CSE 105
THEORY OF COMPUTATION
Fall 2017
http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/classes/fa17/cse105-a/
Today's learning goals Sipser Ch 1.4, 2.1
• Apply the Pumping Lemma in proofs of nonregularity
• Identify some nonregular sets
• Define context-free grammars
• Test if a specific string can be generated by a given
context-free grammar
Pumping Lemma Sipser p. 78 Theorem 1.70
# states in DFA
recognizing A
Transition labels
along loop
Proof strategy
To prove that a language L is not regular
• Assume towards a contradiction that it is.
• Use Pumping Lemma to give p, a pumping length for L
• Show that p actually isn't a pumping length for L.
•
• Conclude that L is not regular.
Another example
Claim: The set {anbman | m,n≥ 0} is not regular.
Proof: …Consider the string s = ……
You must pick s carefully: we want |s|≥p and s in L.
Now we will demonstrate that "s cannot be pumped", thereby contradicting the
assumption that p is a pumping length.
Which choices of s cannot be used to complete the proof?
A. s = apbp B. s = abpa C. s = apbpap D. s = apbap
E. None of the above (all of these choices work).
Another example
Claim: The set {anbman | m,n≥ 0} is not regular.
Proof: …Consider the string s = ……
You must pick s carefully: we want |s|≥p and s in L. Now we will
prove a contradiction with the statement "s can be pumped"
Consider an arbitrary choice of x,y,z such that s = xyz, |y|>0, |
xy|≤p. This means that...What properties are guaranteed about x,y,z?
Consider i=… In this case, xyiz = …, which is not in L, a
contradiction with the Pumping Lemma applying to L and so L
is not regular.
Regular sets: not the end of the story
• Many nice / simple / important sets are not regular
• Limitation of the finite-state automaton model
• Can't "count"
• Can only remember finitely far into the past
• Can't backtrack
• Must make decisions in "real-time"
• We know computers are more powerful than this model…
Which conditions should we relax?
The next model of computation
• Idea: allow some memory of unbounded size
• How?
• Generalization of regular expressions Context-free grammars
• Generalization for DFA Pushdown Automata
Birds' eye view
All languages over Σ
Context-free languages over Σ
Regular languages over Σ
Finite languages over Σ
Context-free grammar Sipser Def 2.2, page 102
(V, Σ, R, S)
Variables: finite set of (usually upper case) variables V
Terminals: finite set of alphabet symbols Σ
Rules/Productions: finite set of allowed transformations R
Start variable: origination of each derivation S
Context-free language Sipser p. 104
The language generated by a CFG (V, Σ, R, S) is
{ w in Σ* | Starting with the Start variable and applying one or more
rules, can derive w on RHS}
If G = (V, Σ, R, S) Notation:
the language
generated by G is Terminology: sequence of
denoted L(G). rule applications is
derivation
An example?
Consider the CFG
({S}, {0}, R, S)
where R is the following set of rules
S 0S
S0
Is this a well-formed definition?
A. No: there's more than one rule
B. No: the same LHS gets sent to two different strings.
C. No: one of the string in the RHS has both variables and literals
D. Yes.
E. I don't know.
Context-free language Sipser p. 104
For CFG G = (V, Σ, R, S), L(G) = { w in Σ* | Starting with the Start
variable and applying one or more rules, can derive w on RHS}.
What is the language of the CFG ({S}, {0}, R, S) with
R = {S 0S, S 0} ?
A. {0} B. {0, 0S} C. {0, 00, 000, …}
D. {ε, 0, 00, 000, …} E. I don't know.
Context-free language Sipser p. 104
What is the language of the CFG ({S}, {0,1}, R, S) with
R = the set of rules
S 0S
S 0S | 1S | ε
S 1S
Sε
A. L(0*1*) B. L(0* U 1*) C. L( (0 U 1) *)
D. L ( (0*1*) )* E. I don't know.
Designing a CFG
Can CFGs
Building a CFG to describe the language describe simple
sets?
{ abba }
V = { S, T, V, W }
Σ = { a,b }
R = { S aT T bV V bW W a }
S
Designing a CFG
Can CFGs
Building a CFG to describe the language describe simple
sets?
{ abba }
V= What's the set of terminals of this CFG?
Σ= A. {a,b}
B. V U S U Σ
R= C. {S, a, b}
D. {a,b, ε}
S= E. I don't know.
Designing a CFG
Can CFGs
Building a CFG to describe the language describe simple
sets?
{ abba }
( { S, T, V, W } , { a,b } , { S aT , T bV , V bW , W a }, S )
OR
( { S } , { a,b } , { S abba } , S )
Is every regular language a CFL?
• Approach 1: start with an arbitrary DFA M, build a CFG
that generates L(M).
• Approach 2: build CFGs for {a}, {ε}, {}; then show that the
class of CFL is closed under the regular operations
(union, concatenation, Kleene star).
Approach 1
Claim: Given any DFA M, there is a CFG whose language is L(M).
Construction:
Trace computation using variables to denote state
Given M = (Q,Σ,δ,q0,F) a DFA, define the CFG
V = { Si | qi is in Q }
Σ
R = { Si aSj | δ(qi,a) = qj } U { Si ε | qi is in F}
S = S0 Then prove correctness…
Approach 2
If G1 = (V1, Σ, R1, S1) and G2 = (V2, Σ, R2, S2) are CFGs
and G1 describes L1, G2 describes L2, how can we combine
the grammars so we describe L1 U L2 ?
A. G = (V1 U V2, Σ, R1 U R2, S1 U S2)
B. G = (V1 x V2, Σ, R1 x R2, (S1, S2) )
C. We might not always be able to: the class of CFG
describable languages might not be closed under union.
D. I don't know.
Approach 2
If G1 = (V1, Σ, R1, S1) and G2 = (V2, Σ, R2, S2) are CFGs
and G1 describes L1, G2 describes L2, how can we combine
the grammars so we describe L1 U L2 ?
Designing a CFG
We know this
Building a CFG to describe the language set is not
regular!
{ anbn | n ≥ 0 }
Designing a CFG
Building a CFG to describe the language
{ anbn | n ≥ 0 }
One approach:
- what is shortest string in the language?
- how do we go from shorter strings to longer ones?
Designing a CFG
Building a CFG to describe the language
{ anbn | n ≥ 0 }
V={S} Which rules would complete this CFG?
Σ = { a,b }
A. S ε | ab
R= B. S ε | aS | Sb
C. S ε | aSb
S D. We need another variable other than S.
E. I don't know.
Designing a CFG
Also not a
Building a CFG to describe the language regular set
{ 0n1m2n | n,m ≥ 0 }
Hint: work from the outside in.
Designing a CFG
Also not a
Building a CFG to describe the language regular set
{ 0n1m2n | n,m ≥ 0 }
Hint: work from the outside in.
V = { S, T }
Σ = { 0,1,2 }
R = { S 0S2 | T | ε , T 1T | ε }
S
