Fundamental Hardware Elements of Computers: Boolean algebra
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We have met gate logic and combinations of gates. Another way of representing gate logic is through boolean algebra, a way of algebraically representing logic gates. You should have already covered the symbols, below is a quick reminder:
Bitwise Operator | NOT() | AND(.) | OR(+) | XOR() | NAND() | NOR() |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Description | invert input | where exactly two 1s | where one or more 1s | where exactly one 1 | where less than two 1s | where exactly two 0s |
For the exam you might have:
- to convert logic gates into boolean algebra,
- build logic gate combinations from boolean algebra,
- simplify boolean algebra.
For example, in the exam it may ask you what is the boolean algebra for A or B?
The answer to this is A + B.
In the exam the question will most likely be harder to solve so you should learn how to combine all these into what you want to represent.