Thread: boolean

Hi! I will say sorry if the question has been asked or posted. But I am a newbie. What confuses me is the boolean thing that I really don't understand. I am just wondering what it is used for? Is it only used for true and false? Does the expression always have to be like Not, Braces, and then OR and AND? And does the number always have to be 0 // 1 or 1 // 0 in comparison? I am just quite confused when it comes to boolean in the tutorial. If somebody is willing or cares to explain in details, I would be really grateful to that.

Is it possible for you to give me an example or text or something and explain it like a tutorial. I know it would seem to be pestering but I would really wanna get the heck of it. I really appreciate that.

Are you talking about boolean logic (like (1 && (1 || 0)) type stuff)? That is more complicated than a simple bool variable and commonly confuses people. If that is your problem, you might also want to try searching this forum as it has been asked about many times, especially in reference to the main site's tutorial, and there have been several good threads with detailed answers.

Yes it is. That's what I have been asking. Besides, what does it do? I would like to see an example of the structure with clear explanation that shows you step by step. Even some books can't really clarify this.

Don't get too bogged-down in the abstract...

In real-world programs, the variables represent the state of something "real", like : IF (a blank CD is inserted) AND (the user clicks "burn")...

Bitwise manipulation is similar, in that each bit usually represents the state of something. (There are exceptions, such as XOR encryption.)

Most of the time, you won't see the words "true" or "false", or the numbers "1" or "0".

This is how computer programs "make decisions" with if-statements. Every decision/choice only has only two outcomes... True/False (yes/no).

In many real situations, there is more than one possibility. Typically, you have to continue through a series of true/false questions/decisions 'till you find a true result, or until you find the right combination of true results.


Once you start to understand how Boolean logic is used in "real programs"... perhaps after you've written a couple of programs or studied a few examples... you should go-back and make sure you understand the abstract concepts & notation.

That's such a hard subject. Even I tried to learn the boolean in Wiki. I still have a hard time understanding the logic and the intro, not to mention about the structure. What I know is that it only has true and false function but how it is applied to real world or real situation and it is used in a single piece of program is what I really wanna see in order to understand what it really is and how it really works. Since most of the example could be found regarding boolean structure but they do not tell you why in this area you have to use boolean and how it works. The tutorial here does not really state clearly how it works and it doesn't have any example, it just tells you what it is. I really wanna learn it. Without a good understanding of it, video game design would be doomed.

Code:

#include <iostream>

int main()
{
	int answer; /* This will hold the user's answer */

	cout << "Enter a number less than 50, but more than 20: " << endl ;

	cin >> answer ;

	if ( answer < 50 && answer > 20 )
		cout << "You followed the directions" << endl ;
	else
		cout << "You didn't follow the directions" << endl ;


	return 0;
}

Does that help?