Karnaugh Maps ?

[John Utz]

Hi Folks;

        Is anybody out there in octave land doing K-MAP minimizations? It 
is a thought that has been brewing in my mind for the last couple of 
weeks, but i have not thought to ask about it until now.

        For the uninitiated, a karnaugh map is a 1-0 matrix technique 
used to minimize boolean expressions of the type usually found in digital 
logic. The complexity of the boolean expression is expressed by the 
number of rows and columns in the 1-0 matrix. The 1 positions are taken 
to be positive ( true or HIGH, take your pick! ) results from the 
original boolean expression, and are entered into the matrix as a result 
of analysis of the original expression by the user. The minimization 
occurs as a result of defining the minimized expression to be equal to 
the boolean variables "covered" by a continuous patch of 1's or 0's 
depending on which kind of expression seems to be the smallest.


              __           _                      _
              ab           ab         ab         ab
      _
      c
      _        0           1           1         0
      d
      _
      c        
               0           1           1         0
      d      

      c
               0           1           0         0
      d

      c
      _        0           1           0         0
      d

                                           _    _
     in this case the expression would be ab + bc in Product of Sums form.


        Anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated. I added the 
explanation in the hopes that some matrix math whiz out there might have 
a suggestion, even if he or she did not use this technique personally...


thanks!

        john

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 John Utz       address@hidden
        idiocy is the impulse function in the convolution of life