Cambridge (CIE) O Level Your notes

Computer Science
Methods of Error Detection
Contents
Error Checking
Error Detection Methods
Check Digits
Automatic Repeat Query (ARQ)

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 Error Checking
Your notes

Why Errors Occur

Why do errors occur?
Errors can occur using wired or wireless technology due to interference
Examples of interference include wire degradation or electrical fields changing the
signal
Results of interference include:
Data loss - data is lost in transmission
Data gain - additional data is received
Data change - some bits have been changed or flipped
Wireless technology uses radio signals or other electromagnetic signals to transmit
data
These signals can be blocked by physical barriers such as buildings, walls, cars or
other objects
Interference can be caused by bad weather such as rain or clouds, or by other
wireless signals or electromagnetic radiation
Wired technology carries more chance of causing an error as physical components can
be damaged, degrade or receive interference from outside signals
Data loss can also occur from interruptions to data transmission such as a blocked
signal or if the transmission is intermittent

Why check for errors?

Computers expect data in certain formats
A format is a way of arranging the data so that it can be easily understood by people
and by computers
People agree to certain formats so that systems work more efficiently and there is
little chance of misunderstanding each other
An example of a format is date and time
Date and time can have multiple formats such as:
13/04/14 (DD/MM/YY)
12/31/2020 (MM/DD/YYYY)
Jul-04-16 (MMM/DD/YY)
If data is not as expected, things can go wrong

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For example, if a receiver expected to receive a date in format DD/MM/YY as 03/04/17
but received 04/03/17, did the sender mean 3rd April 2017 or 4th March 2017?
Your notes
An error or corruption occurs when data received is not as expected and therefore is
difficult or impossible to process

Worked Example
Alex receives an email over a wireless connection from a work colleague containing an
important document.
Identify what interference Alex could experience when sending this email and
identify the outcomes of interference.
Further explain why Alex should check to make sure the document contains no errors.
[4]
Answer
Weather conditions or physical barriers such as building can affect signals, for
example bits could be flipped in the document making it hard to understand the
original meaning [1]
Alex should be aware that interference can cause wirelessly received data to
contain errors or corruption [1]
Data could be lost, additional data could be gained or data could be changed [1]
As Alex received an important work document they need to check for errors so
that their work is unaffected and they do not receive incorrect information [1]

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 Error Detection Methods
Your notes

Parity Check
What is a parity check?
A parity check determines whether bits in a transmission have been corrupted
Every byte transmitted has one of its bits allocated as a parity bit
The sender and receiver must agree before transmission whether they are using odd or
even parity
If odd parity is used then there must be an odd number of 1’s in the byte, including the
parity bit
If even parity is used then there must be an even number of 1’s in the byte, including the
parity bit
The value of the parity bit is determined by counting the number of 1’s in the byte,
including the parity bit
If the number of 1’s does not match the agreed parity then an error has occurred
Parity checks only check that an error has occurred, they do not reveal where the
error(s) occurred

Even parity
Below is an arbitrary binary string

EVEN Byte
Parity bit

0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0

If an even parity bit is used then all bits in the byte, including the parity bit, must add up
to an even number
There are four 1’s in the byte
This means the parity bit must be 0 otherwise the whole byte, including the parity
bit, would add up to five which is an odd number

Odd parity
Below is an arbitrary binary string

ODD Byte
Parity bit

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 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
Your notes
If an odd parity bit is used then all bits in the byte, including the parity bit, must add up to
an odd number
There are four 1’s in the byte. This means the parity bit must be a 1 otherwise the
whole byte, including the parity bit, would add up to four which is an even number
The table below shows a number of examples of the agreed parity between a sender
and receiver and the parity bit used for each byte

Example # Agreed parity Parity bit Main bit string Total number of 1’s

#1 ODD 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 5

#2 EVEN 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2

#3 EVEN 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 6

#4 ODD 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5

#5 ODD 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 5

#6 EVEN 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 4

Example #1: The agreed parity is odd. All of the 1’s in the main bit string are added (5). As
this number is odd already the parity bit is set to 0 so the whole byte stays odd
Example #2: The agreed parity is even. All of the 1’s in the main bit string are added (1). As
this number is odd the parity bit is set to 1 to make the total number of 1’s even (2)
Example #6: The agreed parity is even. All of the 1’s in the main bit string are added (4).
As this number is even already the parity bit is set to 0 so the whole byte stays even

How do errors occur?

When using parity bits, an error occurs when the number of total bits does not match
the agreed parity
Bits can be flipped or changed due to interference on a wire or wirelessly due to
weather or other signals

Example Agreed Parity Main bit string Total number Error

# parity bit of 1’s

#1 ODD 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 6 Error

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 #2 EVEN 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 No
error
Your notes
#3 EVEN 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Error

#4 ODD 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5 No
error

#5 ODD 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 6 Error

#6 EVEN 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 Error

Parity checks are quick and easy to implement but fail to detect bit swaps that cause
the parity to remain the same

Parity Byte & Block Check

What are parity byte & block checks?
Parity blocks and parity bytes can be used to check an error has occurred and where
the error is located
Parity checks on their own do not pinpoint where errors in data exist, only that an error
has occurred
A parity block consists of a block of data with the number of 1’s totalled horizontally and
vertically
A parity byte is also sent with the data which contains the parity bits from the vertical
parity calculation
Below is a parity block with a parity byte at the bottom and a parity bit column in the
second column

ODD Parity bit Bit 2 Bit 3 Bit 4 Bit 5 Bit 6 Bit 7 Bit 8

Byte 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1

Byte 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Byte 3 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1

Byte 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1

Byte 5 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1

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 Byte 6 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
Your notes
Byte 7 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0

Byte 8 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

Parity byte 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

The above table uses odd parity

Each byte row calculates the horizontal parity as a parity bit as normal
Each bit column calculates the vertical parity for each row, the parity byte
It is calculated before transmission and sent with the parity block
Each parity bit tracks if a flip error occurred in a byte while the parity byte calculates if
an error occurred in a bit column
By cross referencing both horizontal and vertical parity values the error can be
pinpointed
In the above example the byte 3 / bit 5 cell is the error and should be a 0 instead
The error could be fixed automatically or a retransmission request could be sent to the
sender

Checksum
What is a checksum?
A checksum is a value that can be used to determine if data has been corrupted or
altered
It indicates whether data differs from its original form but does not specify where
Checksums are calculated using an algorithm and the value is added to the
transmission
The receiving device re-calculates the checksum and compares to the original
If the checksums do not match, it is assumed an error has occurred

Worked Example
Describe the process a checksum algorithm uses to determine if an error has
occurred
[5]
Answer

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 Before data is transmitted a checksum value is calculated [1]
The checksum value is transmitted with the data [1]
The receiver calculates the checksum value using the received data [1] Your notes
The calculated checksum is compared to the transmitted checksum [1]
If they are the same then there is no error otherwise an error has occurred [1]

Echo Check
What is an echo check?
An echo checks involve transmitting the received data back to the sender
The sender then checks the data to see if any errors occurred during transmission
This method isn’t reliable as an error could have occurred when the sender transmits
the data or when the receiver transmits the data
If an error does occur the sender will retransmit the data

Worked Example
Four 7-bit binary values are transmitted from one computer to another.
A parity bit is added to each binary value creating 8-bit binary values. All the binary
values are transmitted and received correctly.
(a) Identify whether each 8-bit binary value has been sent using odd or even parity by
writing odd or even in the type of parity column.

8-bit binary value Type of parity

01100100

10010001

00000011

10110010

[4]
(b) An error may not be detected when using a parity check.
Identify why an error may not be detected.
[1]
Answers
(a)

8-bit binary value Type of parity

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 01100100 Odd [1]

10010001 Odd [1] Your notes

00000011 Even [1]

10110010 Even [1]

(b)
Any one from:
there is a transposition of bits [1]
it does not check the order of the bits (just the sum of 1s/0s) [1]
even number of bits change [1]
incorrect bits still add up to correct parity [1]

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 Check Digits
Your notes

Check Digits
What is a check digit?
A check digit is the last digit included in a code or sequence, used to detect errors in
numeric data entry
Examples of errors that a check digit can help to identify are:
Incorrect digits entered
Omitted or extra digits
Phonetic errors
Added to the end of a numerical sequence they ensure validity of the data
Calculated using standardised algorithms to ensure widespread compatibility
Examples of where check digits can be used include:
ISBN book numbers
Barcodes

ISBN book numbers

Each book has a unique ISBN number that identifies the book
A standard ISBN number may be ten digits, for example, 965-448-765-9
The check digit value is the final digit (9 in this example).
This number is chosen specifically so that when the algorithm is completed the result is a
whole number (an integer) with no remainder parts
A check digit algorithm is performed on the ISBN number and if the result is a whole
number, then the ISBN is valid

Barcodes
Barcodes consist of black and white lines which can be scanned using barcode
scanners
Barcode scanners shine a laser on the black and white lines which reflect light into the
scanner
The scanner reads the distance between these lines as numbers and can identify the
item
Barcodes also use a set of digits to uniquely identify each item
The final digit on a barcode is usually the check digit, this can be used to validate and
authenticate an item

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 Your notes
Worked Example
Check digit algorithms are used to determine whether an error has occurred in
transmitted data.
State the names of two examples of a check digit algorithm.
[2]
Answer
ISBN [1]
Barcode [1]

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 Automatic Repeat Query (ARQ)
Your notes

Automatic Repeat reQuests(ARQ)

What is an automatic repeat request(ARQ)?
An automatic repeat request is a protocol that notifies the sender that an error has
occurred and that the data received is incorrect
It works as follows:
If an error is detected the receiver sends a negative acknowledgement
transmission to indicate the data is corrupted
If no error is detected the receiver sends a positive acknowledgement
transmission meaning the data is correct
If the receiver does not send any acknowledgement transmission then the sender
waits for a certain time period known as a time-out before automatically resending
the data
This process is repeated until all data has been received and acknowledged

Examiner Tips and Tricks

In this specification ARQ is referred to as Automatic Repeat Query but in past exam
questions it has been referred to as Automatic Repeat reQuests
Both words are interchangeable and should not cause any confusion!

Worked Example
Explain how Automatic Repeat reQuests (ARQ) are used in data transmission and
storage
[2]
Answer
Any two from:
Set of rules for controlling error checking/detection // it’s an error detection
method // used to detect errors
Uses acknowledgement and timeout
Request is sent (with data) requiring acknowledgement
If no response/acknowledgment within certain time frame data package is
resent

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When data received contains an error a request is sent (automatically) to resend
the data
The resend request is repeatedly sent until packet is received error free/limit is Your notes
reached/acknowledgement received

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