CS402/AL 102 -AUTOMATA AND LANGUAGE THEORY

MODULE 1
BACKGROUND
and PRELIMINARIES
PREPARED BY: DAISY JEAN A. CASTILLO
Instructor 1

AUTOMATA AND LANGUAGE THEORY

BACKGROUND AND PRELIMINARIES 0
PREPARED BY: DAISY JEAN A. CASTILLO – INSTRUCTOR 1
 MODULE 1
BACKGROUND AND PRELIMINARIES
DAISY JEAN A. CASTILLO
Instructor I

Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa, Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology
(DEBESMSCAT)

College of Arts and Sciences

I. Module Overview

This module will give you some information about the basics of automata
theory and history. It will also discuss where automata is applied.

II. Desired Learning Outcome

At the end of this topic, the students should be able to:

1. Understand the importance of automata theory
2. Understand the applications of automata and formal languages

III. Content Focus

BASICS OF AUTOMATA THEORY

The theory of finite automata is the mathematical theory of a simple class of
algorithms that are important in mathematics and computer science. It is an
exciting, theoretical branch of computer science. It established its roots during the
20th Century, as mathematicians began developing - both theoretically and literally
- machines which imitated certain features of man, completing calculations more
quickly and reliably. The word automaton itself, closely related to the word
"automation", denotes automatic processes carrying out the production of specific
processes. Simply stated, automata theory deals with the logic of computation with
respect to simple machines, referred to as automata. Through automata,
computer scientists are able to understand how machines compute functions and
solve problems and more importantly, what it means for a function to be defined
as computable or for a question to be described as decidable.
Automatons are abstract models of machines that perform computations
on an input by moving through a series of states or configurations. At each state
of the computation, a transition function determines the next configuration on the
basis of a finite portion of the present configuration. As a result, once the

AUTOMATA AND LANGUAGE THEORY

BACKGROUND AND PRELIMINARIES 1
PREPARED BY: DAISY JEAN A. CASTILLO – INSTRUCTOR 1
 computation reaches an accepting configuration, it accepts that input. The most
general and powerful automata is the Turing machine.
The major objective of automata theory is to develop methods by which
computer scientists can describe and analyze the dynamic behavior of discrete
systems, in which signals are sampled periodically. The behavior of these discrete
systems is determined by the way that the system is constructed from storage and
combinational elements.
BRIEF HISTORY
The exciting history of how finite automata became a branch of computer
science illustrates its wide range of applications. The first people to consider the
concept of a finite- state machine included a team of biologists, psychologists,
mathematicians, engineers and some of the first computer scientists. They all
shared a common interest: to model the human thought process, whether in the
brain or in a computer. Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts, two
neurophysiologists, were the first to present a description of finite automata in
1943. Their paper, entitled, "A Logical Calculus Immanent in Nervous Activity",
made significant contributions to the study of neural network theory, theory of
automata, the theory of computation
and cybernetics. Later, two computer
scientists, G.H. Mealy and E.F. Moore,
generalized the theory to a much more
powerful machines in separate papers,
published in 1955-56. The finite state
machines, the Mealy machine and the
Moore machine, are named in
recognition of their work. While the
Mealy machine determines its outputs
through the current state and the input,
the Moore machine's output is based
upon the current state alone.
Warren Sturgis McCulloch.
(1http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_McCulloch)

World-renowned computer scientist Alan Turing conceived

the first "infinite" (or unbounded) model of computation: the
Turing machine, in 1936, to solve the
Entscheindungsproblem. The Turing machine can be thought
of as a finite automaton or control unit equipped with an
infinite storage (memory). Its "memory" consists of an infinite
number of one-dimensional array of cells. Turing's machine is
essentially an abstract model of modern-day computer
Allan Turing
(http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Turing.html

AUTOMATA AND LANGUAGE THEORY

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PREPARED BY: DAISY JEAN A. CASTILLO – INSTRUCTOR 1
 execution and storage, developed in order to provide a precise mathematical
definition of an algorithm or mechanical procedure.
Applications of Automata and Formal Languages
Computer Science students often ask this question, "What are the applications and
uses of Automata theory and formal languages?" Unfortunately, there are some
automata instructors including mine who will respond, "Ok Charlie, that will be your
assignment next meeting. Class anymore questions?"
There are many applications of finite automata and their languages. Some of their
applications include:
1. It serves as a preparation and introduction to circuit design (C. Petzold,
1999).
2. Knowledge of automata is very important in designing compilers (Aho, et.al,
1986).
3. Regular expressions in automata provides a thousand and one uses for
professional programmers (J. Friedl, 2002).
4. Searching for patterns in texts can be carried out efficiently using automata
(M.Chrochemore, et.al, 1999).
5. Automata and its formal languages are useful in natural language
processing (E. Roche, et.al, 1997).
6. Algebraic theory of recognizable language can be developed using
automata theory and its languages (J. Pin, 1986)

PRELIMINARIES
In a normal college setting, the prerequisite of this course is Discrete Structures or
Discrete Mathematics, which covers the basic operation of sets and set notation.
Nevertheless the aim of this section is to provide basic definitions, ideas, review
resources and mathematical ideas necessary for understanding the material in this
book.

REFERENCE

Automata by: C. Laviña, J. Gihuidala and J. Caballero

AUTOMATA AND LANGUAGE THEORY

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PREPARED BY: DAISY JEAN A. CASTILLO – INSTRUCTOR 1