Chain reduction enables reduced ordered binary decision diagrams (BDDs) and
zero-suppressed binary decision diagrams (ZDDs) to each take advantage of the
others' ability to symbolically represent Boolean functions in compact form.
For any Boolean function, its chain-reduced ZDD (CZDD) representation will be
no larger than its ZDD representation, and at most twice the size of its BDD
representation. The chain-reduced BDD (CBDD) of a function will be no larger
than its BDD representation, and at most three times the size of its CZDD
representation. Extensions to the standard algorithms for operating on BDDs and
ZDDs enable them to operate on the chain-reduced versions. Experimental
evaluations on representative benchmarks for encoding word lists, solving
combinatorial problems, and operating on digital circuits indicate that chain
reduction can provide significant benefits in terms of both memory and
execution time