Optimization of Boolean Expressions-Historical Developments

Boolean expressions play an essential role in all aspects of computer science. Interest in them is rooted in compiler design. Clearly, every compiler must be designed to evaluate Boolean expressions. It is therefore essential that the compiled code be as efficient as possible. Historical development...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnals of the history of computing Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 227 - 238
Main Authors Minker, Jack, Minker, Rita G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.07.1980
Subjects
Boolean algebra
Boolean functions
Computer science
Information processing
Mathematics
Performance evaluation
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ISSN0164-1239
DOI10.1109/MAHC.1980.10029

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Summary:Boolean expressions play an essential role in all aspects of computer science. Interest in them is rooted in compiler design. Clearly, every compiler must be designed to evaluate Boolean expressions. It is therefore essential that the compiled code be as efficient as possible. Historical developments on this subject and related topics are discussed. Given a Boolean expression, techniques are described to optimize its evaluation. The optimum solution to the Boolean expression evaluation is presented for the situation when probabilities are known concerning whether or not the propositional variables evaluate to true (T), and costs are given to determine the evaluation.
ISSN:0164-1239
DOI:10.1109/MAHC.1980.10029