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In mathematics, a Boolean function is a function whose arguments and result assume values from a two-element set (usually {true, false}, {0,1} or {-1,1}). [1] [2] Alternative names are switching function, used especially in older computer science literature, [3] [4] and truth function (or logical function), used in logic.
A law of Boolean algebra is an identity such as x ∨ (y ∨ z) = (x ∨ y) ∨ z between two Boolean terms, where a Boolean term is defined as an expression built up from variables and the constants 0 and 1 using the operations ∧, ∨, and ¬. The concept can be extended to terms involving other Boolean operations such as ⊕, →, and ≡ ...
Boolean function; Boolean-valued function; Boolean-valued model; Boolean satisfiability problem; Boolean differential calculus; Indicator function (also called the characteristic function, but that term is used in probability theory for a different concept) Espresso heuristic logic minimizer; Logical matrix; Logical value; Stone duality; Stone ...
A Boolean-valued function (sometimes called a predicate or a proposition) is a function of the type f : X → B, where X is an arbitrary set and where B is a Boolean domain, i.e. a generic two-element set, (for example B = {0, 1}), whose elements are interpreted as logical values, for example, 0 = false and 1 = true, i.e., a single bit of information.
The term "Boolean algebra" honors George Boole (1815–1864), a self-educated English mathematician. He introduced the algebraic system initially in a small pamphlet, The Mathematical Analysis of Logic, published in 1847 in response to an ongoing public controversy between Augustus De Morgan and William Hamilton, and later as a more substantial book, The Laws of Thought, published in 1854.
A Boolean value is either true or false. A Boolean expression may be composed of a combination of the Boolean constants True/False or Yes/No, Boolean-typed variables, Boolean-valued operators, and Boolean-valued functions. [1] Boolean expressions correspond to propositional formulas in logic and are a special case of Boolean circuits. [2]
Boolean operation or Boolean operator may refer to: Boolean function, a function whose arguments and result assume values from a two-element set Boolean operation (Boolean algebra), a logical operation in Boolean algebra (AND, OR and NOT) Boolean operator (computer programming), part of a Boolean expression in a computer programming language
The functions studied are often, but not always, Boolean-valued, making them Boolean functions. The area has found many applications in combinatorics, social choice theory, random graphs, and theoretical computer science, especially in hardness of approximation, property testing, and PAC learning.