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by dboreham 804 days ago
> isn't fully discrete (individual transistors, diodes, etc.) but only uses 7400-series logic

Which is exactly what "discrete logic" means.

1 comments

Although they're not common nowadays, the 7400 series includes some more highly integrated parts, including a complete ALU. There's no exact criteria for what "discrete logic" means, but I don't think anybody would accept a complete integrated ALU. To me, it means things like gates, multiplexers, or flip-flops: things that can be made with a few tens of transistors at most.

"Discrete logic" computers usually use integrated RAM chips, but seeing as RAM is usually drawn separately from logic on block diagrams, I think this is still acceptable. However, the popular trick of using an EEPROM as a giant lookup table for your ALU is in my opinion not "discrete logic".