Determining worst-case bit patterns based upon data-dependent jitter

The patent application discloses mechanisms that, for a given channel step or edge response, bit interval, and data dependent jitter table can directly determine the minimal eye or bit error rate opening by building a worst case pattern considering the effect of data dependent jitter. These mechanisms can be based on building an indexed table of jitter samples, preparing a structure in the form of connected elements corresponding to the jitter samples, and then applying dynamic programming to determine paths through the connected elements.