TAOCP 7.1.1 Boolean Basics (part 1): reading guide

Part 1 covers the first half of 7.1.1: the sixteen Boolean functions of two variables, truth tables, and normal forms (disjunctive and conjunctive), with prime implicants and how functions are represented.

Time About 7 hours this week

Why it matters

Boolean logic is the foundation of hardware, query engines, feature-flag logic and SAT solving (which you will meet at the end of the path).

Before you start

7 intro

How to approach it

Make your own table of all 16 binary operations and their names. Convert a few small functions between truth table, DNF and CNF by hand.

Exercises

Do every exercise rated 00 to 20 in your head or on paper; they are quick and they check you actually absorbed the definitions. Then pick two or three rated 20 to 25 (M or not) and grind them out fully. Attempt one M25 to M30 and give yourself a hard 90-minute cap before reading the answer. Always read the answer to every exercise you attempted, even the ones you got, because Knuth's answers often teach a second technique.

Traps

Confusing CNF and DNF. Write a mnemonic.