forward error correction

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forward error correction (forward error protection) Error correction that is accomplished by appending redundant data to actual data so that certain kinds of errors can be both detected and corrected. This differs from many error correction methods used in communications in that there is no request to resend the data (e.g. from a memory); there is thus no reverse message, hence the word forward. The nature of the redundancy is a function of the expected type of error. See also backward error correction, error-correcting code.