Error-correcting code

An error-correcting code (usually given as the acronym, ECC; the term error-correction code is very common, too) refers to a coding system, usually a cyclic redundancy check, which allows errors in data (stored in either main memory or secondary storage) to be automatically detected. If the code stores enough redundant data, errors can also be automatially and repaired.

ECCs are usually only used with stored data, not data in a communication system, since modern networking is designed around the idea of re-sending lost or damaged data (since that simplifies the overall design of the network).