CSE322

Formal Languages and

Automation Theory

Unit 1 : Basic
Descriptions
Computation

CPU memory

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temporary memory

input memory
CPU
output memory

Program memory

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 3
Example: f ( x ) x
temporary memory

input memory
CPU
output memory
Program memory
compute xx
2
compute x x
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 3
f ( x) x
temporary memory
input memory
x 2
CPU
output memory
Program memory
compute xx
2
compute x x
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 3
temporary memoryf ( x) x
z 2 * 2 4
f ( x) z * 2 8
input memory
x 2
CPU
output memory
Program memory
compute xx
2
compute x x
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 3
temporary memoryf ( x) x
z 2 * 2 4
f ( x) z * 2 8
input memory
x 2
CPU
f ( x) 8
Program memory output memory
compute xx
2
compute x x
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 Automaton
temporary memory

Automaton
input memory
CPU
output memory

Program memory

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 Different Kinds of Automata
Automata are distinguished by the temporary memo

• Finite Automata: no temporary memory

• Pushdown Automata: stack

• Turing Machines: random access memory

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 Finite Automaton

temporary memory

input memory
Finite
Automaton
output memory

Example: Vending Machines

(small computing power)
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 Pushdown Automaton
Stack Push, Pop

input memory
Pushdown
Automaton
output memory

Example: Compilers for Programming Languages

(medium computing power)
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 Turing Machine

Random Access
Memory

input memory
Turing
Machine
output memory

Examples: Any Algorithm

(highest computing power)
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 Power of Automata

Finite Pushdown Turing

Automata Automata Machine

Less power More power

Solve more
computational problems
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Languages

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• A language is a set of strings

• String: A sequence of letters

– Examples: “cat”, “dog”,

“house”, …

– Defined over an alphabet:

 a, b, c, , z

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 Alphabets and Strings
 a, b
• We will use small alphabets:

• Strings
a
ab u ab
abba v bbbaaa
baba w abba
aaabbbaabab
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 String Operations

w a1a2  an abba
v b1b2 bm bbbaaa

Concatenation

wv a1a2  anb1b2 bm abbabbbaaa

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w a1a2  an ababaaabbb

Reverse

R
w an  a2 a1 bbbaaababa

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 String Length
w a1a2  an
• Length:w n

• Examples: abba 4
aa 2
a 1
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 Length of Concatenation

uv  u  v

• Example:u aab, u 3
v abaab, v 5

uv  aababaab 8
uv  u  v 3  5 8
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 Empty String

• A string with no letters:

• Observations: 0

w w w

abba abba abba

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 Substring
• Substring of string:
– a subsequence of consecutive
characters

• String Substring
abbab ab
abbab abba
abbab b
abbab bbab
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 Prefix and Suffix
abbab
• Prefixes Suffixes
 abbab w uv
a bbab
prefix
ab bab
suffix
abb ab
abba b
abbab 
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 Another Operation
n
w ww
 
w
n
2
• Example:abba  abbaabba

0
• Definition:w 
–
0
abba  
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 The * Operation
• * : the set of all possible strings from
• 
alphabet

 a, b
*  , a, b, aa, ab, ba, bb, aaa, aab,

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 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,
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 Languages
• A language is any subsetof
*

• Example: a, b
*  , a, b, aa, ab, ba, bb, aaa,


• Languages:

a, aa, aab

{ , abba, baba, aa, ab, aaaaaa}
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 Note that:

Sets  { } {}

Set size { }   0

Set size {} 1

String length  0
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 Another Example

n n
L
• An infinite language {a b : n 0}


ab
L abb  L
aabb
aaaaabbbbb
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 Operations on Languages
• The usual set operations

a, ab, aaaa bb, ab {a, ab, bb, aaaa}

a, ab, aaaa bb, ab {ab}
a, ab, aaaa  bb, ab a, aaaa
• Complement:L  *  L

a, ba  , b, aa, ab, bb, aaa,

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 Reverse

R R
• Definition: L {w : w  L}
R
ab, aab, baba
• Examples: ba, baa, abab

n n
L {a b : n 0}

R n n
L {b a : n 0}
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 Concatenation

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

a, ab, bab, aa

• Example:

ab, aaa, abb, abaa, bab, baaa

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 Another Operation
• Definition: Ln LL L
n
3
a, b a, ba, ba, b 
aaa, aab, aba, abb, baa, bab, bba, bbb
0
• Special case:L 

a, bba, aaa0 

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 More Examples
•
n n
L {a b : n 0}

2 n n m m
L {a b a b : n, m 0}

2
aabbaaabbb  L

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 Star-Closure (Kleene *)

0 1 2
• Definition:L* L L L 

• Example:
 , 
a, bb, 
 
a, bb*  
 aa , abb, bba , bbbb, 
• aaa, aabb, abba, abbbb,
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 Positive Closure

• Definition:L 1 2
L  L 
L *   

a, bb, 
  
a, bb aa, abb, bba, bbbb, 
aaa, aabb, abba, abbbb,
 
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End of Topic

Any Query

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