A trellis is a

graph Graph may refer to: Mathematics *Graph (discrete mathematics), a structure made of vertices and edges **Graph theory, the study of such graphs and their properties *Graph (topology), a topological space resembling a graph in the sense of discre ...

whose nodes are ordered into vertical slices (''time'') with each node at each time connected to at least one node at an earlier and at least one node at a later time. The earliest and latest times in the trellis have only one node. Trellises are used in encoders and decoders for communication theory and

encryption In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decip ...

. They are also the central datatype used in

Baum–Welch algorithm In electrical engineering, statistical computing and bioinformatics, the Baum–Welch algorithm is a special case of the expectation–maximization algorithm used to find the unknown parameters of a hidden Markov model (HMM). It makes use of the ...

or the

Viterbi Algorithm The Viterbi algorithm is a dynamic programming algorithm for obtaining the maximum a posteriori probability estimate of the most likely sequence of hidden states—called the Viterbi path—that results in a sequence of observed events, especiall ...

Ryan, M. S., & Nudd, G. R. (1993). The viterbi algorithm. University of Warwick, Department of Computer Science. for

Hidden Markov Models A hidden Markov model (HMM) is a statistical Markov model in which the system being modeled is assumed to be a Markov process — call it X — with unobservable ("''hidden''") states. As part of the definition, HMM requires that there be an ob ...

. The trellis graph is named for its similar appearance to an architectural trellis.

References

See also