Automata Theory

Part 1: Introduction & NFA

November 2002
 Introduction

 an abstract machine
 a specification with many possible implementations
 issues of functionality (power) and efficiency
 hierarchy of automata corresponds to hierarchy of
grammars
 languages generated by grammars are accepted by
automata
 the computational tasks performed by an automaton are
very closely related to the structures & meanings modelled
by the corresponding grammar.

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 Computing power of automata:

 the simplest automata are only capable of adding numbers

and recognising simple expressions
 more complex automata can evaluate arbitrary expressions
and compile computer programs
 the most powerful automata can perform any computable
task - significantly, there are tasks which cannot be
computed.
 automata theory also reveals limitations on what can be
made efficient.

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 Deterministic Finite Automaton ­ DFA

 The simplest automata - main features:

• finite number of states

• state changes in response to an input symbol
• no choice of move

DFA = (Q,T,F,g)

where Q = set of states, including initial state

T = set of input symbols
F = set of final states, F ⊆ Q
g = transition function, Q × T→ Q mapping
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 DFA

Transition or move defined by,

• g(q,a) = q’
where
q,q’ ∈ Q,
a∈T

a
q q’

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 DFA

 Operation can be represented as a state diagram in which:

- nodes represent states,
- arcs represent transitions or moves,
- the initial state is arrowed,
- and the final states are represented as squares.

a1 a2
q q’ f

Initial state intermediate state final state

f∈F
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 DFA

 State of a DFA changes predictably in response to

an input symbol - so at any time the entire future
behaviour of a DFA is fully determined by
• 1. the current state, q
• 2. the remaining input symbols, x

 Combine these into a pair (q, x) giving a

complete description of current situation.

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 Teletext remote control example

text
tv text
tv
new
 d =  0 …  9
tv tv tv page
d

digit1 digit2 wait

d d

 d

• Pressing the text button followed by three digits causes the appropriate
page to be loaded and displayed.
• Pressing the tv button causes a return to the normal image. 8
 DFA ­ State Transition

 A move can be defined either in terms of the transition function:

g(q,a) = q’
 or, equivalently in terms of how the complete description evolves:
(q,ax) ⇒ (q’,x)
 Note the state change to q’ and the fact that the input symbol a is
read and then dropped.
 A sequence of moves between these complete descriptions is denoted
by ⇒*
 An input string w ∈ T* is accepted by the automaton if there is a finite
sequence of moves such that (q0,w) ⇒* (q’,λ) for some q’ ∈ F ,
i.e.
the automaton is in a final state when the input string is exhausted (λ).
 The language L(A) defined by an automaton A is the set of strings
accepted by it, (a similar concept to the language generated by a
grammar). 9
 Parity tester example

 Q = {q0,q1}, F={q1}, T={0,1}

where q0, q1 represent odd and even parity states
respectively (binary input). Transition function is
defined as follows:
Odd­parity tester
• g(q0,0) = q0
• g(q0,1) = q1 0 0
1
• g(q1,0) = q1 q0 q1
• g(q1,1) = q0 1

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 Binary adder DFA example

 Note that a DFA halts when its input string is exhausted (or
when no move is possible for a given (state, input) pair),
and not just because it has entered a final state. Some
machines can also generate an output for every move. Let
the output vocabulary be T*.
(0,0)→0 (1,1)→1 T = { ( 0 ,0), ( 0,1), (1,0), (1,1) }, T ′ = {0 ,1}

(1,1)→ 0
input: 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
q0 q1
input: 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
(0,0)→ 1 state: q 0 q1 q 1 q0 q 1 q1 q1 q 0
(0,1)→1 (1,0)→1 (0,1)→0 (1,0)→0 output: 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

The state diagram shows the output to the right of each arrow.
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 Binary Multiply by 3

0 →0 1→1
T = T ′ = {0 ,1}
1→1 1→0

q0 q1 q2 input: 0 0 1 1 0
0→1 0→0 state: q 0 q1 q 2 q1 q 0 q0
carry 0 carry 1 carry 2 output: 1 0 0 1 0

In general, a DFA to multiply by n will require n states.

No DFA can multiply an arbitrary pair of numbers.

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 Non­deterministic Finite Automaton ­ NFA

 Finite automaton with a choice of moves: there may be

more than one possible move for a given (state,input) pair.
 The transition function is many-valued:
g(q,a) ⊆ Q for q ∈ Q, q ∈ T
 The machine “chooses” a move from the set of
possibilities, either at random or else by some mysterious
unexplained process.
 Non-deterministic automata are not really practical
machines, but they have great theoretical importance, and
lead to some useful general ideas and procedures.

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 NFA

 Does this non-determinism increase the computing power

of the machine?

The answer for a finite automaton is no:

 Given any NFA it is always possible to construct an

equivalent DFA. Equivalent here means that the machines
accept the same strings, and generate the same output (if
any).

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 NFA

 If the set of states of the NFA is Q, then the states of the

DFA are subsets of Q, with initial state {q0}. Extend the
transition function to subsets of Q by defining,
G(R,a) = ∪ g(q,a) for R ⊆ Q, a ∈ T
q∈R
 Thus, make transition unique by forming the union of all the
possibilities in order to construct a new set (state) to go to
in response to an input symbol.

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 NFA to DFA conversion

 The non-determinism in the arcs in the original machine is

embedded within the states of the new machine. We
construct the states of the DFA recursively.

 First define states Ra = G({q0},a) = g(q0,a) for all a, then

more new states Rab = G(Ra,b) for all a,b, and so on until no
new states are generated.

 The final states of the DFA are those states R for which
R∩F≠∅

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 NFA to DFA conversion

 Example:

R0 R1 R4 b
b b
a {q1, q2}
a {q0} a {q1,q4}
q1
q0 b b b
a b
a a a R5 b
b q4
{q4}
{q3} R2 b a R6
b R3
q3 q2 {q2} {q1}
a a
NFA DFA a

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