State-logic relations in autonomous sequential networks

Synopsis: A sequential network consists of an interconnection of logical elements, such as "and"-gates, "or"-gates, inverters, etc., and storage elements, such as flip-flops and delay lines. These networks process signals, usually binary signals, in the sense that they convert input sequences of 0's and 1's into output sequences functionally related to the input sequences. Typically, these networks occur as parts of digital computers and control systems, and perform operations such as counting, code conversion, program control, addition, comparison, sequence generation, etc. Such networks are presently designed by unsystematic cut-and-try methods. Consequently they are unnecessarily costly, and are often more difficult to test and maintain because of the lack of patterned structure in their realization.