XJCO2321 Formal Languages and

Finite Automata

02: Languages & Mathematical

Notations
 Today’s Objectives
• To define a language in the context of
Finite Languages and Finite Automata
(FLFA)
• To introduce basic mathematical notations
we expect to use in this module

Based on slides by Costas Busch 1

Language: a set of strings

String: a sequence of symbols

from some alphabet

Example:
Strings: cat, dog, house
Language: {cat, dog, house}
Alphabet: Σ = a,b,c,…,z

Based on slides by Costas Busch 2

 Languages are used to describe
computation problems:

PRIMES = {2,3,5,7,11,13,17,}

EVEN = {0,2,4,6,}

Alphabet:  = {0,1,2,,9}

Based on slides by Costas Busch 3

Computation is translated to set membership

Example computation problem:

Is number x prime?

Equivalent set membership problem:

x  PRIMES = {2,3,5, 7,11,13,17, }?

Based on slides by Costas Busch 4

 Alphabets and Strings
An alphabet is a set of symbols
Example Alphabet:  = a, b
A string is a sequence of
symbols from the alphabet
String variables
a
u = ab
ab
Example Strings v = bbbaaa
abba w = abba
aaabbbaabab
Based on slides by Costas Busch 5
Decimal numbers alphabet  = {0,1,2,,9}

102345 567463386

Binary numbers alphabet  = {0,1}

100010001 101101111

Based on slides by Costas Busch 6

 Unary numbers alphabet  = {1}

Unary number: 1 11 111 1111 11111

Decimal number: 1 2 3 4 5

Based on slides by Costas Busch 7

 String Operations

w = a1a2  an abba
v = b1b2 bm bbbaaa

Concatenation

wv = a1a2  anb1b2 bm abbabbbaaa

Based on slides by Costas Busch 8

 w = a1a2 an ababaaabbb

Reverse

w = an  a2 a1
R
bbbaaababa

Based on slides by Costas Busch 9

 String Length
w = a1a2 an
Length: w =n

Examples: abba = 4
aa = 2
a =1
Based on slides by Costas Busch 10
 Length of Concatenation

uv = u + v

Example: u = aab, u = 3
v = abaab, v = 5

uv = aababaab = 8
uv = u + v = 3 + 5 = 8
Based on slides by Costas Busch 11
 Empty String
A string with no letters is denoted:  or 
Acts as a neutral element
Observations:  = 0

 w = w = w

 abba = abba = ab ba = abba

Based on slides by Costas Busch 12
 Substring
Substring of string:
a subsequence of consecutive characters

String Substring
abbab ab
abbab abba
abbab b
abbab bbab
Based on slides by Costas Busch 13
 Prefix and Suffix
string abbab
Prefixes Suffixes
 abbab w = uv
a bbab
prefix
ab bab
suffix
abb ab
abba b
abbab 
Based on slides by Costas Busch 14
 Exponent Operation
w = ww
n


w
n

Example: (abba ) = abbaabba

2

Definition: w =
0

(abba ) 0
=
Based on slides by Costas Busch 15
 The * (Kleene star) Operation
 *
: the set of all possible strings from
alphabet 

 = a, b
 =  , a, b, aa, ab, ba, bb, aaa, aab,
*

Based on slides by Costas Busch 16

 The + Operation
+ : the set of all possible strings from

alphabet  except 

 = a, b
 =  , a, b, aa, ab, ba, bb, aaa, aab,
*

 =  −  
+ *

+
 = a, b, aa, ab, ba, bb, aaa, aab,
Based on slides by Costas Busch 17
 Languages
A language over alphabet 
is any subset of *

Example:  = a, b
 =  , a, b, aa, ab, ba, bb, aaa,
*

Languages: {}
 
a, aa, aab
{ , abba, baba, aa, ab, aaaaaa}
Based on slides by Costas Busch 18
 More Language Examples

Alphabet  = {a, b}
An infinite language L = {a b : n  0}
n n

 bbabb  L
ab abb  L
L
aabb
aaaaabbbbb
Based on slides by Costas Busch 19
 Prime numbers
Numbers divisible by 1 and itself

Alphabet  = {0,1,2,,9}
Language:

PRIMES = {x : x   and x is prime} *

PRIMES = {2,3,5,7,11,13,17,}

Based on slides by Costas Busch 20

 Even and odd numbers

Alphabet  = {0,1,2,,9}
Languages:
EVEN = {x : x   and x is even} *

EVEN = {0,2,4,6,}

ODD = {x : x   and x is odd} *

ODD = {1,3,5,7,}
Based on slides by Costas Busch 21
 Addition (of unary numbers)

Alphabet  = {1,+, =}
Language:
ADDITION = {x + y = z : x = 1 ,y = 1 ,z = 1 , n m k

n + m = k , n  1, m  1}
11 + 111 = 11111 ADDITION
111 + 111 = 111 ADDITION
ADDITION = {1 + 1 = 11,1 + 11 = 111,11 + 1 = 111,11 + 11 = 1111, ...}
Based on slides by Costas Busch 22
 Squares (of unary numbers)

Alphabet  = {1, # }
Language:
SQUARES = {x#y : x = 1 ,y = 1 , m = n } n m 2

11#1111 SQUARES
111#1111 SQUARES
SQUARES = {1#1,11#1111,111#111111111, ...}
Based on slides by Costas Busch 23
 Two special languages

Language with
Empty language empty string
{ } or  { }
Size of a language (number of elements):
| {} |= 0
|  |= 1
| a, aa, ab|= 3
| { , aa, bb, abba, baba} |= 5
Based on slides by Costas Busch 24
 Note that:

Sets  = { }  { }

Set size {} =  = 0

Set size { } = 1

String length  =0
Based on slides by Costas Busch 25
 Operations on Languages
The usual set operations:

a, ab, aaaa bb, ab = {a, ab, bb, aaaa} union
a, ab, aaaa bb, ab = {ab} intersecti on
a, ab, aaaa− bb, ab = a, aaaa difference

Complement: L = −L
*

a, ba =  , b, aa, ab, bb, aaa,

Based on slides by Costas Busch 26
 Reverse

Definition: L = {w : w  L}
R R

Examples: ab, aab, baba = ba, baa, abab

R

L = {a b : n  0}
n n

L = {b a : n  0}
R n n

Based on slides by Costas Busch 27

 Concatenation

Definition: L1L2 = xy : x  L1, y  L2 

Example: a, ab, bab, aa

= ab, aaa, abb, abaa, bab, baaa

Based on slides by Costas Busch 28

 Another Operation
Definition: L =
n

LL L
n

a, b = a, ba, ba, b =

3

aaa, aab, aba, abb, baa, bab, bba, bbb

Special case: L =  
0

a, bba, aaa =  

0

Based on slides by Costas Busch 29

 Example

L = {a b : n  0}
n n

L = {a b a b : n, m  0}
2 n n m m

2
aabbaaabbb L

Based on slides by Costas Busch 30

 Star-Closure (Kleene *)
All strings that can be constructed from L

Definition: L = L  L  L 
* 0 1 2

Example:
 , L 0

a, bb,  L1
 
a, bb = 
*
 2
 aa , abb, bba , bbbb,  L
aaa, aabb, abba, abbbb,  L3
Based on slides by Costas Busch 31
 Positive Closure

+
Definition: L = L  L  L 
1 2 3

Note that: L = L  L
* 0 +

a, bb, L
1

+   2
a, bb = aa, abb, bba, bbbb, L
aaa, aabb, abba, abbbb, L3
 
Based on slides by Costas Busch 32
 Follow-Up / Further Reading
• Read Chapter 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 of
Sipser

Based on slides by Costas Busch 33