Theory of Automata

Introduction
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Saleem Vighio (PhD)

Computer Science Department, Quaid-e-Awam University of

Engineering, Science & Technology, Nawabshah

Monday, 14/10/2024

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 Course Introduction
• Course C.Hs:
• 03 C.Hs:
- Theoretical work
• Recommended Textbooks:
• Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and Computation
J.E. Hopcroft, R. Motwani, J.D. Ullman
3rd Edition (Addison Wesley/Pearson)
• Introduction to the Theory of Computation, 2nd Ed.
Michael Sipser
• Introduction to Computer Theory
Daniel I.A. Cohen
• Theory of Automata, Formal Languages and Computation
S. P. Eugene Xavier
• Online Literature
 Course Introduction
• Teaching plan:

• 02 tests:
- At the end of 12th and 35th lectures respectively

• Class exercises

• Short presentations

• Practical exercises
 Course Introduction
Lecture slides/announcements/results can be found at
course home page:

http://saleem.quest.edu.pk/

https://sites.google.com/a/quest.edu.pk/saleem/
 Course Outline
• Introduction
• Regular Languages and their descriptors
- Finite state automata
- Non-deterministic automata
- Regular expressions
- Algorithms to decide questions about regular languages,
e.g., is it empty?
- Closure properties of regular languages.
• Context Free Languages and their descriptors
- Context free grammars
- Pushdown automata
• Turing Machines and TM Variants
• Decidable and Undecidable Languages
• Time and Space Complexities
 Lecture Outline

• Introduction
• Models of Computation
• Languages
 What is Automata Theory?
• Automata, plural of “automaton” is a Greek word
meaning “self-acting, self-willed, self-moving".

• Study of abstract computing devices, or “machines”

• A “device” need not even be a physical hardware!

Logic behind electric bulb

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 Computation
• Computation is a general term for any type of
information processing that can be
represented as an algorithm precisely
(mathematically).
Examples:
• Adding two numbers in our brains, on a piece of
paper or using a calculator.
• Converting a decimal number to its binary
presentation or vice versa.
• Finding the greatest common divisors of two
numbers.
• …
 Fundamental Idea
• To understand:
• What different types of computational models
exist and differ from each other,

• How do they compute functions and solve problems,

• What problems they can solve and cannot solve

(theory of computation)
 History
• 1936 - Alan Turing studies abstract machines with
ability of today’s computers
• Algorithm and computation (decidability)
• Some computational problem can’t have algorithm (halting
problem)

Alan Turing
 History
• 1943 - Finite automata – simple model of computation
• Originally proposed to model brain function

Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts

(neurophysiologists)
 History
1950 - Context-free grammar and context-sensitive
grammar – models of computation
• While not strictly machines, these grammars have close
relationships to abstract automata
• Used in compiler development

Noam Chomsky
 History

1970 – Modern computer science – compiler, computational

& complexity theories evolve
 Different Model of Computation
Automata are distinguished by the temporary memory

• 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:

Σ = {a, b, c, . . . , z}

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

Strings
a
ab u = ab
abba v = bbbaaa
baba w = abba
aaabbbaabab
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 String Operations: Concatenation

w = a1a2 an abba

v = b1b2 bm bbbaaa

Concatenation

wv = a1a2 anb1b2 bm abbabbbaaa

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 String Operations: Reverse

w = a1a2 an ababaaabbb

Reverse

w = an  a2 a1
R
bbbaaababa

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

Examples abba = 4
aa = 2
a =1
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 String Operations:
Length of Concatenation
uv = u + v

Examples u = aab, u = 3
v = abaab, v = 5

uv = aababaab = 8
uv = u + v = 3 + 5 = 8
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 String Operations: Empty String
A string with no letters: 

Observations:  =0

w = w = w

abba = abba = abba

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 String Operations: Substring
Substring of string:
a subsequence of consecutive characters

String Substring
abbab ab
abbab abba
abbab b
abbab bbab
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 String Operations: Prefix and Suffix
Example: abbab
prefixes Suffixes
 abbab w = uv
a bbab
prefix
ab bab
suffix
abb ab
abba b
abbab 
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 String Operations: Power

Wn = W1W2 Λ Wn

Example: (abba ) = abbaabba

2

Definition: w =
0

(abba ) = 
0

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 String Operations: The * Operation
 * : the set of all possible strings from
alphabet 

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

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 String Operations: 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 Language Example

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


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

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 Operations on Languages: 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

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Operations on Languages: Concatenation

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

Example: a, ab, bab, aa

= ab, aaa, abb, abaa, bab, baaa

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 Operations on Languages: Power
Definition: L =
n

LL L
n
Example:

a, b = a, ba, ba, b =

3

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

0
Special Case: L = 

a , bba , aaa 0 = 

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 More Examples

L = {a b : n  0}
n n

L = {a b a b : n, m  0}
2 n n m m

aabbaaabbb  L 2

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 Operations on Languages:
Star-Closure (Kleene *)

Definition: L* = L  L  L 
0 1 2

Example:
 , 
a, bb, 
 
a, bb* =  
 aa , abb , bba , bbbb, 
aaa, aabb, abba, abbbb,
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 Operations on Languages:
Positive Closure
Definition: +
L = L  L 
1 2

= L * −

a, bb, 
+  
a, bb = aa, abb, bba, bbbb, 
aaa, aabb, abba, abbbb,
 
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 Automata Theory & Model Checking

“The automata- theoretic approach offers a uniform

algorithmic framework for model checking linear- time
properties1”

1Vardi,M. Y. (2007, January). Automata-theoretic model checking revisited. In International Workshop

on Verification, Model Checking, and Abstract Interpretation (pp. 137-150). Berlin, Heidelberg:
Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
 Modelling & Verification Tools

• UPPAAL (https://uppaal.org/)
• SPIN
• PRISIM
• TLC, etc
 Modelling & Verification Tools

• Recommended Tools:
• UPPAAL

http://www.uppaal.org/

• Tool for the modelling, simulation and verification of

different types of computational algorithms: real-
time, embedded, and concurrent systems e.g.,
embedded processors in mobile phones, microwave
ovens, sensor nodes communicating with the
environment, traffic control systems and so on.
INPUT

UPPAAL
Application Bugs
 Storm surge barrier Rotterdam
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• Storm kills 1835 people in Netherlands
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 Storm Surge Barrier Rotterdam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkF6v
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