초록 ▼

The inventive mechanism detects wire stuck-at faults, which can be used with any other ECC code. The inventive mechanism determines the number of 1's (or 0's) in the data portion and the ECC code of the data portion. This counted number is then provided with ECC code. The data portion, its ECC, the

The inventive mechanism detects wire stuck-at faults, which can be used with any other ECC code. The inventive mechanism determines the number of 1's (or 0's) in the data portion and the ECC code of the data portion. This counted number is then provided with ECC code. The data portion, its ECC, the counted number, and its ECC are transmitted to the destination. At the destination, the message is decoded, and the number of 1's in the received message is compared with the counted number, if there is a discrepancy, then a wire fault is signaled. The mechanism may also detect any number of faults provided the number of 0 to 1 transitions is not the same as the number of 1 to 0 transitions. The mechanism can be reconfigured to work with any transmission wire width.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method for forming a data message for transmission, comprising:determining a counter value that represents a number of a specific bit present in the data message; forming an error code (EC) portion that is associated with the counter value; and encoding the data message with the counter value a

1. A method for forming a data message for transmission, comprising:determining a counter value that represents a number of a specific bit present in the data message; forming an error code (EC) portion that is associated with the counter value; and encoding the data message with the counter value and the EC portion. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data message comprises a data portion, the method further comprising:forming another EC portion that is associated with the data portion. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific bit is selected from the group consisting of a binary one and a binary zero.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoded data message is delivered to a receiving entity, the method further comprising:using, by the receiving entity, the encoded counter value to determine whether an error exists in the data message from a wire failure during transmission of the data message. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the using, by the receiving entity, the encoded counter value, comprises:splitting the message into at least two sub-messages, with the first sub-message comprising a data portion of the message and the second sub-message comprising the counter value and the EC portion; determining another counter value that represents a number of the specific bit present in the first sub-message; comparing the another counter value with the counter value of the second sub-message; and signaling an error if the step of comparison indicates that the another counter value is different from the counter value. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the using, by the receiving entity, the encoded counter value, further comprises:detecting errors in the second sub-message via the EC portion; and wherein detecting errors operates prior to the determining another counter value. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein:the EC portion is one of a single error correcting and double error detecting code, and a single error detecting code. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a size of the counter value and the EC portion is larger than a size that can be protected by the EC portion when compared to a width of a transmission path used in the transmission of the message, the method further comprising:creating a subsequent counter value that represents a number of the specific bit present in the preceding counter value and the preceding EC portion; forming a subsequent EC portion that is associated with the subsequent counter value; and repeating the steps of creating and forming until a size of the subsequent counter value and the subsequent EC is no larger than the size that can be protected by the subsequent ECC when compared to the width of the transmission path. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein a size of the counter value and the EC portion is larger than a size that can be protected by the EC portion when compared to a width of a transmission path used in the transmission of the message, the method further comprising:separating the counter value into a plurality of counter value portions; and forming a plurality EC portions, each of which is associated with a particular one of the plurality of counter value portions; wherein a size of each counter value portion and its associated EC portion is no larger than the size that can be protected by the associated EC when compared to the width of the transmission path. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:truncating the counter value by removing the higher order bits such that the remaining bits are wide enough to indicate twice a number of cycles required to transmit the data message; wherein the step of truncating operates prior to the step of forming the EC portion. 11. A method for forming a data message for transmission, wherein the data message comprises a data portion, the method comprising:determining a counter value that represents a number of a specific bit present in the data portion; truncating the counter value by removing the higher order bits such that the remaining bits are wide enough to indicate twice a number of cycles required to transmit the data portion; and encoding the data message with the truncated counter value. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the specific bit is selected from the group consisting of a binary one and a binary zero.13. The method of claim 11, wherein the encoded data message is delivered to a receiving entity, the method further comprising:using, by the receiving entity, the encoded counter value to determine whether an error exists in the data portion from a wire failure during transmission of the data message. 14. A computer program product having a computer readable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for forming a data message for transmission, the computer program product comprising:means for determining a counter value that represents a number of a specific bit present in the data message; means for forming an error code (EC) portion that is associated with the counter value; and means for encoding the data message with the counter value and the EC portion. 15. The computer program produce of claim 14, further comprising:means for using the encoded counter value to determine whether an error exists in the data message from a wire failure during transmission of the data message. 16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the means for using comprises:means for splitting the message into at least two sub-messages, with the first sub-message comprising a data portion of the data message, and the second sub-message comprising the counter value and the EC portion; means for determining another counter value that represents a number of the specific bit present in the first sub-message; means for comparing the another counter value with the counter value of the second sub-message; and means for signaling an error if the step of comparison indicates that the another counter value is different from the counter value. 17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the means for using further comprises:means for detecting errors in the second sub-message via the EC portion; wherein the means for detecting errors operates prior to the means for determining another counter value. 18. The computer program produce of claim 14, wherein the data message comprises a data portion and another EC portion that is associated with the data portion.19. The computer program produce of claim 14, wherein the specific bit is selected from the group consisting of a binary one and a binary zero.20. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein:the EC portion is one of a single error correcting and double error detecting code, and a single error detecting code. 21. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein a size of the counter value and the EC portion is larger than a size that can be protected by the EC portion when compared to a width of a transmission path used in the transmission of the message, the computer program product further comprising:means for creating a subsequent counter value that represents a number of the specific bit present in the preceding counter value and the preceding EC portion; means for forming a subsequent EC portion that is associated with the subsequent counter value; and means for repeating the steps of creating and forming until a size of the subsequent counter value and the subsequent EC is no larger than the size that can be protected by the subsequent ECC when compared to the width of the transmission path. 22. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein a size of the counter value and the EC portion is larger than a size that can be protected by the EC portion when compared to a width of a transmission path used in the transmission of the message, the computer program product further comprising:means for separating the counter value into a plurality of counter value portions; and means for forming a plurality EC portions, each of which is associated with a particular one of the plurality of counter value portions; wherein a size of each counter value portion and its associated EC portion is no larger than the size that can be protected by the associated EC when compared to the width of the transmission path. 23. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:means for truncating the counter value by removing the higher order bits such that the remaining bits are wide enough to indicate twice a number of cycles required to transmit the data message; wherein the means for truncating operates prior to the means for forming the EC portion. 24. A computer program product having a computer readable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for forming a data message for transmission, wherein the data message comprises a data portion, the computer program product comprising:means for determining a counter value that represents a number of a specific bit present in the data portion; means for truncating the counter value by removing the higher order bits such that the remaining bits are wide enough to indicate twice a number of cycles required to transmit the data portion; and means for encoding the data message with the truncated counter value. 25. The computer program product of claim 24, further comprising:means for using the encoded counter value to determine whether an error exists in the data portion from a wire failure during transmission of the data message. 26. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the specific bit is selected from the group consisting of a binary one and a binary zero.