Optimization of Boolean Expressions-Historical Developments

Boolean expressions play an essential role in all aspects of computer science. Interest in them is rooted in compiler design. Clearly, every compiler must be designed to evaluate Boolean expressions. It is therefore essential that the compiled code be as efficient as possible. Historical developments on this subject and related topics are discussed. Given a Boolean expression, techniques are described to optimize its evaluation. The optimum solution to the Boolean expression evaluation is presented for the situation when probabilities are known concerning whether or not the propositional variables evaluate to true (T), and costs are given to determine the evaluation.