical illustration than from yards of theory. This book is designed both for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in electronic engineering, computer science and communications and for practising engineers engaged in the communications and software industries. It treats the subject from a practical standpoint and presents the underlying mathematics - which in some treatments of the subject can be daunting - in a way which makes them accesible and always directly relevant. Written by an author with extensive experience of the applications of the techniques to a wide range of practical engineering problems, the book presents the reader with systematic explanation of the techniques and methods of error coding. The work is supplemented by software-based experiments enabling the reader to verify the results and to carry out further investigation of the subject. All of the software used in the book can be obtained free of charge from the author's web site on uni/academic/D-H/eee/esg/staff/adh-prof.html Front Matter....Pages i-xv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction....Pages 3-6 Parity checking....Pages 7-11 Cyclic redundancy checking....Pages 12-24 Front Matter....Pages 25-25 Hamming codes....Pages 27-34 Error correction using the CRC....Pages 35-43 Front Matter....Pages 45-45 Correcting errors in the time domain....Pages 47-61 Correcting two symbols....Pages 62-73 Front Matter....Pages 75-75 Frequency domain coding....Pages 77-103 Mixed domain error coding....Pages 104-112 Front Matter....Pages 113-113 Block-interleaving....Pages 115-120 Multi-dimensional data structures....Pages 121-134 Convolutional coding....Pages 135-152 Front Matter....Pages 153-153 Manipulating elements with hardware....Pages 155-171 Applications....Pages 172-184 Front Matter....Pages 185-185 Questions....Pages 187-193 Solutions....Pages 194-211 Back Matter....Pages 212-253