What is parity flag?

The parity flag is a status flag in the CPU's status register that indicates the parity of the result of the last arithmetic or logic operation. It is set to 1 if the number of set bits (1s) in the result is even, and to 0 if the number of set bits is odd. This flag is primarily used for error detection in data transmission and memory storage. In systems that utilize parity checking, the parity flag helps ensure data integrity by signaling whether the data has been altered or corrupted.