Pushdown

Automata
Ms. Khushboo Pandey
Assistant Professor
Introduction

 What is Pushdown Automata?

• Definition: "A Pushdown Automaton (PDA) is a type of
automaton that employs a stack to provide additional
memory beyond the finite amount available in the state
transitions."
• Importance: PDAs are crucial for recognizing context-
free languages and are used in parsing and syntax
analysis.
Components of PDA

• Input Tape: Contains the input string to be processed.

• Stack: Provides additional memory by storing symbols.
• Control Unit: Manages state transitions based on the
input symbol and stack top.
 tape

tape head
stack head

finite
stack
control
 a l p h a b e t

The tape is divided into finitely many cells.

Each cell contains a symbol in an alphabet
Σ.
The stack head always scans the top
symbol of the stack. It performs two
basic operations:

Push: add a new symbol at the top.

Pop: read and remove the top symbol.

Alphabet of stack symbols: Γ

 a

• The head scans at a cell on the tape and

can read a symbol on the cell. In each
move, the head can move to the right cell.
Formal Definition

 PDA is defined as a 7-tuple

•Q: Finite set of states
•Σ: Input alphabet
•Γ: Stack alphabet
•δ: Transition function
•q0​: Initial state
•Z0​: Initial stack symbol
•F: Set of accepting states
How PDA Works

 PDA Mechanism
• Transition Functions: Defines how the PDA moves from
one state to another, modifies the stack based on the
current input symbol and stack top.
• Stack Operations:
• Push: Add a symbol to the stack.
• Pop: Remove the top symbol from the stack.
• No-op: No operation on the stack.
• State Transitions: Example transition:
(q1,a,Z0)→(q2,AZ0)
Example of PDA

• Recognizing the language L={anbn∣n≥0}

• Step 1: Read 'a', push 'A' onto the stack.
• Step 2: Repeat for each 'a'.
• Step 3: Read 'b', pop 'A' from the stack.
• Step 4: Repeat for each 'b'.
• Step 5: Accept if the stack is empty at the end.
Applications of PDA

•Parsing and Compilers: PDAs are used

in the syntax analysis phase of compilers
to parse programming languages.
•Context-Free Languages: PDAs are
capable of recognizing context-free
languages, which are crucial for
programming languages.
•Real-world Examples: XML parsing,
arithmetic expression evaluation.
Comparison with Finite
Automata and Turing Machines
•Finite Automata: Limited to regular
languages, no stack memory.
•Pushdown Automata: Recognizes
context-free languages, uses stack
memory.
•Turing Machines: More powerful,
recognizes recursively enumerable
languages, uses an infinite tape.
Limitations of PDA

•PDAs cannot recognize all context-

sensitive languages.
•Limited to a single stack; more
complex languages require more
powerful models like Turing
Machines.
•Cannot handle certain types of
nested structures.