MODULE COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURE

CHAPTER 4: DIGITAL LOGIC CIRCUITS

Objectives:
a.) Discuss the various computational task of a digital circuits.
b.) Identify the basic logic gates and the relationship between the
input-output binary variables.
c.) Perform the Boolean algebra simplification using logic gates.

Lesson 1: Digital Computers

Digital Computers
A Digital computer can be considered as a digital system that performs various
computational tasks. The first electronic digital computer was developed in the late 1940s and
was used primarily for numerical computations. By convention, the digital computers use the
binary number system, which has two digits: 0 and 1. A binary digit is called a bit.
A computer system is subdivided into two functional entities: Hardware and Software.

 The hardware consists of all the electronic components and electromechanical

devices that comprise the physical entity of the device.
 The software of the computer consists of the instructions and data that the
computer manipulates to perform various data-processing tasks.

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o The Central Processing Unit (CPU) contains an arithmetic and logic unit for manipulating
data, a number of registers for storing data, and a control circuit for fetching and
executing instructions.
o The memory unit of a digital computer contains storage for instructions and data.
o The Random Access Memory (RAM) for real-time processing of the data.
o The Input-Output devices for generating inputs from the user and displaying the final
results to the user.
o The Input-Output devices connected to the computer include the keyboard, mouse,
terminals, magnetic disk drives, and other communication devices.

For more knowledge about hardware and software, please check the link provided;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnyFYiK2rSY&t=48s

Lesson 2: Logic Gates

Logic Gates
o The logic gates are the main structural part of a digital system.
o Logic Gates are a block of hardware that produces signals of binary 1 or 0 when input logic
requirements are satisfied.
o Each gate has a distinct graphic symbol, and its operation can be described by means of
algebraic expressions.
o The seven basic logic gates includes: AND, OR, XOR, NOT, NAND, NOR, and XNOR.
o The relationship between the input-output binary variables for each gate can be
represented in tabular form by a truth table.
o Each gate has one or two binary input variables designated by A and B and one binary
output variable designated by x.
AND GATE:
The AND gate is an electronic circuit which gives a high output only if all its inputs are
high. The AND operation is represented by a dot (.) sign.

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OR GATE:
The OR gate is an electronic circuit which gives a high output if one or more of its inputs
are high. The operation performed by an OR gate is represented by a plus (+) sign.

NOT GATE:
The NOT gate is an electronic circuit which produces an inverted version of the input at
its output. It is also known as an Inverter.
NAND GATE:
The NOT-AND (NAND) gate which is equal to an AND gate followed by a NOT gate. The
NAND gate gives a high output if any of the inputs are low. The NAND gate is represented by a
AND gate with a small circle on the output. The small circle represents inversion.

NOR GATE:
The NOT-OR (NOR) gate which is equal to an OR gate followed by a NOT gate. The NOR
gate gives a low output if any of the inputs are high. The NOR gate is represented by an OR gate
with a small circle on the output. The small circle represents inversion.

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Exclusive-OR/ XOR GATE:

The 'Exclusive-OR' gate is a circuit which will give a high output if one of its inputs is high
but not both of them. The XOR operation is represented by an encircled plus sign.

EXCLUSIVE-NOR/Equivalence GATE:
The 'Exclusive-NOR' gate is a circuit that does the inverse operation to the XOR gate. It will give
a low output if one of its inputs is high but not both of them. The small circle represents inversion.

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For more knowledge about logic gates, please check the link provided;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI-qXk7XojA&t=154s

Lesson 3: Boolean Algebra

Boolean algebra
Boolean algebra can be considered as an algebra that deals with binary variables and logic
operations. Boolean algebraic variables are designated by letters such as A, B, x, and y. The basic
operations performed are AND, OR, and complement.
The Boolean algebraic functions are mostly expressed with binary variables, logic
operation symbols, parentheses, and equal sign. For a given value of variables, the Boolean
function can be either 1 or 0. For instance, consider the Boolean function:
F = x + y'z
The logic diagram for the Boolean function F = x + y'z can be represented as:

o The Boolean function F = x + y'z is transformed from an algebraic expression into a logic
diagram composed of AND, OR, and inverter gates.
o Inverter at input 'y' generates its complement y'.
o There is an AND gate for the term y'z, and an OR gate is used to combine the two terms
(x and y'z).
o The variables of the function are taken to be the inputs of the circuit, and the variable
symbol of the function is taken as the output of the circuit.
Note: A truth table can represent the relationship between a function and its binary variables. To
represent a function in a truth table, we need a list of the 2^n combinations of n binary variables.
The truth table for the Boolean function F = x + y'z can be represented as:

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Lesson 4: Laws of Boolean Algebra

Laws of Boolean algebra
The basic Laws of Boolean Algebra can be stated as follows:
o Commutative Law states that the interchanging of the order of operands in a Boolean
equation does not change its result. For example:
1. OR operator → A + B = B + A
2. AND operator → A * B = B * A
o Associative Law of multiplication states that the AND operation are done on two or more
than two variables. For example:
A * (B * C) = (A * B) * C
o Distributive Law states that the multiplication of two variables and adding the result
with a variable will result in the same value as multiplication of addition of the variable
with individual variables. For example:
A + BC = (A + B) (A + C).
o Annulment law:
A.0 = 0
A+1=1
o Identity law:
A.1 = A
A+0=A
o Idempotent law:
A+A=A
A.A = A

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o Complement law:
A + A' = 1
A.A'= 0
o Double negation law:
((A)')' = A
o Absorption law:
A.(A+B) = A
A + AB = A
De Morgan's Law is also known as De Morgan's theorem, works depending on the concept of
Duality. Duality states that interchanging the operators and variables in a function, such as
replacing 0 with 1 and 1 with 0, AND operator with OR operator and OR operator with AND
operator.
De Morgan stated 2 theorems, which will help us in solving the algebraic problems in digital
electronics. The De Morgan's statements are:
1. "The negation of a conjunction is the disjunction of the negations", which means that the
complement of the product of 2 variables is equal to the sum of the compliments of
individual variables. For example, (A.B)' = A' + B'.
2. "The negation of disjunction is the conjunction of the negations", which means that
compliment of the sum of two variables is equal to the product of the complement of
each variable. For example, (A + B)' = A'B'.

For more knowledge about Law of Boolean algebra, please check the link provided;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPJf4owqwdA

Lesson 5: Simplification using Boolean algebra

Let us consider an example of a Boolean function: AB+A (B+C) + B (B+C)
The logic diagram for the Boolean function AB+A (B+C) + B (B+C) can be represented as:

We will simplify this Boolean function on the basis of rules given by Boolean algebra.

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AB + A (B+C) + B (B+C)
AB + AB + AC + BB + BC {Distributive law; A (B+C) = AB+AC, B (B+C) = BB+BC}
AB + AB + AC + B + BC {Idempotent law; BB = B}
AB + AC + B + BC {Idempotent law; AB+AB = AB}
AB + AC +B {Absorption law; B+BC = B}
B + AC {Absorption law; AB+B = B}
Hence, the simplified Boolean function will be B + AC.
The logic diagram for Boolean function B + AC can be represented as:

For more knowledge about Simplification using Boolean algebra, please check the
link provided; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0as464WmfCo

REFERENCES

https://www.javatpoint.com/digital-computers
https://www.javatpoint.com/logic-gates
https://www.javatpoint.com/boolean-algebra
https://www.javatpoint.com/laws-of-boolean-algebra
https://www.javatpoint.com/simplification-using-boolean-algebra

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