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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 ≡ ...
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 .
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]
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.
Different sets of allowed Boolean functions lead to different problem versions. As an example, R(¬x,a,b) is a generalized clause, and R(¬x,a,b) ∧ R(b,y,c) ∧ R(c,d,¬z) is a generalized conjunctive normal form. This formula is used below, with R being the ternary operator that is TRUE just when exactly one of its arguments is.
An important set of problems in computational complexity involves finding assignments to the variables of a Boolean formula expressed in conjunctive normal form, such that the formula is true. The k -SAT problem is the problem of finding a satisfying assignment to a Boolean formula expressed in CNF in which each disjunction contains at most k ...
In Boolean logic, the majority function (also called the median operator) is the Boolean function that evaluates to false when half or more arguments are false and true otherwise, i.e. the value of the function equals the value of the majority of the inputs.