Method and apparatus for protecting data

摘要

In one aspect, a technique is provided for protecting a data set with a parity set defined by a bipartite graph having a degree distribution that includes no parity symbol having a degree less than three. In another aspect, a parity set defined by an irregular bipartite graph is transmitted along with the data set, and corruptions in the data set are decoded using the data set and the parity set. In another aspect, a particularly useful degree distribution for the parity symbols is defined.