UNIT-III

Path Products & expressions

E.RUPA

Assistant Professor
1
CSE Department
 Path Products & expressions - Purpose
PURPOSE: APPLICATIONS
1. How many paths in a flow-graph?

Maximum, minimum etc.

2. The probability of getting to a point in a program ?

(to a node in a flow graph)

3. The mean processing time of a routine (a flow graph)

4. Effect of Routines involving complementary operations :

(Push / Pop & Get / Return)

2
 Path Products & expressions - Purpose
PURPOSE & APPLICATIONS

1. Check for data flow anomalies.

2. Regular expressions are applied to problems in test

design & debugging

3. Electronics engineers use flow graphs to design &

analyze circuits & logic designers.
1. Software development, testing & debugging tools use
flow graph analysis tools & techniques.
1. These are helpful for test tool builders.
3
 Path Products & expressions - Motivation
Motivation

1. Flow graph is an abstract representation of a program.

2. A question on a program can be mapped on to an

equivalent question on an appropriate flow graph.

3. It will be a foundation for syntax testing & state testing

4
 Path Products & expressions - Definitions

Path Expression:

An algebraic representation of sets of paths in a

flow graph.

Regular Expression:

Path expressions converted by using arithmetic

laws & weights into an algebraic function.

5
Path Products & expressions – Path Product

• Annotate each link with a name.

• The pathname as you traverse a path (segment)

expressed as concatenation of the link names is the
path product.

c
1 2 3 4
a b d

• Examples of path products between 1 & 4 are:

abd abcbd a b c b c b d ….
6
Path Products & expressions – Path Expression
Path Expression
Simply: Derive using path products.

c
1 2 3 4
a b d

Example:

{ a b d , a b c b d, a b c b c b d , ….. }

abd + abcbd + abcbcbd + ….

7
Path Products & expressions – Path Expression
Example:

h i
e f j

a b c d

{ abcd , abfhebcd , abfigebcd , abfijd }

abcd + abfhebcd + abfigebcd + abfijd

8
 Path Products & expressions – Path Expression

Path name for two successive path segments is the

concatenation of their path products.

X = abc Y = def XY = abcdef

a X = aabc X a = abca XaX = abcaabc

X = ab + cd Y = ef + gh XY = abef + abgh + cdef +

cdgh

9
Path Products & expressions – Path Segments &
Products
• Loops:

a1 = a a2 = aa a3 = aaa an = aaaaa … n times

X = abc X1 = abc X2 = (abc)2 = abcabc

• Identity element

a0 = 1 X0 = 1 (path of length 0)

10
 Path Products & expressions – Path Product

Path Product

• Not Commutative:

XY ≠ YX in general

• Associative

A ( BC ) = ( AB ) C = ABC : Rule 1

11
 Path Products & expressions – Path Product

Denotes a set of paths in parallel between two nodes.

• Commutative

X + Y = Y + X : Rule 2

• Associative

(X+Y)+Z = X+(Y+Z) = X+Y+Z : Rule 3

• Distributive

A ( B + C) = A B + A C : Rule 4
(A+B)C = AC+BC
12
 Path Products & expressions – Path Products

• Absorption

X + X = X : Rule
5
X + any subset of X = X

X = a + bc + abcd X + a = X + bc + abcd = X

13
Path Products & expressions – Path Products

• Loop:
b
An infinite set of parallel paths.
a c

b* = b0 + b1 + b2 + b3 + ……

X* = X0 + X1 + X2 + X3 + ……

X+ = X1 + X2 + X3 + ……

• X X* = X* X = X+  a a* = a* a = a+

n
X = X0 + X1 + X2 + X3 + …… + Xn
14
 Path Products & expressions – Path products
More Rules…

m n
X + X = Xn if n ≥ m : Rule 6
= Xm if n < m

m n
X X = Xm+n : Rule 7

X X* = X*
n n
= X* X : Rule 8

X X+ = X+
n n
= X+ X : Rule 9 15
 Path Products & expressions – Path products
Identity Elements ..
1 : Path of Zero Length

1+1 = 1 : Rule 11

1X = X1 = X : Rule
12

1* = 1 +
n n
1 = 1 = = 1 : Rule
13
16

+
 Path Products & expressions – Path products
Identity Elements ..

0 : empty set of paths

X + 0 = 0+X = X : Rule 15

X0 = 0X = 0 : Rule 16

0* = 1 + 0 + 0 2 + 03 + . . . = 1 : Rule 17

17
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure

 To convert a flow graph into a path expression that

denotes the set of all entry/exit paths.

 Node by Node Reduction Procedure

18
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Initialization Steps:

1. Combine all serial links by multiplying their path

expressions.

1. Combine all parallel links by adding their path

expressions.

1. Remove all self-loops - replace with links of the

form X*
19
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Steps in the Algorithm’s loop

4. Select a non-initial & non-final node .

Replace it with a set of equivalent links, whose path

expressions correspond to all the ways you can form a product
of the set of in-links with the set of out-links of that node.

5
4
d e
f
g
1 a 2 3
b

20
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Steps in the Algorithm’s loop:

5. Combine any serial links by multiplying their path expressions.

( as in step 1)

6. Combine any parallel links by adding their path expressions.

( as in step 2)

7. Remove all the self-loops.

( as in step 3)

8. IF there’s just one node between entry & exit nodes, path
expression for the flow graph is the link’s path expression.
ELSE, return to step 4.
21
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure

Path Expression for a Flow Graph

• is not unique

• depends on the order of node removal.

22
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
Cross-Term Step (Step 4 of the algorithm)

• Fundamental step.

• Removes nodes one by one till there’s one entry & one exit
node.

• Replace the node by path products of all in-links with all out-links
and interconnecting its immediate neighbors.

23
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
Processing of Loop Terms:

a c a b*c
1 2 1 2

d b*d

24
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
Processing of Loop Terms:

a b c f
1 2 3 4 5
d
e

bd
a bc f
1 2 4 5

a (bd)* bc f
1 2 4 5

e
25
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
Processing of Loop Terms:

a (bd)* bc f
1 2 4 5

a (bd)* bc f
1 4 5

e (bd)* bc

a (bd)* bc ( e (bd)* bc ) * f
1 4 5

a (bd)* bc ( e (bd)* bc )* f
26
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
Example:

a b c d e
1 3 4 5 6 2

f g h i
j k l
7 8 9 10

a b c d e
1 3 4 5 6 2

f g h il
j k
7 8 9

im
27
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
a b c d e
1 3 4 5 6 2

f g ilh
j kh
7 8

im
a b c d e
1 3 4 5 6 2

g ilh
jf
kh
8

imf
a b c+gkh d e
1 3 4 5 6 2
gif ilh

imf 28
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
bgif

a b(c+gkh) d e
1 3 5 6 2
ilh
imf

(bgif)*b(c+gkh)
a d e
1 3 5 6 2
ilh
imf
ilhd

a (bgif)*b(c+gkh)d e
1 3 6 2

imf
29
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example
a (bgif)*b(c+gkh)d (ilhd)*e
1 3 6 2

(ilhd)*imf

a(bgif)*b(c+gkh)d (ilhd)*e
1 6 2

(ilhd)*imf(bgif)*b(c+gkh)d

30
Path Products & expressions – Reduction Procedure
Example

a(bgif)*b(c+gkh)d {(ilhd)*imf(bgif)*b(c+gkh)d}* (ilhd)*e

1 6 2

Flow Graph Path Expression :

a(bgif)*b(c+gkh)d {(ilhd)*imf(bgif)*b(c+gkh)d}* (ilhd)*e

31
 Path Products & expressions – Before going into
Applications
Before that, we learn:

Identities

Structured Flow Graphs (code/routines)

Unstructured Flow graphs (routines)

32
Path Products & expressions – Identities / Rules
(A+B)* = ( A* + B* ) * :
I1

= ( A* B* )* :
I2

= ( A* B )* A* :
I3

= ( B* A )* B* :
I4

= ( A* B + A )* :
I5

= ( B* A + B )* :
I6

(A+B+C+...)* = ( A* + B* + C* + . . . )* 33:

I7
Path Products & expressions – Structured Flow
Graphs
Reducible to a single link by successive application of the
transformations shown below.

A B A, B
Process

A B A B
IF THEN .. ELSE ..

A B
WHILE .. DO ..
34
Path Products & expressions – Structured Flow
Graphs
Structured flow graph transformations

A B A, B
REPEAT .. UNTIL ..

Properties:
•No cross-term transformation.
•No GOTOs.
•No entry into or exit from the middle of a loop.
35
Path Products & expressions – Structured Flow
Graphs
Some examples:

f
d
b
a b c d e
a c g i
e h
j

36
Path Products & expressions – UNstructured Flow
Graphs
Some examples – unstructured flow graphs/code:

X
Jumping into loops
X
Jumping out of loops

Branching into Decisions Branching out of Decisions

37
 Questions from the previous year’s exams

1. Write short notes on: path products, path expressions, path sums,
loops.

2. Define structured code. Explain lower path count Arithmetic.

3. What is the looping probability of a path expression. Write arithmetic

rules. Explain with an example.

4. Write the steps involved in Node Reduction Procedure. Illustrate all

the steps with the help of neatly labeled diagrams.

38