Guess & Check Codes for Deletions, Insertions, and Synchronization

Abstract

We consider the problem of constructing codes that can correct $\delta $ deletions occurring in an arbitrary binary string of length $n$ bits. Varshamov–Tenengolts (VT) codes, dating back to 1965, are zero-error single deletion $(\delta =1)$ correcting codes and have an asymptotically optimal redundancy. Finding similar codes for $\delta \geq 2$ deletions remains an open problem. In this paper, we relax the standard zero-error (i.e., worst-case) decoding requirement by assuming that the positions of the $\delta $ deletions (or insertions) are independent of the code word. Our contribution is a new family of explicit codes, that we call Guess & Check (GC) codes, that can correct with high probability up to a constant number of $\delta $ deletions (or insertions). GC codes are systematic; and have deterministic polynomial time encoding and decoding algorithms. We also describe the application of GC codes to file synchronization.