Block code: Difference between revisions

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In [[computer science]], a '''block code''' is a type of [[channel coding]]. It adds [[redundancy (information theory)|redundancy]] to a message so that, at the receiver, one can decode with minimal (theoretically zero) errors, provided that the [[information rate]] (amount of transported [[information]] in [[bit]]s per sec) would not exceed the [[channel capacity]].

The main characterisationcharacterization of a block code is that it is a ''fixed length'' channel code (unlike source coding schemes such as [[Huffman coding]], and unlike channel coding methods like [[convolutional code|convolutional encoding]]). Typically, a block code takes a ''k''-digit information word, and transforms this into an ''n''-digit codeword.

Block coding was the primary type of [[channel coding]] used in earlier [[mobile communication]] systems.