Decoding algorithm for iterated codes correcting compound errors

This paper discusses codes, and a decoding method, that can correct compound errors containing a mix of random and burst errors. Specifically, the paper provides a minimum compound distance that represents a compound error correcting capacity for iterated codes, proposes a compound error correcting decoding algorithm for the code, and demonstrates that the decoding algorithm is capable of correcting compound errors up to half the minimum compound distance of the code. The proposed decoding algorithm is a generalized decoding method in which the decoding method for iterated codes indicated by Reddy and Robinson is a particular case. By this generalization, the proposed decoding algorithm can correct compound errors that cannot be corrected by conventional decoding methods. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 89(1): 60–72, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.20035