parity bit \par"i*ty bit`\, n. (Computers)
The bit within a data structure which is assigned a value of
1 or 0 so as to make the parity[7] of the data structure odd
or even. Data structures may or may not have parity bits,
dpending on whether the system does or does not perform
parity checking. The most commonly used parity bit is the
eigth (higher-order) bit of a byte, which is used when data
transmission uses only the 7 lower-order bits of each byte as
significant data; some memory systems use a ninth bit as a
parity bit for each eight bits (one byte) of significant data
in memory.
[PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
parity bit
n : (computer science) abit that is used in an error detection
procedure in which a 0 or 1 is added to each group of
bits so that it will have either an odd number of 1's or
an even number of 1's; e.g., if the parity is odd then
any group of bits that arrives with an even number of 1's
must contain an error [syn: parity, check bit]
WordNet (r) 2.0
parity bit
An extra bit added to a byte or
word to reveal errors.
See parity.
(1996-03-01)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)
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