Theory of Boolean Algebra and Canonical Forms.

[Hijaz Aslam]

I just don't understand the whole concept of Boolean Algebra. Why do we use them? How do they work?
And another specific question - What are canonical forms (max terms, min terms etc.). What do they do with the canonical expression?

[ddanbe]

Hi Hijaz Aslam, welcome at DaniWeb.
By using boolean algebra it is sometimes possible to simplify a very complex if elsif else construct in your program.
Canonical is just a fancy word for "usual" or "standard".
The canonical form or usual form of a quadratic equation is:ax^2+bx+c=0
A non standard form could be: x^2+(b/a)x+(c/a)=0

[Hijaz Aslam]

ddanbe - Thanks for your answer. Can I also know what actually are we deriving when we write out Product of Sum and Sum of Product from a given data and what is that given data?

[ddanbe]

Given data is any boolean expression.
Perhaps a good textbook on boolean algebra will do miracles here. I believe google will have a lot of answers too.