Decision Trees for Fault Diagnosis in Circuits and Switching Networks

In this book, we study decision trees for fault diagnosis in circuits and switching networks, which are among the most fundamental models for computing Boolean functions. We consider two main cases: when the scheme (circuit or switching network) has the same mode of operation for both calculation and diagnostics, and when the scheme has two modes of operation—normal for calculation and special for diagnostics. In the former case, we get mostly negative results, including superpolynomial lower bounds on the minimum depth of diagnostic decision trees depending on scheme complexity and the NP-hardness of construction diagnostic decision trees. In the latter case, we describe classes of schemes and types of faults for which decision trees can be effectively used to diagnose schemes, when they are transformed into so-called iteration-free schemes.

Introduction.- Diagnosis of constant Faults at Inputs of Gates in Circuits.- Diagnosis of Embedding Faults in Circuits.- Diagnosis of Extensions of Constant Faults in Circuits.- Diagnosis of Retaining Faults in Circuits.- Diagnosis of Constant Faults in Switching Networks.