Analysis of the decoding process of T-codes

T-codes are variable-length codes (VLC) generated by an iterative construction algorithm known as T-augmentation. All T-codes possess strong self-synchronising properties by virtue of T-augmentation, which spreads synchronisation information throughout the code construction. A number of applications have been reported that reference the T-codes for their desirable properties. However, further theoretical development is needed to realise their full benefits. The authors highlight important applications of self-synchronising codes and survey reported research on the decoding process of T-codes. Building on previous work, the authors present a thorough treatment of this process. Understanding the decoding process provides insight into the self-synchronisation process of T-codes. It also leads to an efficient method of determining the average synchronisation delay associated with each T-code, which is important for practical applications