An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata

An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, Sixth Edition provides an accessible, student-friendly presentation of all material essential to an introductory Theory of Computation course.

Written to address the fundamentals of formal languages, automata, and computability, the text is designed to familiarize students with the foundations and principles of computer science and to strengthen the students’ ability to carry out formal and rigorous mathematical arguments.

The author, Peter Linz, continues to offer a straightforward, uncomplicated treatment of formal languages and automata and avoids excessive mathematical detail allowing students to focus on and understand the key underlying principles.

New & Key Features:

• An accessible approach allows students to clearly understand key content while retaining the appropriate mathematical notations and theorems required for the course

• New Chapter Synopsis, found at the end of each chapter, recap important concepts found in the text

• Every major idea is preceded by a motivating example, drawn from applications, that introduces the concept and illustrates its usefulness

• The exercise section has been restructured and improved with accessible exercises more closely tied to examples in the text

• An enhanced Instructor’s Manual includes more detailed solutions to problems found in the text

Table of Contents

1- Introduction to The Theory of Computation

2- Finite Automata

3- Regular Languages and Regular Grammars

4- Properties of Regular Languages

5- Context-Free Languages

6- Simplification of Context-Free Grammars and Normal Forms

7- Pushdown Automata

8- Properties of Context-Free Languages

9- Turing Machines

10- Other Models of Turing Machines

11- A Hierarchy of Formal Languages and Automata

12- Limits of Algorithmic Computation

13- Other Models of Computation

14- An Overview of Computational Complexity

Appendix A: Finite-State Transducers

Appendix 8: Jflap: A Useful Tool

Answers Solutions and Hints for Selected Exercises

References For Further Reading

About the Author

Peter Linz, Professor Emeritus, University of California, DavisPeter Linz is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Davis.Linz received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.Professor Linz’s research emphasizes the development of a theory of numerical analysis that can be used in the construction of reliable numerical methods used in the design of problem-solving environments for scientific computing.Linz has released the seventh edition of An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, as well as Exploring Numerical Methods: An Introduction to Scientific Computing.