Karnaugh map

A Karnaugh map is a grid-based method for simplifying Boolean expressions by grouping adjacent cells representing minterms or maxterms. Its Gray-code ordering makes logically adjacent combinations appear beside one another, including across opposite edges.

Gray code: A binary code in which consecutive values differ in exactly one bit. Its ordering ensures neighboring map cells differ in only one variable.
Combinational logic: Digital logic whose outputs depend only on current input values. Simplified expressions map directly to combinational circuit implementations.
Truth table: A table listing a Boolean function's output for every possible input combination. A Karnaugh map rearranges truth-table rows into a grid suited to visual grouping.
Boolean differentiation: An operation that measures how a Boolean function changes when one input variable is toggled. It analyzes variable influence algebraically rather than simplifying by cell grouping.
Minterm: A product term containing every Boolean variable exactly once, complemented or uncomplemented. Each cell marked for an output of one represents a minterm.
Logic minimization: The process of reducing a Boolean function's representation while preserving its behavior. Karnaugh maps provide a visual method for minimizing small Boolean functions.
Boolean variable: A variable that can take one of two values, commonly 0 and 1. Map dimensions and cell labels encode combinations of these variables.
Veitch diagram: A graphical arrangement of Boolean-function values used to identify adjacent combinations and simplify expressions. It is a closely related map representation, often distinguished by its variable ordering.
Maxterm: A sum term containing every Boolean variable exactly once, complemented or uncomplemented. Grouping zero-valued cells can produce simplified products of maxterms.
Sum of products: A Boolean expression formed by ORing product terms. Groups of one-valued cells yield product terms combined into this form.

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