Simple Solver

Tutors and students for logic and computer programming will find this application for minimizing, simplifying and reducing Boolean equations and digital logic circuits a handy box of tools for increasing understanding.

Simple Solver launches a rather plain but functional interface. The large, mostly empty window includes a selection of buttons and check boxes accompanying two medium-size panes or sections, depending on the process being performed. The two panes or sections serve as an editor for inputting equations or criteria and for displaying output from the processes performed on the specified equations. The lack of clutter on the interface provides clarity that helps focus the user's attention on the app's operations--flashy colors and intricate designs don't affect the black-and-white facts of mathematics.

This free toolbox performed very well during our tests. It responded quickly to all our clicks and commands. We liked the array of example equations built into Simple Solver, which provide tutors a nice basis for exploring Boolean equations, the permutation function, random numbers, the simulation function, and the synthesis function. Selecting a process to run was a very straightforward matter of choosing a check box: minimize, invert and minimize, truth table, sort names, and show only last for Boolean processes, and similar simple choices for the other processes. We also liked that we could print either the input or output, allowing teachers to build a study guide or test very easily. We wished we could save items in more formats other than just text, but at least text-formatted files can be converted to other formats.