Conjunctive Normal Form
In Boolean logic, a formula is in conjunctive normal form (CNF) if it is a conjunction of clauses, where a clause is a disjunction of literals. As a normal form, it is useful in automated theorem proving. It is similar to the product of sums form used in circuit theory.
All conjunctions of literals and all disjunctions of literals are in CNF, as they can be seen as conjunctions of one-literal clauses and conjunctions of a single clause, respectively. As in the disjunctive normal form (DNF), the only propositional connectives a formula in CNF can contain are and, or, and not. The not operator can only be used as part of a literal, which means that it can only precede a propositional variable.
Read more about Conjunctive Normal Form: Examples and Counterexamples, Conversion Into CNF, First-order Logic, Computational Complexity, Converting From First-order Logic
Famous quotes containing the words normal and/or form:
“Philosophically, incest asks a fundamental question of our shifting mores: not simply what is normal and what is deviant, but whether such a thing as deviance exists at all in human relationships if they seem satisfactory to those who share them.”
—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)
“In America every woman has her set of girl-friends; some are cousins, the rest are gained at school. These form a permanent committee who sit on each others affairs, who come out together, marry and divorce together, and who end as those groups of bustling, heartless well-informed club-women who govern society. Against them the Couple of Ehepaar is helpless and Man in their eyes but a biological interlude.”
—Cyril Connolly (19031974)