# Digital circuit - adder and subtractor

I am designing a block that performs addition and subtraction with the IC74283. In short, it receives three inputs: $A$, $B$ and $subtract$. When $subtract$ is 1, the block performs $A - B$ (in 2's complement), otherwise, it will just do $A + B$. The outputs are the result of the operation, $R$, and $C_{out}$.

But I'm still struggling to understand the meaning of $C_{out}$ in this context, I can't found a pattern to identify when $C_{out}$ is 0 or 1 and what information it gives about the operation/result. Is it just an overflow indication, or does it give me a hint about the sign of the result?

• You are wrong about the function of the 74283. It's not a "subtract" input you have there but a carry input $C_{in}$. For subtraction, it has to be set in the lowest stage to produce a correct result. In higher stages, it has to be connected to $C_{out}$ of the previous stage. For the most significant stage, $C_{out}$ indeed denotes an overflow. – Janka Mar 17 '17 at 22:29
• Yes, I just gave a name to it. There is a block that does the 1's complement of $B$ and the $subtract$ is connected to $C_{in}$, so I can get the 2's complement. – Vinícius Lopes Simões Mar 17 '17 at 22:44