Decoding of LT-Like Codes in the Absence of Degree-One Code Symbols

Luby transform (LT) codes were the first practical rateless erasure codes proposed in the literature. The performances of these codes, which are iteratively decoded using belief propagation algorithms, depend on the degree distribution used to generate the coded symbols. The existence of degree-one coded symbols is essential for the starting and continuation of the decoding process. The absence of a degree-one coded symbol at any instant of an iterative decoding operation results in decoding failure. To alleviate this problem, we proposed a method used in the absence of a degree-one code symbol to overcome a stuck decoding operation and its continuation. The simulation results show that the proposed approach provides a better performance than a conventional LT code and memory-based robust soliton distributed LT code, as well as that of a Gaussian elimination assisted LT code, particularly for short data lengths.