Patent ID: 7096409

Claim:
A method for decoding of Reed-Solomon encoded data, comprising the steps of: receiving a codeword comprising a set of symbols, and calculating a syndrome polynomial S(x) for the received codeword; receiving erasure information which identifies zero or more symbols in the received codeword that have been declared as a symbol erasure; calculating a modified syndrome polynomial T(x) from the syndrome polynomial S(x) and then calculating an erasure locator polynomial Λ(x), each with reference to the received erasure information; finding an error locator polynomial σ(x) and an errata evaluator polynomial ω(x), from the modified syndrome polynomial T(x); determining a location and magnitude of symbol errors and symbol erasures in the received codeword, from the error locator polynomial σ(x), the erasure locator polynomial Λ(x), and the errata evaluator polynomial ω(x); and correcting the received codeword using the determined location and magnitude of symbol errors and symbol erasures.