parity
parity A function that is computed to provide a check on a group of binary values (e.g. a word, byte, or character) by forming the modulo-2 sum of the bits in the group. The generated sum, a redundant value, is called the parity bit. The parity bit is 0 if the number of 1s in the original group was even. The parity bit is 1 if the number of 1s in the original group was odd.
The parity computation just defined will cause the augmented group of binary values (the original group plus the parity bit) to have an even number of 1s; this is called even parity. In some cases, hardware considerations make it desirable to have an odd number of 1s in the augmented group, and the parity bit is selected to cause the total number of 1s to be odd; this is called odd parity. See also parity check.
The parity computation just defined will cause the augmented group of binary values (the original group plus the parity bit) to have an even number of 1s; this is called even parity. In some cases, hardware considerations make it desirable to have an odd number of 1s in the augmented group, and the parity bit is selected to cause the total number of 1s to be odd; this is called odd parity. See also parity check.
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parity