[Tutor] Re: How different is math logic from computer logic?

[Bob Gailer]

At 12:35 AM 12/10/2002 -0500, Derrick 'dman' Hudson wrote:
>Just out of curiosity, did Boole come up with "nand" or did that come later?

The earliest implementations of transistor and integrated circuit logic 
gates were based on inverters. An input voltage applied (through a 
resistor) to the base of a bipolar transistor "turned on" the transistor, 
causing its output (collector) voltage to drop towards zero, thus inverting 
the input signal (a NOT gate). Combining several inputs created NOR and 
NAND gates. This was this way strictly for economy of components; a 
beneficial side effect was that any more complex logic could be easily 
built up from these fundamental gates.

My guess is that NAND as a term became popular, if not invented, at that time.

Bob Gailer
mailto:ramrom@earthling.net
303 442 2625