Based on the two-dimensional (2-D) weight distribution of tail-biting codes
we give guidelines how to choose tail-biting component codes that are espe
cially suited for parallel concatenated coding schemes, Employing these gui
delines, we tabulate tail-biting codes of different rate, length, and compl
exity. The performance of parallel concatenated block. codes (PCBCs) using
iterative (turbo) decoding is evaluated by simulation and bounds are calcul
ated in order to study their asymptotic performance.