Saturday, December 19, 2009

Introduction to Logic gates



What is a logic gate?

A logic gate performs a logical operation on one or more logic inputs and produces a single logic output. The logic normally performed is Boolean logic and is most commonly found in digital circuits. Logic gates are implemented electronically using diodes or transistors, but can also be constructed using electromagnetic relays, fluidics, optics, molecules, or even mechanical elements.

In electronic logic, a logic level is represented by a voltage or current, (which depends on the type of electronic logic in use). Each logic gate requires power so that it can source and sink currents to achieve the correct output voltage. In logic circuit diagrams the power is not shown, but in a full electronic schematic, power connections are required.

What is a truth table?

A truth table is a mathematical table used in logic—specifically in connection with Boolean algebra, boolean functions, and propositional calculus—to compute the functional values of logical expressions on each of their functional arguments, that is, on each combination of values taken by their logical variables. In particular, truth tables can be used to tell whether a propositional expression is true for all legitimate input values, that is, logically valid.

Another Definition For Truth Table
A truth table is a table that describes the behaviour of a logic gate. It lists the value of the output for every possible combination of the inputs and can be used to simplify the number of logic gates and level of nesting in an electronic circuit. In general the truth table does not lead to an efficient implementation; a minimization procedure, using Karnaugh maps, the Quine–McCluskey algorithm or a heuristic algorithm is required for reducing the circuit complexity.