Chapter 4: The Building

Blocks: Binary Numbers,

Boolean Logic, and Gates
Invitation to Computer Science,
C++ Version, Third Edition
Objectives

In this chapter, you will learn about:

 The binary numbering system

 Boolean logic and gates

 Building computer circuits

 Control circuits

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Introduction

 Chapter 4 focuses on hardware design (also

called logic design)
 How to represent and store information inside a
computer
 How to use the principles of symbolic logic to
design gates
 How to use gates to construct circuits that perform
operations such as adding and comparing
numbers, and fetching instructions

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The Binary Numbering System

 A computer’s internal storage techniques are

different from the way people represent
information in daily lives

 Information inside a digital computer is stored as

a collection of binary data

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Binary Representation of Numeric and
Textual Information
 Binary numbering system
 Base-2
 Built from ones and zeros
 Each position is a power of 2
1101 = 1 x 23 + 1 x 22 + 0 x 21 + 1 x 20
 Decimal numbering system
 Base-10
 Each position is a power of 10
3052 = 3 x 103 + 0 x 102 + 5 x 101 + 2 x 100

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 Figure 4.2
Binary-to-Decimal
Conversion Table

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Binary Representation of Numeric and
Textual Information (continued)
 Representing integers
 Decimal integers are converted to binary integers

 Given k bits, the largest unsigned integer is

2k - 1
 Given 4 bits, the largest is 24-1 = 15

 Signed integers must also represent the sign

(positive or negative)

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Binary Representation of Numeric and
Textual Information (continued)
 Representing real numbers
 Real numbers may be put into binary scientific
notation: a x 2b
 Example: 101.11 x 20
 Number then normalized so that first significant
digit is immediately to the right of the binary point
 Example: .10111 x 23
 Mantissa and exponent then stored

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Binary Representation of Numeric and
Textual Information (continued)
 Characters are mapped onto binary numbers
 ASCII code set
 8 bits per character; 256 character codes
 UNICODE code set
 16 bits per character; 65,536 character codes

 Text strings are sequences of characters in

some encoding

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Binary Representation of Sound and
Images
 Multimedia data is sampled to store a digital
form, with or without detectable differences

 Representing sound data

 Sound data must be digitized for storage in a

computer

 Digitizing means periodic sampling of amplitude

values

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 Binary Representation of Sound and
Images (continued)
 From samples, original sound may be
approximated

 To improve the approximation:

 Sample more frequently

 Use more bits for each sample value

Invitation to Computer Science, C++ Version, Third Edition 11

Figure 4.5
Digitization of an Analog
Signal

(a) Sampling the Original

Signal

(b) Recreating the

Signal from the Sampled
Values

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 Binary Representation of Sound and
Images (continued)

 Representing image data

 Images are sampled by reading color and

intensity values at even intervals across the image

 Each sampled point is a pixel

 Image quality depends on number of bits at each

pixel

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The Reliability of Binary
Representation
 Electronic devices are most reliable in a bistable
environment
 Bistable environment
 Distinguishing only two electronic states
 Current flowing or not
 Direction of flow
 Computers are bistable: hence binary
representations
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Binary Storage Devices
 Magnetic core

 Historic device for computer memory

 Tiny magnetized rings: flow of current sets the

direction of magnetic field

 Binary values 0 and 1 are represented using the

direction of the magnetic field

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 Figure 4.9
Using Magnetic Cores to Represent Binary Values

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Binary Storage Devices (continued)
 Transistors

 Solid-state switches: either permits or blocks

current flow

 A control input causes state change

 Constructed from semiconductors

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 Figure 4.11
Simplified Model of a Transistor

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Boolean Logic and Gates: Boolean
Logic
 Boolean logic describes operations on true/false
values

 True/false maps easily onto bistable

environment

 Boolean logic operations on electronic signals

may be built out of transistors and other
electronic devices

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Boolean Logic (continued)

 Boolean operations
 a AND b
 True only when a is true and b is true
 a OR b
 True when either a is true or b is true, or both are
true
 NOT a
 True when a is false, and vice versa

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Boolean Logic (continued)
 Boolean expressions
 Constructed by combining together Boolean
operations
 Example: (a AND b) OR ((NOT b) AND (NOT a))

 Truth tables capture the output/value of a

Boolean expression
 A column for each input plus the output
 A row for each combination of input values

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Boolean Logic (continued)
 Example:
(a AND b) OR ((NOT b) and (NOT a))

a b Value
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

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Gates

 Gates

 Hardware devices built from transistors to mimic

Boolean logic

 AND gate

 Two input lines, one output line

 Outputs a 1 when both inputs are 1

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Gates (continued)

 OR gate

 Two input lines, one output line

 Outputs a 1 when either input is 1

 NOT gate

 One input line, one output line

 Outputs a 1 when input is 0 and vice versa

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 Figure 4.15
The Three Basic Gates and Their Symbols

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Gates (continued)
 Abstraction in hardware design

 Map hardware devices to Boolean logic

 Design more complex devices in terms of logic,

not electronics

 Conversion from logic to hardware design may be

automated

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Building Computer Circuits:
Introduction
 A circuit is a collection of logic gates:

 Transforms a set of binary inputs into a set of

binary outputs

 Values of the outputs depend only on the current

values of the inputs

 Combinational circuits have no cycles in them

(no outputs feed back into their own inputs)
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 Figure 4.19
Diagram of a Typical Computer Circuit

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A Circuit Construction Algorithm

 Sum-of-products algorithm is one way to design

circuits:

 Truth table to Boolean expression to gate layout

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 Figure 4.21
The Sum-of-Products Circuit Construction Algorithm

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A Circuit Construction Algorithm
(continued)
 Sum-of-products algorithm
 Truth table captures every input/output possible
for circuit
 Repeat process for each output line
 Build a Boolean expression using AND and NOT for
each 1 of the output line
 Combine together all the expressions with ORs
 Build circuit from whole Boolean expression

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Examples Of Circuit Design And
Construction

 Compare-for-equality circuit

 Addition circuit

 Both circuits can be built using the sum-of-

products algorithm

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A Compare-for-equality Circuit
 Compare-for-equality circuit

 CE compares two unsigned binary integers for

equality

 Built by combining together 1-bit comparison

circuits (1-CE)

 Integers are equal if corresponding bits are equal

(AND together 1-CD circuits for each pair of bits)

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A Compare-for-equality Circuit
(continued)

 1-CE circuit truth table

a b Output
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

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 Figure 4.22
One-Bit Compare for Equality Circuit

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A Compare-for-equality Circuit
(continued)
 1-CE Boolean expression

 First case: (NOT a) AND (NOT b)

 Second case: a AND b

 Combined:

((NOT a) AND (NOT b)) OR (a AND b)

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An Addition Circuit

 Addition circuit

 Adds two unsigned binary integers, setting output

bits and an overflow

 Built from 1-bit adders (1-ADD)

 Starting with rightmost bits, each pair produces

 A value for that order

 A carry bit for next place to the left

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An Addition Circuit (continued)
 1-ADD truth table
 Input
 One bit from each input integer

 One carry bit (always zero for rightmost bit)

 Output
 One bit for output place value

 One “carry” bit

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 Figure 4.24
The 1-ADD Circuit and Truth Table

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An Addition Circuit (continued)
 Building the full adder

 Put rightmost bits into 1-ADD, with zero for the

input carry

 Send 1-ADD’s output value to output, and put its

carry value as input to 1-ADD for next bits to left

 Repeat process for all bits

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Control Circuits
 Do not perform computations
 Choose order of operations or select among
data values
 Major types of controls circuits
 Multiplexors
 Select one of inputs to send to output
 Decoders
 Sends a 1 on one output line, based on what input
line indicates

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Control Circuits (continued)
 Multiplexor form
 2N regular input lines
 N selector input lines
 1 output line
 Multiplexor purpose
 Given a code number for some input, selects that
input to pass along to its output
 Used to choose the right input value to send to a
computational circuit

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 Figure 4.28
A Two-Input Multiplexor Circuit

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Control Circuits (continued)
 Decoder

 Form

 N input lines

 2N output lines

 N input lines indicate a binary number, which is

used to select one of the output lines

 Selected output sends a 1, all others send 0

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Control Circuits (continued)

 Decoder purpose

 Given a number code for some operation, trigger

just that operation to take place

 Numbers might be codes for arithmetic: add,

subtract, etc.

 Decoder signals which operation takes place next

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Figure 4.29
A 2-to-4 Decoder Circuit

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Summary
 Digital computers use binary representations of
data: numbers, text, multimedia
 Binary values create a bistable environment,
making computers reliable
 Boolean logic maps easily onto electronic
hardware
 Circuits are constructed using Boolean
expressions as an abstraction
 Computational and control circuits may be built
from Boolean gates

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