Logic Glossary

Browse 15 logic terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

15 Logic Terms

Algorithm
An algorithm is a finite, well-defined sequence of steps or rules that takes an input, performs computation, and produces an output. Algorithms are the...
Boolean
A data type with exactly two possible values — true and false — named after mathematician George Boole and forming the basis of conditional logic, bitwise...
Boolean Algebra
A branch of algebra dealing with variables that have two possible values: true/false (1/0). Operations include AND, OR, NOT, XOR, NAND, and NOR. The...
Clause
A distinct component of a SQL statement or logical expression that specifies a condition or operation. In SQL, clauses like WHERE, GROUP BY, and HAVING filter,...
Compare
To evaluate two values, objects, versions, or structures against each other in order to determine equality, ordering, or difference. Compare operations are...
Conditional
A control-flow construct that executes different code paths depending on whether a condition evaluates to true or false. Conditionals are fundamental in...
Control Flow
The order in which a program's instructions execute, including branches, loops, function calls, exceptions, and early exits. Understanding control flow is...
Decidability
A decision problem is decidable if there exists an algorithm that always halts and correctly answers yes or no for every input. Undecidable problems, like the...
If-Else
The most fundamental conditional control flow structure in programming, executing one block of code if a condition is true and an alternative block if it is...
Predicate
A function that takes an input and returns a boolean (true/false). Used extensively in filtering, searching, and conditional logic. In SQL it is the WHERE...
Prolog
A logic programming language where programs are expressed as relations and rules rather than step-by-step instructions. Prolog's built-in backtracking search...
State Machine
A computational model where a system exists in exactly one of a finite set of states at any time, transitioning between states in response to events according...
Truth Table
A structured view of all possible combinations of conditions and outcomes. In engineering slang, drawing a truth table is often how teams expose hidden...
Type Theory
A formal system in which every expression has a type that constrains how it can be used. Modern type theory (Martin-Löf, HoTT) serves as both a foundation of...
Unification
An algorithm that finds a substitution making two type expressions identical. Core to type inference in Hindley-Milner systems and logic programming (Prolog)....

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