Binary decision diagrams in theory and practice

Abstract.

Decision diagrams (DDs) are the state-of-the-art data structure in VLSI CAD and have been successfully applied in many other fields. DDs are widely used and are also integrated in commercial tools. This special section comprises six contributed articles on various aspects of the theory and application of DDs. As preparation for these contributions, the present article reviews the basic definitions of binary decision diagrams (BDDs). We provide a brief overview and study theoretical and practical aspects. Basic properties of BDDs are discussed and manipulation algorithms are described. Extensions of BDDs are investigated and by this we give a deeper insight into the basic data structure. Finally we outline several applications of BDDs and their extensions and suggest a number of articles and books for those who wish to pursue the topic in more depth.