L-T-P Year of

Course code Course Name

Credits Introduction
CS301 THEORY OF COMPUTATION 3-1-0-4 2016
Prerequisite: Nil
Course Objectives
 To introduce the concept of formal languages.
 To discuss the Chomsky classification of formal languages with discussion on grammar
and automata for regular, context-free, context sensitive and unrestricted languages.
 To discuss the notions of decidability and halting problem.
Syllabus
Introduction to Automata Theory, Structure of an automaton, classification of automata, grammar
and automata for generating each class of formal languages in the Chomsky Hierarchy,
decidability and Halting problem.
Expected Outcome
The Students will be able to
i. Classify formal languages into regular, context-free, context sensitive and unrestricted
languages.
ii. Design finite state automata, regular grammar, regular expression and Myhill- Nerode
relation representations for regular languages.
iii. Design push-down automata and context-free grammar representations for context-free
languages.
iv. Design Turing Machines for accepting recursively enumerable languages.
v. Understand the notions of decidability and undecidability of problems, Halting problem.
Text Books
1. John E Hopcroft, Rajeev Motwani and Jeffrey D Ullman, Introduction to Automata
Theory, Languages, and Computation, 3/e, Pearson Education, 2007
2. John C Martin, Introduction to Languages and the Theory of Computation, TMH, 2007
3. Michael Sipser, Introduction To Theory of Computation, Cengage Publishers, 2013
References
1. Dexter C. Kozen, Automata and Computability, Springer1999.
Course Plan
End
Sem.
Module Contents Hours
Exam
Marks
Introduction to Automata Theory and its significance. Type 3
Formalism: Finite state automata – Properties of transition functions,
Designing finite automata, NFA, Finite Automata with Epsilon 10 15 %
I Transitions, Equivalence of NFA and DFA, Conversion of NFA to
DFA, Equivalence and Conversion of NFA with and without Epsilon
Transitions.
Myhill-Nerode Theorem, Minimal State FA Computation. Finite
State Machines with Output- Mealy and Moore machine (Design
Only), Two- Way Finite Automata.
Regular Grammar, Regular Expressions, Equivalence of regular
II
expressions and NFA with epsilon transitions. Converting Regular 10 15 %
Expressions to NFA with epsilon transitions Equivalence of DFA and
regular expressions, converting DFA to Regular Expressions.
 FIRST INTERNAL EXAM
Pumping Lemma for Regular Languages, Applications of Pumping
Lemma. Closure Properties of Regular sets (Proofs not required),
Decision Problems related with Type 3 Formalism
III
Type 2 Formalism:- Context-Free Languages (CFL), Context-Free
Grammar (CFG), Derivation trees, Ambiguity, Simplification of 09 15 %
CFG, Chomsky Normal Form, Greibach normal forms
Non-Deterministic Pushdown Automata (NPDA), design.
Equivalence of acceptance by final state and empty stack in PDA.
Equivalence between NPDA and CFG, Deterministic Push Down
IV
Automata, Closure properties of CFLs (Proof not required), Decision 08 15 %
Problems related with Type 3 Formalism.
SECOND INTERNAL EXAM
Pumping Lemma for CFLs, Applications of Pumping Lemma.
Type 1 Formalism: Context-sensitive Grammar. Linear Bounded
Automata (Design not required)
Type 0 Formalism: Turing Machine (TM) – Basics and formal
V
definition, TMs as language acceptors, TMs as Transducers, 09 20 %
Designing Turing Machines.
Variants of TMs -Universal Turing Machine, Multi- tape TMs, Non
Deterministic TMs, Enumeration Machine (Equivalence not
required), Recursively Enumerable Languages, Recursive languages,
VI
Properties of Recursively Enumerable Languages and Recursive
Languages, Decidability and Halting Problem. Chomsky Hierarchy 08 20 %
END SEMESTER EXAM

Question Paper Pattern

1. There will be five parts in the question paper – A, B, C, D, E
2. Part A
a. Total marks : 12 b. Four questions each having 3 marks, uniformly
covering modules I and II; Allfour questions have to be answered.
3. Part B
a. Total marks : 18 b. Three questions each having 9 marks, uniformly
covering modules I and II; Two questions have to be answered. Each question
can have a maximum of three subparts.
4. Part C
a. Total marks : 12 b. Four questions each having 3 marks, uniformly
covering modules III and IV; Allfour questions have to be answered.
5. Part D
a. Total marks : 18 b. Three questions each having 9 marks, uniformly
covering modules III and IV; Two questions have to be answered. Each
question can have a maximum of three subparts
6. Part E
a. Total Marks: 40 b. Six questions each carrying 10 marks, uniformly
covering modules V and VI; four questions have to be answered. A question
can have a maximum of three sub-parts.

There should be at least 60% analytical/numerical questions.