sequential logic

Part of the TechTarget Network of Enterprise IT Web Sites
Home Look It Up ITKnowledge Exchange Fast References Products White Papers Blogs

Search our IT-specific encyclopedia for:
 
OR Jump to a topic:
 
Advanced Search
Browse alphabetically:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
All Categories Hardware

sequential logic

Sequential logic is a form of binary circuit design that employs one or more inputs and one or more outputs, whose states are related by defined rules that depend, in part, on previous states. Each of the inputs and output(s) can attain either of two states: logic 0 (low) or logic 1 (high).

A common example of a circuit employing sequential logic is the flip-flop, also called a bistable gate. A simple flip-flop has two stable states. The flip-flop maintains its states indefinitely until an input pulse called a trigger is received. If a trigger is received, the flip-flop outputs change their states according to defined rules, and remain in those states until another trigger is received.

There are several different kinds of flip-flop circuits, with designators such as D, T, J-K, and R-S. Flip-flop circuits are interconnected to form the logic gates that comprise digital integrated circuits ( IC s) such as memory chips and microprocessors.

Sequential logic differs from combinatorial logic (also called combinational logic). In the latter scheme, the output states depend only on the input states at a specific moment in time, and not on previous states.







Read more about it at:
> Playhookey.com has links to information about sequential logic and other logic types.
> Universitat Hohenheim (Germany) has a paper that discusses flip-flops.
Last updated on: Sep 21, 2005

>  Enterprise Software related Research & News
>  White Papers for the Retail Industry

Are you a Know-IT-All?
What do you call a satellite that orbits the earth directly over the equator?
Answer

WORD OF THE DAY...
geostationary satellite
LEARN MORE ABOUT...
fast-flux attacks
Buzzword Alert: MoSoSo
Our Favorite Cheat Sheets
Our Latest Discovery
Our 60 tech-specific sites
WhatIs.com RSS Feeds
Home Look It Up ITKnowledge Exchange Fast References Products White Papers Blogs
About Us   |   Contact Us   |   For Advertisers   |   For Business Partners   |   Reprints   |   RSS   |   Awards
TechTarget provides enterprise IT professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective IT purchase decisions and managing their organizations' IT projects - with its network of technology-specific Web sites, events and magazines.

TechTarget Corporate Web Site  |  Media Kits  |  Reprints  |  Site Map




All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2008, TechTarget | Read our Privacy Policy
  TechTarget - The IT Media ROI Experts