ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Boolean function-minimization procedures that reduce the literal count in the function. It examines two popular minimization techniques. The first is based on a graphical representation of Boolean functions using Karnaugh maps (K-maps), and the second is a tabular method devised by Quine and McCluskey, called the Quine-McCluskey procedure (QM procedure). K-maps are useful in minimizing functions with up to five or six variables. The minimization procedure is similar to that for the sum of products form, except that in the derivation of sum terms from the grouping of 0s, a variable is complemented if its value in the group is 1. Although each function can be minimized separately by the QM procedure, simultaneous minimization of functions yields a better minimization, since some terms may be able to be shared between the functions. The QM procedure uses the logical adjacency property to reduce the Boolean function.
