Definition:Check Digit
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Definition
A check digit is a digit or other symbol used as an aid to identifying whether a mistake has been made transmitting a codeword.
It is calculated from the symbols in the codeword itself, and appended to the codeword as an extra symbol.
If a mistake is made transmitting the codeword, the check digit will then be incompatible with the rest of the contents of the codeword, and reveal that a transmission error is present.
Also see
Sources
- 1996: John F. Humphreys: A Course in Group Theory ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $6$: Error-correcting codes
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): check digit