Editing N-ary code (section)

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''n''-ary code}}

In [[telecommunications]], an '''''n''-ary code''' is a [[code]] that has ''n'' [[Symbol_rate#Significant_condition|significant conditions]], where ''n'' is a positive integer greater than 1.   The integer substituted for ''n'' indicates the specific number of significant conditions, ''i.e.'', [[Quantization (signal processing)|quantization]] states, in the code. For example, an 8-ary code has eight significant conditions and can convey three bits per code symbol. A prefix that indicates an integer, ''e.g.'', "bin", "tern," or "quatern", may be used in lieu of a numeral, to produce "[[binary numeral system|binary]]", [[ternary signal|"ternary"]], or [[Quaternary numeral system|"quaternary"]] (2, 3, and 4 states respectively).