Chapter 5
Getting the Hang of Flip-Flops
In This Chapter
Unlocking the key to latches
Finding out about flip-flops
Building basic flip-flop circuits
If the title of this chapter brings up images of strolling on the beach in high summer without tripping over, we apologise. The flip-flops that we’re concerned with aren’t the sort you wear on your feet, but the electronic kind. A flip-flop is a circuit that stores data, and as such flip-flops are the basis of modern computers.
In this chapter, you discover how to work latches which allow you to make logic circuits, and then go on to build simple flip-flops which allow you to make much faster logic circuits.
Looking at Latches
A latch is a logic circuit that has two inputs and one output. One of the inputs is called the SET input and the other is called the RESET input.
Latch circuits can be active-high or active-low. The difference is determined by whether the operation of the latch circuit is triggered by high or low signals on the inputs (refer to Chapter 2 of this minibook for an explanation of high and low in the context of logic ...
