What is parity checking?

What is parity checking? Correct Answer A method to check that data is in serial or parallel order

Parity checking is the process that ensures accurate data transmission between nodes during communication.

Key Points

• A parity bit, or check bit, is a bit added to a string of binary code.
• Parity bits are a simple form of error detecting code.
• It is the simplest technique for detecting and correcting errors.
• The MSB of an 8-bits word is used as the parity bit and the remaining 7 bits are used as data or message bits. 
• Because of its simplicity, parity is used in many hardware applications where an operation can be repeated in case of difficulty, or where simply detecting the error is helpful.
• The primary advantages of parity are its simplicity and ease of use.
• Its primary disadvantage is that sometimes, it may fail to catch errors.
• If two data bits are corrupted, for instance, parity will not detect the error.
• It also checks whether the data is in serial or in parallel order.

Hence parity checking is a method to check that data is in serial or parallel order.

Additional Information

• Data corruption refers to errors in computer data that occur during writing, reading, storage, transmission, or processing, which introduce unintended changes to the original data.
  • Computer, transmission, and storage systems use a number of measures to provide end-to-end data integrity or lack of errors.