Hey there! Last time, we learned that computers are really good at performing tiny, simple operations very fast, and that any complex task, such as video streaming or banking transactions, can be broken down into these simple calculations.
Electronic circuits inside computers encode information using millions of tiny switches. These switches can be in two different states: ON or OFF. By turning these switches ON and OFF, we change the information in a computer. Computers use binary code to represent information, with "binary" meaning there are only two possible states for a switch. To make things simpler, engineers use numbers to represent the OFF/ON states of a switch, namely 0 and 1. 0 is for OFF and 1 is for ON. All information, such as text, images, and numbers, can be represented in binary code. For example, the letter "A" is represented as "1000001". We use the term "digital" a lot nowadays, but do you know what it means?
The term "digital" refers to the electronic technology that generates, stores, and processes information using 0 and 1 digits.
Electronic circuits can perform billions of tiny operations very fast. Besides simple addition (+), subtraction (-), and multiplication (*), computers can also perform comparison operations. Comparison operations are needed for machines to make autonomous decisions. There are, of course, only two possible outcomes for a comparison operation: True and False. For example, is 4 greater than 9 (4 > 9)? The answer would be False. True and False values can also be stored as the ON/OFF states of switches. True is equivalent to 1, and False is equivalent to 0.
Logical operations are another type of operation that machines can do faster and more accurately than humans. Logical operations are based on the relationships between True and False values (1 and 0) and play an important role in decision-making processes in computers. The most common logical operators are AND, OR, and NOT.
The AND operator returns True (1) only if both inputs are True (1). For example, 1 AND 1 gives 1, while 1 AND 0 gives 0.
The OR operator, on the other hand, returns True if at least one of the inputs is True. So, 1 OR 0 gives 1.
Finally, the NOT operator flips the value: NOT True becomes False, and NOT False becomes True.
These logical operations are used in everything from basic decision-making (like checking conditions in a program) to more complex systems like artificial intelligence.
Cheers, Irina 😊