BOOLEAN ALGEBRA
Boolean algebra is the category of algebra in which the variable’s
values are the truth values, true and false, ordinarily denoted 1 and
0 respectively. It is used to analyze and simplify digital circuits. It
is also called as Binary Algebra or logical Algebra. It has been
fundamental in the development of digital electronics and is
provided for in all modern programming languages. It is also used
in set theory and statistics.
The important operations performed in boolean algebra are
– conjunction (∧), disjunction (∨) and negation (¬). Hence, this
algebra is far way different from elementary algebra where the
values of variables are numerical and arithmetic operations like
addition, subtraction is been performed on them.
Boolean Algebra Operations
The basic operations of Boolean algebra are as follows:
Conjunction or AND operation
Disjunction or OR operation
Negation or Not operation
Boolean Algebra Rules
Following are the important rules used in Boolean algebra.
Variable used can have only two values. Binary 1 for HIGH
and Binary 0 for LOW.
The complement of a variable is represented by an overbar.
Thus, complement of variable B is represented as B¯. Thus if
B = 0 then B¯=1 and B = 1 then B¯ = 0.
OR-ing of the variables is represented by a plus (+) sign
between them. For example OR-ing of A, B, C is represented
as A + B + C.
Logical AND-ing of the two or more variable is represented
by writing a dot between them such as A.B.C. Sometimes the
dot may be omitted like ABC.
There are six types of Boolean algebra laws. They are:
Commutative law
Associative law
Distributive law
AND law
OR law
Inversion law
Those six laws are explained in detail here.
Commutative Law
Any binary operation which satisfies the following expression is
referred to as a commutative operation. Commutative law states that
changing the sequence of the variables does not have any effect on
the output of a logic circuit.
A. B = B. A
A+B=B+A
Associative Law
It states that the order in which the logic operations are performed
is irrelevant as their effect is the same.
( A. B ). C = A . ( B . C )
( A + B ) + C = A + ( B + C)
Distributive Law
Distributive law states the following conditions:
A. ( B + C) = (A. B) + (A. C)
A + (B. C) = (A + B) . ( A + C)
AND Law
These laws use the AND operation. Therefore they are called AND
laws.
A .0 = 0
A.1=A
A. A = A
A.A¯=0
OR Law
These laws use the OR operation. Therefore they are called OR
laws.
A +0=A
A+1=1
A+A=A
A+A¯=1
Inversion Law
This law uses the NOT operation. The inversion law states that
double inversion of variable results in the original variable itself.
A+A’=1
LOGIC GATES
Digital electronic circuits operate with voltages of two logic levels
namely Logic Low and Logic High. The range of voltages
corresponding to Logic Low is represented with ‘0’. Similarly, the
range of voltages corresponding to Logic High is represented with
‘1’.
The basic digital electronic circuit that has one or more inputs and
single output is known as Logic gate. Hence, the Logic gates are
the building blocks of any digital system. We can classify these
Logic gates into the following three categories.
Basic gates
Universal gates
Special gates
Now, let us discuss about the Logic gates come under each
category one by one.
Basic Gates
In earlier chapters, we learnt that the Boolean functions can be
represented either in sum of products form or in product of sums
form based on the requirement. So, we can implement these
Boolean functions by using basic gates. The basic gates are AND,
OR & NOT gates.
AND gate
An AND gate is a digital circuit that has two or more inputs and
produces an output, which is the logical AND of all those inputs.
It is optional to represent the Logical AND with the symbol ‘.’.
The following table shows the truth table of 2-input AND gate.
A B Y = A.B
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1
Here A, B are the inputs and Y is the output of two input AND
gate. If both inputs are ‘1’, then only the output, Y is ‘1’. For
remaining combinations of inputs, the output, Y is ‘0’.
The following figure shows the symbol of an AND gate, which is
having two inputs A, B and one output, Y.
This AND gate produces an output YY, which is the logical
AND of two inputs A, B. Similarly, if there are ‘n’ inputs, then the
AND gate produces an output, which is the logical AND of all
those inputs. That means, the output of AND gate will be ‘1’, when
all the inputs are ‘1’.
OR gate
An OR gate is a digital circuit that has two or more inputs and
produces an output, which is the logical OR of all those inputs.
This logical OR is represented with the symbol ‘+’.
The following table shows the truth table of 2-input OR gate.
A B Y=A+B
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1
Here A, B are the inputs and Y is the output of two input OR gate.
If both inputs are ‘0’, then only the output, Y is ‘0’. For remaining
combinations of inputs, the output, Y is ‘1’.
The following figure shows the symbol of an OR gate, which is
having two inputs A, B and one output, Y.
This OR gate produces an output YY, which is the logical OR of
two inputs A, B. Similarly, if there are ‘n’ inputs, then the OR gate
produces an output, which is the logical OR of all those inputs.
That means, the output of an OR gate will be ‘1’, when at least one
of those inputs is ‘1’.
NOT gate
A NOT gate is a digital circuit that has single input and single
output. The output of NOT gate is the logical inversion of input.
Hence, the NOT gate is also called as inverter.
The following table shows the truth table of NOT gate.
A Y = A’
0 1
1 0
Here A and Y are the input and output of NOT gate respectively.
If the input, A is ‘0’, then the output, Y is ‘1’. Similarly, if the
input, A is ‘1’, then the output, Y is ‘0’.
The following figure shows the symbol of NOT gate, which is
having one input, A and one output, Y.
This NOT gate produces an output YY, which is
the complement of input, A.
Universal gates
NAND & NOR gates are called as universal gates. Because we
can implement any Boolean function, which is in sum of products
form by using NAND gates alone. Similarly, we can implement
any Boolean function, which is in product of sums form by using
NOR gates alone.
NAND gate
NAND gate is a digital circuit that has two or more inputs and
produces an output, which is the inversion of logical AND of all
those inputs.
The following table shows the truth table of 2-input NAND gate.
A B Y = [Link].B’
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0
Here A, B are the inputs and Y is the output of two input NAND
gate. When both inputs are ‘1’, the output, Y is ‘0’. If at least one
of the input is zero, then the output, Y is ‘1’. This is just opposite
to that of two input AND gate operation.
The following image shows the symbol of NAND gate, which is
having two inputs A, B and one output, Y.
NAND gate operation is same as that of AND gate followed by an
inverter. That’s why the NAND gate symbol is represented like
that.
NOR gate
NOR gate is a digital circuit that has two or more inputs and
produces an output, which is the inversion of logical OR of all
those inputs.
The following table shows the truth table of 2-input NOR gate
A B Y = A+BA+B’
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0
Here A, B are the inputs and Y is the output. If both inputs are ‘0’,
then the output, Y is ‘1’. If at least one of the input is ‘1’, then the
output, Y is ‘0’. This is just opposite to that of two input OR gate
operation.
The following figure shows the symbol of NOR gate, which is
having two inputs A, B and one output, Y.
NOR gate operation is same as that of OR gate followed by an
inverter. That’s why the NOR gate symbol is represented like that.
Special Gates
Ex-OR & Ex-NOR gates are called as special gates. Because, these
two gates are special cases of OR & NOR gates.
Ex-OR gate
The full form of Ex-OR gate is Exclusive-OR gate. Its function is
same as that of OR gate except for some cases, when the inputs
having even number of ones.
The following table shows the truth table of 2-input Ex-OR gate.
A B Y = A⊕B
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
Here A, B are the inputs and Y is the output of two input Ex-OR
gate. The truth table of Ex-OR gate is same as that of OR gate for
first three rows. The only modification is in the fourth row. That
means, the output YY is zero instead of one, when both the inputs
are one, since the inputs having even number of ones.
Therefore, the output of Ex-OR gate is ‘1’, when only one of the
two inputs is ‘1’. And it is zero, when both inputs are same.
Below figure shows the symbol of Ex-OR gate, which is having
two inputs A, B and one output, Y.
Ex-OR gate operation is similar to that of OR gate, except for few
combinations of inputs. That’s why the Ex-OR gate symbol is
represented like that. The output of Ex-OR gate is ‘1’, when odd
number of ones present at the inputs. Hence, the output of Ex-OR
gate is also called as an odd function.
Ex-NOR gate
The full form of Ex-NOR gate is Exclusive-NOR gate. Its function
is same as that of NOR gate except for some cases, when the inputs
having even number of ones.
The following table shows the truth table of 2-input Ex-NOR
gate.
A B Y = A⊙B
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1
Here A, B are the inputs and Y is the output. The truth table of Ex-
NOR gate is same as that of NOR gate for first three rows. The
only modification is in the fourth row. That means, the output is
one instead of zero, when both the inputs are one.
Therefore, the output of Ex-NOR gate is ‘1’, when both inputs are
same. And it is zero, when both the inputs are different.
The following figure shows the symbol of Ex-NOR gate, which is
having two inputs A, B and one output, Y.
Ex-NOR gate operation is similar to that of NOR gate, except for
few combinationss of inputs. That’s why the Ex-NOR gate symbol
is represented like that. The output of Ex-NOR gate is ‘1’, when
even number of ones present at the inputs. Hence, the output of Ex-
NOR gate is also called as an even function.
From the above truth tables of Ex-OR & Ex-NOR logic gates, we
can easily notice that the Ex-NOR operation is just the logical
inversion of Ex-OR operation.
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