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Term: PARITY CHECK

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A method of sending an extra bit to a receiving device in order to identify any error in transmission. The ASCII code reserves the first bit of each byte for parity checking. The computer adds up all the binary digits in the byte. Then, depending on whether the total is odd or even, it puts either a 0 or a 1 in the parity bit position before the byte is transmitted. The receiving device performs the same calculation and checks the parity bit to see if the result was correct. Not all microcomputers use parity checking. It is vital if accuracy of data is very important.

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