Cambridge (CIE) A Level Your notes

Computer Science
Data Integrity
Contents
Integrity Methods

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 Integrity Methods
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Validation & verification
What is validation?
Validation is an automated process where a computer checks if a user input is sensible
and meets the program's requirements
There are seven categories of validation which can be carried out on fields and data
types, these are
Range check
Format check
Length check
Presence check
Existence check
Limit check
Check digit
There can be occasions where more than one type of validation will be used on a field
An example of this could be a password field which could have a length, presence and
type check on it

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 Your notes

What is verification?
Verification is the act of checking data is accurate when being transferred or entered
into a system
Verification methods include:
Parity check (transfer)
Checksum (transfer)
Double entry checking (entry)
Visual checks (entry)

Validation methods
Validation Definition Example
type

Range check Ensures a number falls within a set Validating that a percentage is
range between 0 and 100

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Limit check Checks that a value does not Ensuring no more than 5 items can be
exceed a maximum limit bought in a special offer
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Length Checks the length of a string Confirming a PIN is exactly 4 digits
check long

Type check Checks that the input is of the Ensuring age is entered as a whole
correct data type number

Presence Checks that data has been Making sure a registration form is not
check entered and the field is not blank submitted with blank fields

Existence Checks that a referenced value Confirming a student ID entered

check exists in a database or list exists in the school records

Format Ensures data is in the correct Making sure an email address

check format (e.g. patterns) contains '@' and a domain like '.com'

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

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 A check digit algorithm is performed on the ISBN number and if the result is a whole
number, then the ISBN is valid
Barcodes Your notes

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

Verification methods
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

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 There are four 1’s in the byte
This means the parity bit must be 0 otherwise the whole byte, including the parity Your notes
bit, would add up to five which is an odd number
Odd parity
Below is an arbitrary binary string

ODD Byte
Parity bit

1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0

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

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 Bits can be flipped or changed due to interference on a wire or wirelessly due to
weather or other signals
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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

#2 EVEN 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 No
error

#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

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

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 Byte 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1
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Byte 5 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1

Byte 6 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0

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

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

What is double entry checking?

Double entry checking involves entering the data twice in separate input boxes and
then comparing the data to ensure they both match
If they do not, an error message is shown

What is a visual check?

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A visual check involves the user visually checking the data on the screen
A popup or message then asks if the data is correct before proceeding Your notes
If it isn’t the user then enters the data again

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