There was a course in my freshman year that we called the weed class. Unlike what it may sound like, this was the unfortunate opposite. The class was notorious for weeding you out of software engineering.
What made this class hard wasn't in the name, Digital Design Fundamentals, an introduction to boolean algebra and circuit design. It was hard because it was the first time I was made to understand how a computer works.
How are bits made dynamic? Through the use of boolean algebra. Which sounds very scary, and it is... or is it? Boolean algebra is also why information is stored in computers as bits.
Boolean algebra is a mathematical way of representing and solving logical problems. Boolean algebra uses ANDs, ORs, and NOTs as operators, just like you would use addition and subtraction to operate on numbers, instead in boolean algebra you operate on statements.
You are actually very familiar with logic. Not only are AND/OR/NOT operations the building blocks of computing, it's the building blocks of rationality. When you have a conversation with someone, you take turns talking (unless you're rude). Each time you talk, you present a package of communication. This communication is made of statements and a conclusion, or a point, derived and supported by the statements.
So you might present a piece of communication to someone as such:
What made this class hard wasn't in the name, Digital Design Fundamentals, an introduction to boolean algebra and circuit design. It was hard because it was the first time I was made to understand how a computer works.
Little bits
You've heard that bits, 0 and 1, are how information is stored in a computer. But how do 0's and 1's translate to this application you're using to read this right now? While being useful as information in the static form, it's when you move bits around, make them dynamic, that you're able to do all the things we've been able to accomplish in the last half of the 20th century.How are bits made dynamic? Through the use of boolean algebra. Which sounds very scary, and it is... or is it? Boolean algebra is also why information is stored in computers as bits.
It's all very logical
Luckily, I was cut out to be a software engineer, barely. Digital Design Fundamentals was the first C of my college career, one of the best C's I've ever gotten, full of great lessons. It wasn't until the last semester of my super senior year that I took the class that should've been Digital Design's pre-requisite: Introduction to Logic, which was actually an introductory course for law students.Boolean algebra is a mathematical way of representing and solving logical problems. Boolean algebra uses ANDs, ORs, and NOTs as operators, just like you would use addition and subtraction to operate on numbers, instead in boolean algebra you operate on statements.
You are actually very familiar with logic. Not only are AND/OR/NOT operations the building blocks of computing, it's the building blocks of rationality. When you have a conversation with someone, you take turns talking (unless you're rude). Each time you talk, you present a package of communication. This communication is made of statements and a conclusion, or a point, derived and supported by the statements.
So you might present a piece of communication to someone as such:
- It's a really hot day today.
- We can become dehydrated from heat.
- We should drink some water.
This statement can be represented as: A and B then C, or A & B -> C.
The listener of this communication may choose to evaluate this communication, which is to check if each part statement (A and B) is true or false, and whether the conclusion (C) is valid or invalid.
For example, maybe the listener doesn't agree that A is true. To her, it's actually a cold day, A is false. But B is still true, you can become dehydrated from heat. Since A isn't true though, the listener doesn't agree with the conclusion, C, that water should be drank, and so C is invalid.
This is an example of boolean algebra.
At first there seems to be just these three operators, like in mathematics you start out with addition and subtraction. But if you're adding the same thing to itself multiple times, why not derive another operator, like multiplication? Same for subtraction, with division? In boolean logic there are other derived operators: NAND, NOR, XOR.
Seems like the starting over again, and keeping track of how many times you've started around again, is very tedious. So why would anyone want a system where you start over again after only 1?!
The answer to this question lies in boolean algebra. To evaluate the expression, A & B -> C, the listener had to check whether each of the statements (A, B) were true or false, and whether the conclusion was valid or invalid. That's the only information necessary to evaluate any expression. You can imagine that expressions can get really large and complex. Philosophical arguments among people can become very complex and heated, each statement building on top of previous complex statements. But independent of how large an expression gets, the only thing you need to know two things like whether the statement is true/valid, or false/invalid.
Two things, dos, double, bi... binary?
The reason that computers store information in bits, 0's and 1's, is not to to let computer geeks communicate with one another through secret binary code. The reason information is stored in bits is to be able to evaluate logical expressions using boolean algebra. 0's represent false or invalid or off or whatever negative bit you need. 1 represents the positive true, valid, on, etc.
The first and obvious use for a computer is to be a calculator. We know, from classical mathematics, that you can do a lot of wonderful things if you can just start with the basics of adding and subtracting. One tremendous bottleneck to human achievement is how quickly we can add and subtract things.
If you can add and subtract quicker, you can do a lot of things you weren't able to do before, like go to the moon.
The invention of computers was driven largely through this need to do fast computations. And that can be done using AND and OR logic on a binary representation of any number. Here's an example of how you do 5 + 6:
Works very similarly to when you add two large numbers together and then carry the tens place over if the sum on any column goes above 9. But in a binary number system, you carry over if you go past 1.
Now, the above diagram is lying to you, it leaves a lot of things out. You can see that they're showing you the addition operation on each column, starting from the right-most column. But there is no addition operator in computers. There is only the AND, and OR, NOT and all the derivative operators. So what's going on here?
What you're looking at is actually a representation of a process where a some logic acts on each column, starting from the right, moving toward the left. This little logic machine looks something like this:
Don't get discouraged! All you're seeing is a visual representation of a couple of statements using the AND operator, which is that big D looking thing on the bottom, and an XOR operator which is the bullet looking thing at top. The two statements are:
This is a very elegant little machine that will add a column of bits, like the 5+6 in the earlier diagram. The A, and B is the input bits from the 5 and the 6. The S is the output, and the C is any carry-over.
Understanding how an XOR works, and fully understanding this adder machine, isn't necessary at this point. What's necessary is to understand that this can be used on each column of a bitwise addition, from right to left, like you do when adding large numbers.
As a child you're taught some simple rules like starting from left, summing everything in the column, taking the carry-over and putting it in the next column and then moving on. This adder machine represents that process.
Other simple processes can be turned into more machines, there are similar simple machines to do subtraction and multiplication and a host of other manipulation of information that is required for math to occur.
There's quite a lot of machines that are used for movement of bits, but one particular machine is the key-stone of information movement, the latch:
This machine, made of only two NAND operators, is called a latch because Q, the output, latches onto whatever S is and doesn't change even if S changes. It won't change until R, resets the latch. Then the next time it gets another input from S, it'll latch to that again. So in essence it remembers things, and that's essential when moving or copying information, you need some temporary remembering of the information you're moving.
What I do remember is that these machines build on top of one another. Simple AND and OR's are combined to create adders and latches, which are put together to make multiplexers and decoders. These are combined to make machines that allow you to add and subtract 8-bit numbers and text, and move or copy them from one location to another.
These are then packaged into hardware like the CPU, GPU, RAM, BUS, etc. These hardware components are then connected together on motherboards that are hooked up with input devices like mouse, keyboard, modem, and output devices like speakers, monitors, and Oculus Rift.
And all of it is just a bit of logic.
That's a pun, it's actually a lot of logic that's happening really fast.
The listener of this communication may choose to evaluate this communication, which is to check if each part statement (A and B) is true or false, and whether the conclusion (C) is valid or invalid.
For example, maybe the listener doesn't agree that A is true. To her, it's actually a cold day, A is false. But B is still true, you can become dehydrated from heat. Since A isn't true though, the listener doesn't agree with the conclusion, C, that water should be drank, and so C is invalid.
This is an example of boolean algebra.
At first there seems to be just these three operators, like in mathematics you start out with addition and subtraction. But if you're adding the same thing to itself multiple times, why not derive another operator, like multiplication? Same for subtraction, with division? In boolean logic there are other derived operators: NAND, NOR, XOR.
Why bits?
Isn't it odd to choose something so limiting like 0 and 1 for a numerical system? The common numerical system of this age is the decimal system. You count from 0 to 9, then start over again by incrementing the tenths place, 10, 11, 12, and on and on. There are other numerical systems like hexadecimal, which goes from 0 to 15 (represented as 0xF) and then starts over again.Seems like the starting over again, and keeping track of how many times you've started around again, is very tedious. So why would anyone want a system where you start over again after only 1?!
The answer to this question lies in boolean algebra. To evaluate the expression, A & B -> C, the listener had to check whether each of the statements (A, B) were true or false, and whether the conclusion was valid or invalid. That's the only information necessary to evaluate any expression. You can imagine that expressions can get really large and complex. Philosophical arguments among people can become very complex and heated, each statement building on top of previous complex statements. But independent of how large an expression gets, the only thing you need to know two things like whether the statement is true/valid, or false/invalid.
Two things, dos, double, bi... binary?
The reason that computers store information in bits, 0's and 1's, is not to to let computer geeks communicate with one another through secret binary code. The reason information is stored in bits is to be able to evaluate logical expressions using boolean algebra. 0's represent false or invalid or off or whatever negative bit you need. 1 represents the positive true, valid, on, etc.
Manipulating information
I said that the way you go from static information to a dynamic application is through the manipulation and movement of information. How is boolean algebra used to manipulate information?The first and obvious use for a computer is to be a calculator. We know, from classical mathematics, that you can do a lot of wonderful things if you can just start with the basics of adding and subtracting. One tremendous bottleneck to human achievement is how quickly we can add and subtract things.
If you can add and subtract quicker, you can do a lot of things you weren't able to do before, like go to the moon.
The invention of computers was driven largely through this need to do fast computations. And that can be done using AND and OR logic on a binary representation of any number. Here's an example of how you do 5 + 6:
Works very similarly to when you add two large numbers together and then carry the tens place over if the sum on any column goes above 9. But in a binary number system, you carry over if you go past 1.
Now, the above diagram is lying to you, it leaves a lot of things out. You can see that they're showing you the addition operation on each column, starting from the right-most column. But there is no addition operator in computers. There is only the AND, and OR, NOT and all the derivative operators. So what's going on here?
What you're looking at is actually a representation of a process where a some logic acts on each column, starting from the right, moving toward the left. This little logic machine looks something like this:
Don't get discouraged! All you're seeing is a visual representation of a couple of statements using the AND operator, which is that big D looking thing on the bottom, and an XOR operator which is the bullet looking thing at top. The two statements are:
- A XOR B -> S, and
- A AND B -> C
This is a very elegant little machine that will add a column of bits, like the 5+6 in the earlier diagram. The A, and B is the input bits from the 5 and the 6. The S is the output, and the C is any carry-over.
Understanding how an XOR works, and fully understanding this adder machine, isn't necessary at this point. What's necessary is to understand that this can be used on each column of a bitwise addition, from right to left, like you do when adding large numbers.
As a child you're taught some simple rules like starting from left, summing everything in the column, taking the carry-over and putting it in the next column and then moving on. This adder machine represents that process.
Other simple processes can be turned into more machines, there are similar simple machines to do subtraction and multiplication and a host of other manipulation of information that is required for math to occur.
Moving information
When we consider the movement of information, it's not just about moving or copying information from one location to another. What we are interested in is the process by which this movement occurs. And, just like how manipulation of bits ended up being about simple machines, movement of information also requires simple machines.There's quite a lot of machines that are used for movement of bits, but one particular machine is the key-stone of information movement, the latch:
This machine, made of only two NAND operators, is called a latch because Q, the output, latches onto whatever S is and doesn't change even if S changes. It won't change until R, resets the latch. Then the next time it gets another input from S, it'll latch to that again. So in essence it remembers things, and that's essential when moving or copying information, you need some temporary remembering of the information you're moving.
Build it up from here
Obviously there's so much more to all this, and I don't remember any of it anymore. Remember I got a C in the class.What I do remember is that these machines build on top of one another. Simple AND and OR's are combined to create adders and latches, which are put together to make multiplexers and decoders. These are combined to make machines that allow you to add and subtract 8-bit numbers and text, and move or copy them from one location to another.
These are then packaged into hardware like the CPU, GPU, RAM, BUS, etc. These hardware components are then connected together on motherboards that are hooked up with input devices like mouse, keyboard, modem, and output devices like speakers, monitors, and Oculus Rift.
And all of it is just a bit of logic.
That's a pun, it's actually a lot of logic that's happening really fast.
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