THEORY OF COMPUTATION BIS502

INTRODUCTION TO FINITE AUTOMATA

1.1 : introduction to finite automata

In this chapter we are going to study a class of machines called finite automata. Finite
automata are computing devices that accept/recognize regular languages and are used to
model operations of many systems we find in practice. Their operations can be simulated
by a very simple computer program. A kind of systems finite automnata can model and a
computer program to simulate their operations are discussed.

Formal definition
Automaton
An automaton is represented formally by a 5-tuple (Q,Σ,δ,q0,F), where:

 Q is a finite set of states.

 Σ is a finite set of symbols, called the alphabet of the automaton.
 δ is the transition function, that is, δ: Q × Σ → Q.
 q0 is the start state, that is, the state of the automaton before any input has
been processed, where q0�Q.
 F is a set of states of Q (i.e. F�Q) called accept states.

Input word
An automaton reads a finite string of symbols a1,a2, ... , an , where ai �Σ, which is
called an input word. The set of all words is denoted by Σ*.
Run
A run of the automaton on an input word w = a1,a2, ... , an �Σ*, is a sequence of
states q0,q1,q2, ... , qn, where qi �Q such that q0 is the start state and qi = δ(qi-1,ai)
for 0 < i ≤ n. In words, at first the automaton is at the start state q 0, and then the
automaton reads symbols of the input word in sequence. When the automaton
reads symbol ai it jumps to state qi = δ(qi-1,ai). qn is said to be the final state of the
run.
Accepting word
A word w �Σ* is accepted by the automaton if qn �F.
Recognized language
An automaton can recognize a formal language. The language L �Σ* recognized
by an automaton is the set of all the words that are accepted by the automaton.
Recognizable languages
The recognizable languages are the set of languages that are recognized by some
automaton. For the above definition of automata the recognizable languages are
regular languages. For different definitions of automata, the recognizable
languages are different.

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1.2 :concepts of automata theory

Automata theory is a subject matter that studies properties of various types of automata.
For example, the following questions are studied about a given type of automata.

 Which class of formal languages is recognizable by some type of automata?

(Recognizable languages)
 Are certain automata closed under union, intersection, or complementation of
formal languages? (Closure properties)
 How much is a type of automata expressive in terms of recognizing class of
formal languages? And, their relative expressive power? (Language Hierarchy)

Automata theory also studies if there exist any effective algorithm or not to solve
problems similar to the following list.

 Does an automaton accept any input word? (emptiness checking)

 Is it possible to transform a given non-deterministic automaton into deterministic
automaton without changing the recognizable language? (Determinization)
 For a given formal language, what is the smallest automaton that recognizes it?
(Minimization).

Classes of automata

The following is an incomplete list of types of automata.

Automata Recognizable language

Deterministic finite automata(DFA) regular languages
Nondeterministic finite automata(NFA) regular languages
Nondeterministic finite automata with ε-transitions (FND-ε
regular languages
or ε-NFA)
Pushdown automata (PDA) context-free languages
Linear bounded automata (LBA) context-sensitive language
recursively enumerable
Turing machines
languages
Timed automata
Deterministic Büchi automata ω-limit languages
Nondeterministic Büchi automata ω-regular languages
Nondeterministic/Deterministic Rabin automata ω-regular languages
Nondeterministic/Deterministic Streett automata ω-regular languages
Nondeterministic/Deterministic parity automata ω-regular languages
Nondeterministic/Deterministic Muller automata ω-regular languages

1.3 :Deterministic finite automata

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. Definition: A DFA is 5-tuple or quintuple M = (Q, , , q0, A) where

Q is non-empty, finite set of states.

 is non-empty, finite set of input alphabets.
 is transition function, which is a mapping from Q x  to Q.
q0  Q is the start state.
A  Q is set of accepting or final states.
Note: For each input symbol a, from a given state there is exactly one transition (there
can be no transitions from a state also) and we are sure (or can determine) to which state
the machine enters. So, the machine is called Deterministic machine. Since it has finite
number of states the machine is called Deterministic finite machine or Deterministic
Finite Automaton or Finite State Machine (FSM).
The language accepted by DFA is
L(M) = { w | w  * and *(q0, w)  A }
The non-acceptance of the string w by an FA or DFA can be defined in formal notation
as:
L(M) = { w | w  * and *(q0, w)  A }

Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s starting with the string ab

a,b
q a q b q
b
a
q
a,b
Fig.1.1 Transition diagram to accept string ab(a+b)*
So, the DFA which accepts strings of a’s and b’s starting with the string ab is given by
M = (Q,  , , q0, A) where
Q = {q0, q1, q2, q3}
 = {a, b}
q0 is the start state
A = {q2}.
 is shown the transition table 2.4.

 a b
q0 q1 q3
 States 

q1 q3 q2
q2 q2 q2
q3 q3 q3

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Draw a DFA to accept string of 0’s and 1’s ending with the string 011.

1 0
0 1 1
q0 q1 q2 q3
0
0

1
Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s having a sub string aa

b a,b
q0 a q1 a q2
b

Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s except those containing the substring aab.

b a a,b
q0 a q1 a q2 b
q3

Obtain DFAs to accept strings of a’s and b’s having exactly one a,

b b a,b
q0 a q1 a q2

b a, b
q0 a q1

b b b b a, b
q0 a q1 a q2 a q3 a q4

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Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s having even number of a’s and b’s
The machine to accept even number of a’s and b’s is shown in fig.2.22.
a
q q
a
b b b b
a
q q
a

Fig.2.22 DFA to accept even no. of a’s and b’s

a
q0 q1
a
b b b b
a
q2 q3
aa
q0 q1
a
b b b b
a
q2 q3
a

a
q0 q1
a
b b b b
a
q2 q3
a

Regular language
Definition: Let M = (Q, , , q0, A) be a DFA. The language L is regular if there exists a
machine M such that L = L(M).
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* Applications of Finite Automata *

String matching/processing
Compiler Construction
The various compilers such as C/C++, Pascal, Fortran or any other compiler is designed
using the finite automata. The DFAs are extensively used in the building the various
phases of compiler such as
 Lexical analysis (To identify the tokens, identifiers, to strip of the comments etc.)
 Syntax analysis (To check the syntax of each statement or control statement used
in the program)
 Code optimization (To remove the un wanted code)
 Code generation (To generate the machine code)

Other applications- The concept of finite automata is used in wide applications. It is not
possible to list all the applications as there are infinite number of applications. This
section lists some applications:
1. Large natural vocabularies can be described using finite automaton which
includes the applications such as spelling checkers and advisers, multi-language
dictionaries, to indent the documents, in calculators to evaluate complex
expressions based on the priority of an operator etc. to name a few. Any editor
that we use uses finite automaton for implementation.
2. Finite automaton is very useful in recognizing difficult problems i.e., sometimes it
is very essential to solve an un-decidable problem. Even though there is no
general solution exists for the specified problem, using theory of computation, we
can find the approximate solutions.
3. Finite automaton is very useful in hardware design such as circuit verification, in
design of the hardware board (mother board or any other hardware unit),
automatic traffic signals, radio controlled toys, elevators, automatic sensors,
remote sensing or controller etc.
In game theory and games wherein we use some control characters to fight against a
monster, economics, computer graphics, linguistics etc., finite automaton plays a very
important role

1.4 : Non deterministic finite automata(NFA)

Definition: An NFA is a 5-tuple or quintuple M = (Q, , , q0, A) where
Q is non empty, finite set of states.

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 is non empty, finite set of input alphabets.

 is transition function which is a mapping from
Q x { U } to subsets of 2Q. This function shows
the change of state from one state to a set of states
based on the input symbol.
q0  Q is the start state.
A  Q is set of final states.
Acceptance of language
Definition: Let M = (Q, , , q0, A) be a DFA where Q is set of finite states,  is set of
input alphabets (from which a string can be formed),  is transition function from Q x
{U} to 2Q, q0 is the start state and A is the final or accepting state. The string (also
called language) w accepted by an NFA can be defined in formal notation as:

L(M) = { w | w  *and *(q0, w) = Q with atleast one

Component of Q in A}

Obtain an NFA to accept the following language L = {w | w  ababn or aban where n  0}

The machine to accept either ababn or aban where n  0 is shown below:
b
q1 a q2 b q3 a q4

q0
a

q5 a q6 b q7
Conversion from NFA to DFA
Let MN = (QN, N, N, q0, AN) be an NFA and accepts the language L(MN). There should
be an equivalent DFA MD = (QD, D, D, q0, AD) such that L(MD) = L(MN). The
procedure to convert an NFA to its equivalent DFA is shown below:

Step1:
The start state of NFA MN is the start state of DFA MD. So, add q0(which is the
start state of NFA) to QD and find the transitions from this state. The way to
obtain different transitions is shown in step2.
Step2:
For each state [qi, qj,….qk] in QD, the transitions for each input symbol in  can
be obtained as shown below:
1. D([qi, qj,….qk], a) = N(qi, a) U N(qj, a) U ……N(qk, a)
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= [ql, qm,….qn] say.

2. Add the state [ql, qm,….qn] to QD, if it is not already in QD.
3. Add the transition from [qi, qj,….qk] to [ql, qm,….qn] on the input symbol a iff
the state [ql, qm,….qn] is added to QD in the previous step.
Step3:
The state [qa, qb,….qc]  QD is the final state, if at least one of the state in qa, qb,
….. qc  AN i.e., at least one of the component in [qa, qb,….qc] should be the final
state of NFA.
Step4:
If epsilon () is accepted by NFA, then start state q0 of DFA is made the final
state.

Convert the following NFA into an equivalent DFA.

0 1
q0 0,1 q1 0, 1 q2

Step1: q0 is the start of DFA (see step1 in the conversion procedure).

So, QD = {[q0]} (2.7)

Step2: Find the new states from each state in QD and obtain the corresponding transitions.
Consider the state [q0]:
When a = 0
D([q0], 0) = N([q0], 0)
= [q0, q1]
(2.8)
When a = 1
D([q0], 1) = N([q0], 1)
= [q1]
(2.9)

Since the states obtained in (2.8) and (2.9) are not in QD(2.7), add these two states to QD
so that

QD = {[q0], [q0, q1], [q1] } (2.10)

The corresponding transitions on a = 0 and a = 1 are shown below.



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
  0 1
 [q0] [q0, q1] [q1]
Q [q0, q1]
[q1]

Consider the state [q0, q1]:

When a = 0
D([q0, q1], = N([q0, q1], 0)
0) = N(q0, 0) U N(q1, 0)
= {q0, q1} U {q2}
= [q0, q1, q2]
(2.11)
When a = 1
D([q0, q1], = N([q0, q1], 1)
1) = N(q0, 1) U N(q1, 1)
= {q1} U {q2}
= [q1, q2]
(2.12)
Since the states obtained in (2.11) and (2.12) are the not defined in QD(see 2.10), add
these two states to QD so that
QD = {[q0], [q0, q1], [q1], [q0, q1, q2], [q1, q2] } (2.13)
and add the transitions on a = 0 and a = 1 as shown below:

  0 1
[q0] [q0, q1] [q1]
[q0, q1] [q0, q1, q2] [q1, q2]
Q [q1]
[q0, q1,
q2]
[q1, q2]

Consider the state [q1]:

When a = 0

D([q1], 0) = N([q1], 0)
= [q2]
(2.14)
When a = 1

D([q1], 1) = N([q1], 1)
=
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[q2]
(2.15)

Since the states obtained in (2.14) and (2.15) are same and the state q2 is not in QD(see
2.13), add the state q2 to QD so that

QD = {[q0], [q0, q1], [q1], [q0, q1, q2], [q1, q2], [q2]} (2.16)

and add the transitions on a = 0 and a = 1 as shown below:


  0 1
[q0] [q0, q1] [q1]
[q0, q1] [q0, q1, q2] [q1, q2]
Q [q1] [q2] [q2]
[q0, q1,
q2]
[q1, q2]
[q2]

Consider the state [q0,q1,q2]:

When a = 0

D([q0,q1,q2], = N([q0,q1,q2], 0)
0) = N(q0, 0) U N(q1, 0) U N(q2, 0)
= {q0,q1} U {q2} U {}
= [q0,q1,q2]
(2.17)

When a = 1
D([q0,q1,q2], = N([q0,q1,q2], 1)
1) = N(q0, 1) U N(q1, 1) U N(q2, 1)
= {q1} U {q2} U {q2}
= [q1, q2]
(2.18)
Since the states obtained in (2.17) and (2.18) are not new states (are already in Q D, see
2.16), do not add these two states to QD. But, the transitions on a = 0 and a = 1 should be
added to the transitional table as shown below:



 0 1
[q0] [q0, q1] [q1]
[q0, q1] [q0, q1, q2] [q1, q2]

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
 [q1] [q2] [q2]
[q0, q1, [q0,q1,q2] [q1, q2]
 q 2 ]
Q [q1, q2]
[q2]

Consider the state [q1,q2]:

When a = 0
D([q1,q2], 0) = N([q1,q2], 0)
= N(q1, 0) U N(q2, 0)
= {q2} U {}
= [q2]
(2.19)
When a = 1
D([q1,q2], 1) = N([q1,q2], 1)
= N(q1, 1) U N(q2, 1)
= {q2} U {q2}
= [q2]
(2.20)
Since the states obtained in (2.19) and (2.20) are not new states (are already in Q D see
2.16), do not add these two states to QD. But, the transitions on a = 0 and a = 1 should be
added to the transitional table as shown below:


 0 1
[q0] [q0, q1] [q1]
[q0, q1] [q0, q1, q2] [q1, q2]
Q [q1] [q2] [q2]
[q0, q1, [q0,q1,q2] [q1, q2]
q2]
[q1, q2] [q2] [q2]
[q2]

Consider the state [q2]:

When a = 0
D([q2], 0) = N([q2], 0)
= {}
(2.21)
When a = 1
D([q2], 1) = N([q2], 1)
= [q2]

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(2.22)

Since the states obtained in (2.21) and (2.22) are not new states (are already in Q D, see
2.16), do not add these two states to QD. But, the transitions on a = 0 and a = 1 should be
added to the transitional table. The final transitional table is shown in table 2.14. and final
DFA is shown in figure 2.35.

 0 1
[q0] [q0, q1] [q1]
[q0, q1, q2] [q1, q2]
[q0,q1]
[q2] [q2]
[q1]
[q0,q1,q2] [q1, q2]
[q0,q1,q2]
[q1,q2] [q2] [q2]
[q2]  [q2]

[q 0 ]

0 1

[q 0 , q 1 ] [q 1 ]

0 1 0, 1

1 0, 1
[q 0 , q 1 , q 2 ] [q 1 , q 2 ] [q 2 ]

0 1

Fig.2.35 The DFA

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Convert the following NFA to its equivalent DFA.


a
 4 5 
a b  
0 1 2 3 8 9
 6 7 
b


Let QD = {0} (A)

Consider the state [A]:
When input is a:

(A, a) = N(0, a)
= {1}
(B)
When input is b:
( A, b) = N(0, b)
= {}
Consider the state [B]:

When input is a:
(B, a) = N(1, a)
= {}

When input is b:
( B, b) = N(1, b)
= {2}
= {2,3,4,6,9} (C)

This is because, in state 2, due to -transitions (or without giving any input)
there can be transition to states 3,4,6,9 also. So, all these states are reachable
from state 2. Therefore,

(B, b) = {2,3,4,6,9} = C
Consider the state [C]:
When input is a:
(C, a) = N({2,3,4,6,9}, a)
= {5}
= {5, 8, 9, 3, 4, 6}
= {3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9} (ascending
order) (D)

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This is because, in state 5 due to -transitions, the states reachable are {8, 9, 3,
4, 6}. Therefore,

(C, a) = {3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9} = D
When input is b:
( C, b) = N({2, 3, 4, 6, 9}, b)
= {7}
= {7, 8, 9, 3, 4, 6}
= {3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9}(ascending order)
(E)
This is because, from state 7 the states that are reachable without any input (i.e.,
-transition) are {8, 9, 3, 4, 6}. Therefore,
(C, b) = {3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9} = E
Consider the state [D]:
When input is a:
(D, a) = N({3,4,5,6,8,9}, a)
= {5}
= {5, 8, 9, 3, 4, 6}
= {3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9} (ascending
order) (D)
When input is b:

(D, b) = N({3,4,5,6,8,9}, b)
= {7}
= {7, 8, 9, 3, 4, 6}
= {3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9} (ascending
order) (E)

Consider the state [E]:

When input is a:
(E, a) = N({3,4,6,7,8,9}, a)
= {5}
= {5, 8, 9, 3, 4, 6}
= {3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9}(ascending order)
(D)
When input is b:

(E, b) = N({3,4,6,7,8,9}, b)
= {7}
= {7, 8, 9, 3, 4, 6}
= {3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9}(ascending order)
(E)
Since there are no new states, we can stop at this point and the transition table for the
DFA is shown in table 2.15.

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
  a b
A B -
B - C
Q C D E
D D E
E D E

Table 2.15 Transitional table

The states C,D and E are final states, since 9 (final state of NFA) is present in C, D and E.
The final transition diagram of DFA is shown in figure 2.36
a
a b a
A B C D
a
b
b
E
b
Fig. 2.36 The DFA

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Unit 1:Assignment questions:

1. Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s starting with the string ab

2. Draw a DFA to accept string of 0’s and 1’s ending with the string 011.

3. Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s having a sub string aa
4. Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s except those containing the
substring aab.
5. Obtain DFAs to accept strings of a’s and b’s having exactly one a,

6. Obtain a DFA to accept strings of a’s and b’s having even number of a’s and b’s

7. Give Applications of Finite Automata *

8. Define DFA,  NFA & Language?
9. (i) Write Regular expression for the following L = { an bm : m, n are even} L = { an, bm
: m>=2, n>=2}
(ii) Write DFA to accept strings of 0’s, 1’s & 2’s beginning with a 0 followed by odd
number of 1’s and ending with a 2.
10. Design a DFA to accept string of 0’s & 1’s when interpreted as binary numbers would be
multiple of 3.
11. Find  closure of each state and give the set of all strings of length 3 or less accepted by
automaton.

δ  a b
p {r} {q} {p,r}
q  {p} 
*r {p,q} {r} {p}
12. Convert above automaton to a DFA
13. Write a note on Application of automaton.

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UNIT-2:FINITE AUTOMATA, REGULAR EXPRESSIONS

2.1 An application of finite automata
2.2 Finite automata with Epsilon transitions
2.3 Regular expressions
2.4 Finite automata and regular expressions
2.5 Applications of Regular expressions

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2.1 An application of finite automata

Applications of finite automata includes String matching algorithms, network

protocols and lexical analyzers

String Processing
Consider finding all occurrences of a short string (pattern string) within a
Long string (text string).This can be done by processing the text through
a DFA: the DFA for all strings that end with the pattern string. Each time the accept state
is reached, the current position in the text is output

Example: Finding 1001

To find all occurrences of pattern 1001, construct
the DFA for all strings ending in 1001.

Finite-State Machines
A finite-state machine is an FA together with
actions on the arcs.

A trivial example for a communication link :

Example FSM: Bot Behavior

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A bot is a computer-generated character in a video game .

State charts

.
State charts model tasks as a set of states and actions. They extend FA diagrams Here is
a simplified state chart for a stopwatch

Lexical Analysis
In compiling a program, the first step is lexi-cal analysis. This isolates
keywords,identifiersetc., while eliminating irrelevant symbols.A token is a category, for
example “identifier”,“relation operator” or specific keyword.
For example,
token RE
keyword then then
variable name [a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]* where latter RE says it is any string of
alphanumeric
characters starting with a letter.
A lexical analyzer takes source code as a string,and outputs sequence of tokens.
For example,
for i = 1 to max do
x[i] = 0;
might have token sequence
for id = num to id do id [ id ] = num sep
As a token is identified, there may be an action.
For example, when a number is identified, itsvalue is calculated

2.2 Finite automata with Epsilon transitions

We can extend an NFA by introducing a "feature" that allows us to make a transition on
, the empty string. All the transition lets us do is spontaneously make a transition,
without receiving an input symbol. This is another mechanism that allows our NFA to be
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in multiple states at once. Whenever we take an edge, we must fork off a new "thread"
for the NFA starting in the destination state.
Just as nondeterminism made NFA's more convenient to represent some problems than
DFA's but were not more powerful, the same applies to NFA's. While more
expressive, anything we can represent with an NFA we can represent with a DFA that
has no  transitions.

Epsilon Closure

Epsilon Closure of a state is simply the set of all states we can reach by following the
transition function from the given state that are labeled . Generally speaking, a collection of
objects is closed under some operation if applying that operation to members of the
collection
returns an object still in the collection.
In the above example:
 (q) = { q }
 (r) = { r, s}
let us define the extended transition function for an NFA. For a
regular, NFA we said for the induction step:
Let
^(q,w) = {p1, p2, ... pk}
(pi,a) = Sifor i=1,2,...k
Then ^(q, wa) = S1,S2... Sk
For an -NFA, we change for ^(q, wa):
Union[  (Each state in S1, S2, ... Sk)]
This includes the original set S1,S2... Sk as well as any states we can reach via .
When coupled with the basis that ^(q, ) =  (q) lets us inductively define an
extended transition function for a NFA.

Eliminating Transitions
Transitions are a convenience in some cases, but do not increase the power of the NFA.
To eliminate them we can convert a NFA into an equivalent DFA, which is quite
similar to the steps we took for converting a normal NFA to a DFA, except we must now
follow all Transitions and add those to our set of states.
1. Compute  for the current state, resulting in a set of states S.
2. (S,a) is computed for all a in  by
a. Let S = {p1, p2, ... pk}
b. Compute I=1k (pi,a) and call this set {r1, r2, r3... rm}. This set is achieved by
following input a,
not by following any  transitions
c. Add the  transitions in by computing (S,a)= I=1 m (r1)
3. Make a state an accepting state if it includes any final states in the -NFA.

Note :The ε (epsilon) transition refers to a transition from one state to another
without the reading of an input
symbol (ie without the tape containing the input string moving). Epsilon
transitions can be inserted between

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any states. There is also a conversion algorithm from a NFA with epsilon
transitions to a NFA without
epsilon transitions.
 a b C 
q0 {q0}   {q1}
q1  {q2}  {q2} Consider the NFA-epsilon move machine M = { Q, ,
q2   {q2}  , q0, F}
Q = { q0, q1, q2 }
= { a, b, c } and  moves
q0 = q0
F = { q2 }

Note: add an arc from qz to qz labeled "c" to figure above.

The language accepted by the above NFA with epsilon moves is

the set of strings over {a,b,c} including the null string and
all strings with any number of a's followed by any number of b's
followed by any number of c's.
Now convert the NFA with epsilon moves to a NFA M = ( Q', , ', q0', F')
First determine the states of the new machine, Q' = the epsilon closure
of the states in the NFA with epsilon moves. There will be the same number
of states but the names can be constructed by writing the state name as
the set of states in the epsilon closure. The epsilon closure is the
initial state and all states that can be reached by one or more epsilon moves.
Thus q0 in the NFA-epsilon becomes {q0,q1,q2} because the machine can move
from q0 to q1 by an epsilon move, then check q1 and find that it can move
from q1 to q2 by an epsilon move.

q1 in the NFA-epsilon becomes {q1,q2} because the machine can move from
q1 to q2 by an epsilon move.

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q2 in the NFA-epsilon becomes {q2} just to keep the notation the same. q2
can go nowhere except q2, that is what phi means, on an epsilon move.
We do not show the epsilon transition of a state to itself here, but,
beware, we will take into account the state to itself epsilon transition
when converting NFA's to regular expressions.

The initial state of our new machine is {q0,q1,q2} the epsilon closure of q0

The final state(s) of our new machine is the new state(s) that contain
a state symbol that was a final state in the original machine.

The new machine accepts the same language as the old machine, thus same sigma.

So far we have for out new NFA

Q' = { {q0,q1,q2}, {q1,q2}, {q2} } or renamed { qx, qy, qz }
= { a, b, c }
F' = { {q0,q1,q2}, {q1,q2}, {q2} } or renamed { qx, qy, qz }
q0 = {q0,q1,q2} or renamed qx

inputs

 a b c
qx or{q0,q1,q2}
qy or{q1,q2}
qz or{q2}
Now we fill in the transitions. Remember that a NFA has transition entries that are sets.
Further, the names in the transition entry sets must be only the state names from Q'.
Very carefully consider each old machine transitions in the first row.
You can ignore any  entries and ignore the  column.
In the old machine (q0,a)=q0 thus in the new machine
'({q0,q1,q2},a)={q0,q1,q2} this is just because the new machine
accepts the same language as the old machine and must at least have the
the same transitions for the new state names.

inputs
 a b c
qx or{q0,q1,q2} {qx} or{{q0,q1,q2}}
qy or{q1,q2}
qz or{q2}

No more entries go under input a in the first row because

old (q1,a)=, (q2,a)=

Now consider the input b in the first row, (q0,b)=, (q1,b)={q2}
and (q2,b)=. The reason we considered q0, q1 and q2 in the old

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machine was because out new state has symbols q0, q1 and q2 in the new
state name from the epsilon closure. Since q1 is in {q0,q1,q2} and
(q1,b)=q1 then '({q0,q1,q2},b)={q1,q2}. WHY {q1,q2} ?, because
{q1,q2} is the new machines name for the old machines name q1. Just
compare the zeroth column of  to '. So we have

inputs

 a b c
qx or{q0,q1,q2} {qx} or{{q0,q1,q2}} {qy} or{{q1,q2}}
qy or{q1,q2}
qz or{q2}
Now, because our new qx state has a symbol q2 in its name and
(q2,c)=q2 is in the old machine, the new name for the old q2,
which is qz or {q2} is put into the input c transition in row 1.
Inputs

 a b c
qx or{q0,q1,q2} {qx} or{{q0,q1,q2}} {qy} or{{q1,q2}} {qz} or{{q2}}
qy or{q1,q2}
qz or{q2}
Now, tediously, move on to row two, ... .
You are considering all transitions in the old machine, delta,
for all old machine state symbols in the name of the new machines states.
Fine the old machine state that results from an input and translate
the old machine state to the corresponding new machine state name and
put the new machine state name in the set in delta'. Below are the
"long new state names" and the renamed state names in delta'.

Inputs

 a b c
qx or{q0,q1,q2} {qx} or{{q0,q1,q2}} {qy} or{{q1,q2}} {qz} or{{q2}}
qy or{q1,q2}  {qy} or{{q1,q2}} {qz} or{{q2}}
qz or{q2}   {qz} or{{q2}}

inputs
 a b c \
qx {qx} {qy} {qz} \ Q
qy  {qy} {qz} /
qz   {qz} /

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The figure above labeled NFA shows this state transition table.

It seems rather trivial to add the column for epsilon transitions,

but we will make good use of this in converting regular expressions
to machines. regular-expression -> NFA-epsilon -> NFA -> DFA.

2.3 :Regular expression

Definition: A regular expression is recursively defined as follows.

1.  is a regular expression denoting an empty language.

2. -(epsilon) is a regular expression indicates the language containing an empty
string.
3. a is a regular expression which indicates the language containing only {a}
4. If R is a regular expression denoting the language LR and S is a regular
expression denoting the language LS, then
a. R+S is a regular expression corresponding to the language LRULS.
b. R.S is a regular expression corresponding to the language LR.LS..
c. R* is a regular expression corresponding to the language LR*.
5. The expressions obtained by applying any of the rules from 1-4 are regular
expressions.

The table 3.1 shows some examples of regular expressions and the language corresponding to
these regular expressions.
Regular Meaning
expressions
(a+b)* Set of strings of a’s and b’s of any length
including the NULL string.
(a+b)*abb Set of strings of a’s and b’s ending with the
string abb
ab(a+b)* Set of strings of a’s and b’s starting with the
string ab.
(a+b)*aa(a+b) Set of strings of a’s and b’s having a sub string
* aa.
a*b*c* Set of string consisting of any number of
a’s(may be empty string also) followed by any
number of b’s(may include empty string)
followed by any number of c’s(may include
empty string).
a+b+c+ Set of string consisting of at least one ‘a’
followed by string consisting of at least one ‘b’
followed by string consisting of at least one ‘c’.
aa*bb*cc* Set of string consisting of at least one ‘a’
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followed by string consisting of at least one ‘b’

followed by string consisting of at least one ‘c’.
(a+b)* (a + Set of strings of a’s and b’s ending with either a
bb) or bb
(aa)*(bb)*b Set of strings consisting of even number of a’s
followed by odd number of b’s
(0+1)*000 Set of strings of 0’s and 1’s ending with three
consecutive zeros(or ending with 000)
(11)* Set consisting of even number of 1’s

Table 3.1 Meaning of regular expressions

Obtain a regular expression to accept a language consisting of strings of a’s and b’s of even
length.

String of a’s and b’s of even length can be obtained by the combination of the strings aa,
ab, ba and bb. The language may even consist of an empty string denoted by . So, the
regular expression can be of the form
(aa + ab + ba + bb)*
The * closure includes the empty string.
Note: This regular expression can also be represented using set notation as
L(R) = {(aa + ab + ba + bb)n | n  0}

Obtain a regular expression to accept a language consisting of strings of a’s and b’s of odd
length.

String of a’s and b’s of odd length can be obtained by the combination of the strings aa,
ab, ba and bb followed by either a or b. So, the regular expression can be of the form
(aa + ab + ba + bb)* (a+b)
String of a’s and b’s of odd length can also be obtained by the combination of the strings
aa, ab, ba and bb preceded by either a or b. So, the regular expression can also be
represented as
(a+b) (aa + ab + ba + bb)*
Note: Even though these two expression are seems to be different, the language
corresponding to those two expression is same. So, a variety of regular expressions can
be obtained for a language and all are equivalent.

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2.4 :finite automata and regular expressions

Obtain NFA from the regular expression

Theorem: Let R be a regular expression. Then there exists a finite automaton M = (Q, ,
, q0, A) which accepts L(R).

Proof: By definition, ,  and a are regular expressions. So, the corresponding machines
to recognize these expressions are shown in figure 3.1.a, 3.1.b and 3.1.c respectively.

q0

qf q0  qf q0 a qf


(a) (b) (c)

Fig 3.1 NFAs to accept ,  and a

The schematic representation of a regular expression R to accept the language L(R) is

shown in figure 3.2. where q is the start state and f is the final state of machine M.
L(R)
q M f

Fig 3.2 Schematic representation of FA accepting L(R)

In the definition of a regular expression it is clear that if R and S are regular expression,
then R+S and R.S and R* are regular expressions which clearly uses three operators ‘+’,
‘-‘ and ‘.’. Let us take each case separately and construct equivalent machine. Let M1 =
(Q1, 1, 1, q1, f1) be a machine which accepts the language L(R1) corresponding to the
regular expression R1. Let M2 = (Q2, 2, 2, q2, f2) be a machine which accepts the
language L(R2) corresponding to the regular expression R2.

Case 1: R = R1 + R2. We can construct an NFA which accepts either L(R1) or L(R2)
which can be represented as L(R1 + R2) as shown in figure 3.3.

L(R1)
 q1 M1 
q0 qf
 q2 M2 
L(R2)

Fig. 3.3 To accept the language L(R1 + R2)

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It is clear from figure 3.3 that the machine can either accept L(R1) or L(R2). Here, q0 is
the start state of the combined machine and qf is the final state of combined machine M.

Case 2: R = R1 . R2. We can construct an NFA which accepts L(R1) followed by L(R2)
which can be represented as L(R1 . R2) as shown in figure 3.4.
L(R1) L(R2)

q1 M 1 q2 M 2

Fig. 3.4To accept the language L(R1 . R2)

It is clear from figure 3.4 that the machine after accepting L(R1) moves from state q1 to
f1. Since there is a -transition, without any input there will be a transition from state f1 to
state q2. In state q2, upon accepting L(R2), the machine moves to f2 which is the final
state. Thus, q1 which is the start state of machine M1 becomes the start state of the
combined machine M and f2 which is the final state of machine M2, becomes the final
state of machine M and accepts the language L(R1.R2).

Case 3: R = (R1)*. We can construct an NFA which accepts either L(R1)*) as shown in
figure 3.5.a. It can also be represented as shown in figure 3.5.b.




 
q0 q1 M1 qf

L(R1)

(a)


q0 q1 M1 qf
 



(b)

Fig. 3.5 To accept the language L(R1)*

It is clear from figure 3.5 that the machine can either accept  or any number of L(R1)s
thus accepting the language L(R1)*. Here, q0 is the start state qf is the final state.

Obtain an NFA which accepts strings of a’s and b’s starting with the string ab.

The regular expression corresponding to this language is ab(a+b)*.

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Step 1: The machine to accept ‘a’ is shown below.

4 a 5

Step 2: The machine to accept ‘b’ is shown below.

6 b 7
Step 3: The machine to accept (a + b) is shown below.
a
 4 5 
3 8
 67 
b
Step 4: The machine to accept (a+b)* is shown below.


a
 4 5 
 
2 3 8 9
 6 7 
b


Step 5: The machine to accept ab is shown below.

a 1 b
0 2

Step 6: The machine to accept ab(a+b)* is shown below.


a
 4 5 
a b  
0 1 2 3 8 9
 6 7 
b

Fig. 3.6 To accept the language L(ab(a+b)*)

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Obtain the regular expression from FA

Theorem: Let M = (Q, , , q0, A) be an FA recognizing the language L. Then there
exists an equivalent regular expression R for the regular language L such that L = L(R).

The general procedure to obtain a regular expression from FA is shown below. Consider
the generalized graph
r1 r r
q0 q1
r

Fig. 3.9 Generalized transition graph

where r1, r2, r3 and r4 are the regular expressions and correspond to the labels for the
edges. The regular expression for this can take the form:

r = r1*r2 (r4 + r3r1*r2 )* (3.1)

Note:
1. Any graph can be reduced to the graph shown in figure 3.9. Then substitute the
regular expressions appropriately in the equation 3.1 and obtain the final regular
expression.
2. If r3 is not there in figure 3.9, the regular expression can be of the form
r = r *r r * (3.2)
1 2 4

3. If q0 and q1 are the final states then the regular expression can be of the form
r = r1* + r1*r2 r4* (3.3)

Obtain a regular expression for the FA shown below:

0
q0 q1
1
0 1 0

q2 q3 0,1
1

The figure can be reduced as shown below:

01
q0
10

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It is clear from this figure that the machine accepts strings of 01’s and 10’s of any length
and the regular expression can be of the form

(01 + 10)*

What is the language accepted by the following FA

0 1 0,
0 q2
q0 q1
1

Since, state q2 is the dead state, it can be removed and the following FA is obtained.

0 1
q0 q1
1

The state q0 is the final state and at this point it can accept any number of 0’s which can
be represented using notation as

0*

q1 is also the final state. So, to reach q1 one can input any number of 0’s followed by 1
and followed by any number of 1’s and can be represented as
0*11*

So, the final regular expression is obtained by adding 0* and 0*11*. So, the regular
expression is

R.E = 0* + 0*11*
= 0* (  + 11*)
= 0* (  + 1+)
= 0* (1*) = 0*1*

It is clear from the regular expression that language consists of any number of 0’s
(possibly ) followed by any number of 1’s(possibly ).

2.5 :Applications of Regular Expressions

Pattern Matching refers to a set of objects with some common properties. We can match
an identifier or a decimal number or we can search for a string in the text.

An application of regular expression in UNIX editor ed.

In UNIX operating system, we can use the editor ed to search for a specific pattern in the
text. For example, if the command specified is

/acb*c/
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then the editor searches for a string which starts with ac followed by zero or more b’s and
followed by the symbol c. Note that the editor ed accepts the regular expression and
searches for that particular pattern in the text. As the input can vary dynamically, it is
challenging to write programs for string patters of these kinds.

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Assignment questions:
1. Obtain an NFA to accept the following language L = {w | w  ababn or aban where n  0}
2. Convert the following NFA into an equivalent DFA.

0 1
q0 0,1 q1 0, 1 q2

3. Convert the following NFA to its equivalent DFA.


a
 4 5 
a b  
0 1 2 3 8 9
 6 7 
b


4. P.T. Let R be a regular expression. Then there exists a finite automaton M = (Q,
, , q0, A) which accepts L(R).

5. Obtain an NFA which accepts strings of a’s and b’s starting with the string ab.

6. Define grammar? Explain Chomsky Hierarchy? Give an example

7. (a) Obtain grammar to generate string consisting of any number of a’s and b’s with at
least one b.
 Obtain a grammar to generate the following language: L ={WWR where
W{a, b}*}
8. (a) Obtain a grammar to generate the following language: L = { 0m 1m2n | m>= 1 and
n>=0}
 Obtain a grammar to generate the set of all strings with no more than three a’s
when  = {a, b}
9. Obtain a grammar to generate the following language:
(i) L = { w | n a(w) > n b(w) }
(ii) L = { an bm ck | n+2m = k for n>=0, m>=0}
10. Define derivation , types of derivation , Derivation tree & ambiguous grammar. Give
example for each.
11. Is the following grammar ambiguous?
S  aB | bA
A  aS | bAA |a
B  bS | aBB | b
12. Define PDA. Obtain PDA to accept the language L = {an bn | n>=1} by a final state.
13. write a short note on application of context free grammar.

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