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 [Link]:
• 03 [Link]:
- 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:

[Link]

[Link]
 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 ([Link]
• SPIN
• PRISIM
• TLC, etc
 Modelling & Verification Tools

• Recommended Tools:
• UPPAAL

[Link]

• 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
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