Some help with logic/combinators understanding?

[LazyLoneLion]

Still newb in Factorio. Couldn't grab logic principles.
Can somebody clear some fog in here? I suppose my questions are very simple (if not to say "stupid" ).

Like:
1) what signal will be in the logic net if I put there two constant combinators with different outputs for the same kind of signal but different value, say "0" and "1"?
2) what if some arithmetic combinator, say "/ 5" one, will get different inputs on the same signal (on different input inlets), like green "10" and green "20"? Will greens add before input?
3) how does it work when a combinator changes its input (like increases by 1) and puts result to his input again?
4) Do combinators create output after one tick of gameplay or are they kind of instant?
5) what are different colors of wires for? Couldn't wire of ANY color carry all the signals, including "green" signal on a red wire, etc.? As far as I understand, are they fully functional logical networks, just isolated in the sense of signals?
6) does conventional electrical network work as a red logic network?

[The Eriksonn]

Awnsers:

1) All signals which are the same type add before the combinator calculates. So 2 constants with 5 blue = 5+5 = 10 blue. In your case it will be blue 0 + blue 1 = blue 1

2)Yes they will. This is what the combinator thinks: (green 10+ green 20)/5 = green 30/5 = green 6

3) If the combinator is connected to itself and adds, then the value will get higher and higher.(until it reaches the end of the 32 bit integer at which point it will become negative, but that is a bit off topic )

4)they take one tick(1/60 of a second) to perform their task.

5)The different colored signals is just to "isolate" networks from eachother (to prevent a combinator from going into itself for example).

6) they don´t. You have to add the wires yourself(or use blueprints as they magically fixes the wires for free )

[LazyLoneLion]

Thank you very much. It kind of straightens my logic understanding.
Hadn't a single combinator yet. Going to try some now... maybe.

[Frightning]

It can sometimes help to look at a practical example or two. Though screenshots aren't necessarily all that helpful because a lot of the important stuff is in the configuration of the combinators used.

A simple combinator contraption that I have used in more than one factory is a simple and-gate for controlling certain chemical plant processes such as Solid Fuel production and Cracking. To give an explicit example: For Heavy Oil based Solid Fuel production (for when I only have Basic Oil Processing): I will wire up my Heavy Oil storage tank and Solid Fuel storage chest (which I make a Smart Chest for this purpose). Each input is fed into it's own decider combinator, set to the desired inequality. For instance, I used Solid Fuel<1200 and Heavy Oil>1250. The decider combinators were set to output 1 on the same signal (type; e.g. Solid Fuel input, Solid Fuel output, likewise for Heavy Oil), if the condition was satisfied (and they don't output anything otherwise). These output signals were fed into an arithmetic combinator which would multiply the two signals. The result is was then output on a letter named Signal (e.g. F) and wired to a small pump just before my Chemical Plant that was set to make Solid Fuel from Heavy Oil. The Pump had it's circuit condition set to F=1, so the way things would work was: As long as both conditions (Solid Fuel and Heavy Oil) were satisfied, the arithmetic combinator would end up outputting 1, and thus the pump would allow Heavy Oil into the Chemical Plant. So what I had done was setup two constraints that had to both be satisfied in order for my Heavy Oil to start being converted to Solid Fuel (and it would stop as soon as either of those conditions were no longer satisfied). A similar setup can regulate cracking of heavy to light (and light to petrol) once you have Advanced Oil Processing researched.