Patent ID: 8102857

Claim:
A method for reliably decoding a message having a plurality of data units, at a receiving device, the message including a first portion followed by a second portion, the first portion having data units of a first type and the second portion having data units of a second type, the method comprising: receiving a first data unit; identifying the first data unit as being of the first type; processing the first data unit as a data unit of the first type; determining a number of units to follow in the message from information provided in the first type of data unit; processing subsequent received data units as data units of the first type until it is determined that the first portion of the message is complete; and upon determining that the first portion of the message is complete, processing a number of following data units as data units of the second type, wherein the number of following data units processed as data units of the second type is based on the determined number of units to follow; wherein determining the number of units to follow in the message includes at least one of (1) obtaining the number of units to follow from a “Blocks to Follow” field in the first data unit, (2) referencing opcode information in the first data unit to determine the type of information being provided in the message, and determining the number of unit to follow based on the type of information being provided, and (3) decrementing a previously determined “Units to Follow” value.