This paper proposes a new class of unidirectional byte error locating codes, called single symmetric bit error correcting and single unidirectional byte error locating codes, or SEC–SUbEL codes. Here, "byte" denotes a cluster of b bits, where b2. First, the necessary and sufficient conditions of the codes are clarified, and then code construction method is demonstrated. The lower bound on check bit length of the SEC–SUbEL codes is derived. Based on this, the proposed codes are shown to be very efficient in some range of the information length. The code design concept presented for the SEC–SUbEL codes induces the generalized unidirectional byte error locating codes with single symmetric bit error correction capability.

This papter proposes a new type of unidirectional error control codes which indicates the location of unidirectional errors clustered in b-bit length, i.e., unidirectional byte error in b (b2) bits. Single unidirectional b-bit byte error locating codes, called SUbEL codes, are first clarified using necessary and sufficient conditions, and then code construction algorithm is demonstrated. The lower bound on check bit length of the SUbEL codes is derived. Based on this, the proposed codes are shown to be very efficient. Using the code design concept presented for the SUbEL codes, it is demonstrated that generalized unidirectional byte error locating codes are easily constructed.

The byte error locating codes specify the byte location in which errors are occurred without indicating the precise location of erroneous bit positions. This type of codes is considered to be useful for fault isolation and reconfiguration in the fault-tolerant computer systems. In this paper, difference between the code function of error-location and that of error-correction/error-detection is clarified. With using the concepts of unidirectional byte distance, unordered byte number and ordered byte number, the necessary and sufficient conditions of the unidirectional byte error locating codes are demonstrated.