Bounded distance decoding of unit memory codes

We discuss minimum distance decoding of convolutional codes. The relevant distance functions are defined, and the set of correctable error patterns is described by a sequence of weight constraints. Decoding methods for error patterns of bounded weight are described, and it is demonstrated that these methods offer a favorable combination of performance and complexity. Exact values and upper bounds on the error probability are calculated from finite state models of the decoding process.<
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