Re: Boolean algebra for beginner

Posted by WBahn on
URL: http://nand2tetris-questions-and-answers-forum.52.s1.nabble.com/Boolean-algebra-for-beginner-tp4034130p4034149.html

King Julian wrote

Wow WB .. thanks for that .. yes u are 100% correct if that’s the case 🤦🏽‍♂️

Glad I could shed some light.

Maybe I am over complicating it .. 🙈

Perhaps, but more likely simply a case of two things that are essentially the same appearing to be very different because of the superficial view that we have available to us. Once we have the information to look a bit further under the surface, we see the connections for what they are. And, of course, there's almost always more connections even further under the surface than we are able to view at any given point in our journey, so we often have to revisit things many times over a career.

Anyway I am finding the K Map methods seems far easier ( for me ofcourse ) in terms of simplification which is where I wasn’t really too confident that I always have atleast some optimal results etc...

K-maps definitely make simplifications easier once you know enough about how they work, or at least how to use them. Contrary to popular belief, though, they generally do not produce the "simplest" logic expressions, especially if we are looking at transistor-level implementations. In fact, they can actually explode the complexity of the logic, especially if XOR terms get involved.

The authors don't include simplification techniques, other then mentioning them in passing, because they aren't needed and most things that aren't needed are ignored or given some hand-wavy treatment. This is the consequence of having a course that is so unbelievably broad in scope that any depth that isn't essential is largely sacrificed. For their purposes, all that matters is that the implemented logic function correctly, no matter how inefficient the implementation might be.