[nfbcs] K-Maps

Fri Oct 7 15:39:44 UTC 2016

these solutions are a little bit overkill.  I did k-maps fine and got
A's in my three computer architecture courses.  All you need to do is
create a table in Microsoft word.  For example, a 5 by 5 table (one
row and one column for the gray scale headers) and then place 1's 0's
and don't cares in each cell of the table.  The hard part is circling
the groupings of 1's and dont' cares.  Ultimately, I at first wrote
down what need to be circled and then when I printed it out I just
asked a friend or a reader to help me circle them in pen before I
turned in the homework.  Don't forget that the circles can wrap around
the edges of the k-map.  In my opinion, this is the simplest do it
yourself solution with little involvement of other people.  I just did
all my truth table and Boolean algebra homework the same way in
Microsoft word.

On 10/5/16, Edgar Lozano via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Thank you all for the suggestions. I've been working with my
> instructor to come up with a good way of generating these K-maps on my
> own. Currently, I understand the big picture of the layout, how it
> facilitates the simplification of Boolean expressions, and have a good
> mental picture of the structured arrangement of variables (the Gray
> code concept confused me at first, but I understand it now; just
> another way of counting without the need for dramatic change in
> consecutive bit values). Unfortunately, given that generating K-maps
> is part of the course objectives, my instructor is encouraging me to
> fulfill that requirement in terms of my accommodations. However, the
> only issue is in finding a working and consistent solution that I can
> employ for exams in particular. I'll get a reader for such material,
> but I'm 100 percent responsible for knowing the material and dictating
> my desired sketched output somehow. That, or sketch independently. I
> prefer the latter. Further recommendations are definitely welcome and
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> On 9/29/16, Doug Lee via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> In case it's germane...
>>
>> My favorite way of doing graphs, diagrams, etc., was to hand my reader a
>> blank sheet of Braille paper and something
>> very sharp, like a safety pin, and instruct the reader to place the page
>> on
>> a hard surface, like a desk, and draw
>> by scratching the page with the sharp object. A sufficiently sharp point
>> will draw a raised line on the surface
>> (not the reverse side) of the paper.  The result is quite tactily useful.
>> I
>> would then roll the page into a
>> Brailler and ask the reader to tell me where to put labels. The result of
>> this was a book of drawings with Braille
>> captions and labels that survives to this day, nearly 25 years later,
>> still
>> usable.
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 05:35:53PM +0000, NFBCS mailing list wrote:
>> The PIAF machine (pictures in a flash) does tactile graphics. If your
>> institution has a PIAF they could perhaps make you tactile squares of all
>> the symbols you need and put adhesive magnetic material on the back. I
>> prepared this for one of our students, and I am blind.
>>
>> I made a table in Word with all the symbols and used 72 point so each was
>> an
>> inch tall. This was for algebra though, not for circuit analysis which
>> would
>> use skematics.
>>
>> Then I printed that grid on PIAF paper and ran it through the PIAF
>> machine.
>>
>> Now I had tactile grids with symbols. Next I had a student worker, who
>> was
>> sighted carefully cut the squares.
>>
>> We used the adhesive magnets you can get from craft stores for fridge
>> magnets. One was glued on the back of each square. It actually turned out
>> looking quite neat. You can get stronger adhesive magnets in electronics
>> stores; they are used to hold small tools to tables or shelves.
>>
>> The student worked with the symbols on the side of a large metal filing
>> cabinet. It was sort of a tactile whiteboard.
>>
>> --Debee
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
>> via nfbcs
>> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2016 10:25 AM
>> To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'
>> Cc: Tracy Carcione
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] K-Maps
>>
>> If it's a grid, could a person use braille graph paper, if it's still
>> available?  It's a sheet of paper with a grid of raised-line boxes, with
>> space for 1 character in each box.
>>
>> I think Excel would do the job, but, personally, I find it very hard to
>> get
>> a complete picture when I'm looking at one box at a time.  I need
>> hardcopy,
>> if I want a real sense of what the whole thing looks like.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Doug Lee via
>> nfbcs
>> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2016 11:55 AM
>> To: Edgar Lozano via nfbcs
>> Cc: Doug Lee
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] K-Maps
>>
>> I did this long ago (like 1989 or so) and just made Braille tables for
>> them.
>> Nowadays you could also use something like Excel I'm sure. You have the
>> correct idea: They are matrices of values - as I recall, 0's, 1's, and
>> deltas for "don't care." In Braille I just used 0, 1, and d,
>> respectively;
>> the same would work for you in Excel though I'm sure you could use an
>> actual
>> Delta if communicating with sighted teachers or students.
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 10:32:22AM -0500, NFBCS mailing list wrote:
>> Hello Everyone,
>>
>> This is my first time posting to this list. I'm a totally blind student
>> enrolled in a computer science university course essentially titled
>> Digital
>> Logic. Much of we are covering is related to circuits and electronic
>> components. I understand everything. However, my instructor is informing
>> me
>> that we'll need to make extensive use of K-maps, a visual technique
>> designed
>> to aid in the simplifying of Boolean algebra equations. Has anybody on
>> this
>> list taken a course like this? I must admit, this is the first time in my
>> university years that I have a feeling that this will slow me down. I'm
>> thinking about purchasing a Draftsman board from APH. Maybe this will
>> assist
>> me in getting the big picture of how a k-map is laid out. I know these
>> drawings are essentially matrices with bits arranged in column-row
>> fashion
>> in boxes. Anyway, if someone has gone through a similar course like this,
>> I
>> would appreciate any tips you have to facilitate the understanding of
>> k-maps
>> and how I may be able to produce them.
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
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-- 
William Grussenmeyer
PhD Student, Computer Science
University of Nevada, Reno
NSF Fellow