Logic Gates

Revision 1.0
John Elliott
December 10, 2012
Logical Operators
The Buer Gate
Case A B
Input HIGH 1 1
Input LOW 0 0
The Buer gate is the simplest case of logic. In literal, it simply continues the input as the
output. As an example, if a boolean HIGH is sent to A, then a boolean HIGH will be output
on B. The converse is true as well. This is mostly used to capture, store, and redirect a
signal. A more advanced version of this gate is the BUFIF1, or buer if 1 gate. This is a
switch that will allow a signal to pass if an additional input is brought HIGH.
The NOT Gate
Case A B
Input HIGH 1 0
Input LOW 0 1
The NOT gate is the next step in complexity from the buer gate. This gate will take an
input and invert the output. The simplest case of this is with boolean logic, where TRUE and
FALSE are the only outputs. If the input(A) is TRUE, then the output(B) will be FALSE.
The converse is also true. This gate is often used in series with the logical AND and OR
gates. Fundamentally, this gate is key in the creation of static RAM, which is composed of
two logical NOT gates in series, with a slightly more complicated input and output method
using BUFIF operators.
1
The OR Gate
Case A B C
A LOW , B LOW 0 0 0
A HIGH, B LOW 1 0 1
A LOW , B HIGH 0 1 1
A HIGH, B HIGH 1 1 1
The OR gate will take two (or more) arguments and return a TRUE result if any of
the arguments are TRUE. Casually speaking, this logic gate tells you whether anything is
HIGH. Given any input that is HIGH, the output of this gate will be HIGH. More complicated
versions of this gate called Exclusive OR gates, or simply XORs, are commonly used. This
more complicated system will only yield a TRUE output when exactly one input is HIGH.
If more than one input is HIGH, then the output will yield a LOW.
The AND Gate
Case A B C
A LOW , B LOW 0 0 0
A HIGH, B LOW 1 0 0
A LOW , B HIGH 0 1 0
A HIGH, B HIGH 1 1 1
The AND gate will take two (or more) arguments and return a TRUE result only if all
arguments are TRUE. If a single argument is FALSE, then the output will yield FALSE.
The AND gate, paired with a NOT gate to create the NAND gate, can construct all known
logic gates. This gate is in practice used more than any other gate in my experiences.
Putting it all Together
The above gates form the basis for modern computing. Combinations of these logic gates
are responsible for everything from adding two number , to ip-ops, and even this paper I
am typing. This method of using logic to create algorithms and programs will necessarily
transcend any given technology, as its validity will always remain consistent, and any type
of technology that has reproducible results will necessarily abide by logical processes; thus
this information will transcend any particular type of technology that it is going to be used
for.
2