> Then you got bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), and most digital logic, such as ECL and TTL, was based on a different paradigm for a few decades.
I think the emphasis is misplaced here. It is true that a single BJT, when considered as a three terminal device, does not operate in the same “gated” way as a relay and a CMOS gate does.
But the BJT components still were integrated into chips, or assembled into standard design blocks that implemented recognizable Boolean operations, and synthesis of desired logical functions would use tools like Karnaugh maps that were (as I understand it) outgrowths of Shannon’s approach.
I think the emphasis is misplaced here. It is true that a single BJT, when considered as a three terminal device, does not operate in the same “gated” way as a relay and a CMOS gate does.
But the BJT components still were integrated into chips, or assembled into standard design blocks that implemented recognizable Boolean operations, and synthesis of desired logical functions would use tools like Karnaugh maps that were (as I understand it) outgrowths of Shannon’s approach.