Frank Stephan's detailed lecture notes on the theory of computation cover quite a wide spectrum of issues. The document starts with the basics of sets and regular expressions, then goes ahead to grammars and the Chomsky hierarchy, helping one in understanding the structure of languages. Then it discusses finite automaton and nondeterministic finite automata, giving all details about the processing of strings by these models. The notes also treat the composition of languages, normal forms, and algorithms used in computation. Membership testing, whether deterministic or nondeterministic, is also explained, together with the proof of how models of computation handle language recognition. Finally, the approach is important when considering complexity, the problems that turn out undecidable, showing thus the intrinsic limits of computation. This is an important resource concerning formal languages, automata theory, and basic bounds of computability.
Author(s): Frank Stephan
176Pages
These are lecture notes from the University of Toronto, giving a very brief introduction to some of the basic ideas in the theory of computation. We start with some basic topics: induction and recursion; the correctness of programs, that must be understood if more advanced computational theories are to be enlightened. Then we go on to develop the topics of regular languages and finite automata, giving the basic models and techniques used in analysing and recognising regular languages. The coverage is designed to provide students with a reasonably solid grounding in the basic ideas of the theory of computation and to render a clear and thorough exposition of the fundamental concepts underlying more advanced topics.
Author(s): University of Toronto
75Pages
Authored by Margaret Fleck and Sariel Har Peled, this is a wide set of lecture notes on the theory of computation. These start with the very basic objects such as strings and deterministic finite automata (DFAs) before moving up to regular expressions and nondeterministic automata. This course covers formal language theory, including some advanced topics such as Turing machines, decidability, and several language-related problems. It is intended that these notes afford a comprehensively broad yet deep exploration of the formal languages, automata, and computability material with an excellent bibliography that creates interest among students and researchers.
Author(s): Margaret Fleck and Sariel Har Peled
345Pages
Introduction to the Theory of Computing is a course that undertakes an intensive study of the underpinnings of the theory of computation. Beginning with mathematical foundations, the course moves into regular operations and expressions, and then into proofs on languages being nonregular and other further treatments on regular languages. Other important topics include parse trees, ambiguity, Chomsky normal form, pushdown automata, and Turing machines. Further, the PDF discusses various types of Turing machines, the stack machine model, and undecidable languages, making it a great starting point in the topic of computability.
Author(s): University of Waterloo
227Pages
This book surveys some of the most relevant theoretical concepts with computational models. The limits of computation, undecidability of the Halting Problem, several automata models, including both deterministic and nondeterministic finite-state automata, pushdown automata, and Turing machines, are introduced. The ending is dedicated to computational complexity, with NP-Completeness, approximation algorithms, and hardness of approximation.
Author(s): Kyle Burke
114Pages
This book, written for graduates, covers general subjects on computational models, logic circuits, and memory machines, with advanced subjects being parallel computation, circuit complexity, and space-time trade-offs; therefore, it's a very thorough course on computational models and their complexities.
Author(s): John E. Savage, Brown University
698Pages
This lecture note from S R Engineering College offers a detailed introduction to key concepts in the Theory of Computation. It begins with Properties of Binary Operations, exploring fundamental mathematical operations and their essential properties like associativity and commutativity. The section on Concatenation Properties covers how strings can be joined and the characteristics of such operations, including associativity and the identity element. Finite Automata are thoroughly discussed, explaining both deterministic and nondeterministic (NFA) models, and their role in recognizing regular languages. The notes also cover Formal Languages, categorizing them into regular, context-free, context-sensitive, and recursively enumerable types based on complexity. Finally, the Pumping Lemma is introduced as a critical tool for proving the non-regularity and non-context-freeness of languages by demonstrating how strings in these languages can be decomposed and manipulated.
Author(s): S R Engineering College
155Pages
This is an all-inclusive course on computational theory provided in this online resource by Wikiversity. It begins with Finite State Machines–their definitions, operations, and minimization techniques. The notes also cover closure and nondeterminism—how these properties may affect computational models. Their discussion greatly involves the Pumping Lemma, proving language property. The book also surveys Context-Free Languages and their connection to Compilers and introduces Pushdown Machines emphatically and focuses on their importance in parsing. It contains important material on the CYK algorithm for parsing and the more basic problems of Undecidability. It also surveys Turing Machines, the Halting Problem, and more general areas of Complexity Theory, including Quantified Boolean Formulae, Savitch's Theorem, and Space Hierarchy. The notes end with the Recursion Theorem, and it can be considered as a landmark in the theoretical study of the science of computers.
Author(s): Wikiversity
NAPages
These broad-ranging notes introduce some of the fundamental concepts in the theory of computation. The set starts with a brief introduction to formal languages and their classification, including regular languages and sets. In these notes, finite automata are introduced, discussing their structure and role in recognizing regular languages. This is followed by Context-Free Grammars and Pushdown Automata, focusing on the role in defining and recognizing context-free languages. This will cover Turing Machines, the original model of computation; a review of the Chomsky Hierarchy from a perspective on the various levels of languages about their power of generation. The conclusion deals with an overview of Complexity Theory, mainly dealing with the P and NP problems. It gives insight into the computational complexity in general and into the famous P vs NP questions.
Author(s): BYU Computer Science Department
NAPages
These lecture notes give an introduction to the more fundamental parts of the theory of computation and begin by presenting finite automata: starting with deterministic and nondeterministic finite automata, their equivalence, and practical implications of these concepts. The lecture notes include sections on regular expressions and their relationship to finite automata, non-regular languages, and the Pumping Lemma to prove non-regularity. Myhill-Nerode Theorem: For understanding recognition of languages. The notes go further to present context-free languages, including their ambiguity and properties of closure. The pumping lemma for context-free languages is also discussed, while decidable and recognizable languages are informed by a deep underpinning in computational theory.
Author(s): Mahesh Viswanathan
NAPages
This is an advanced set of notes on the analysis of algorithms and their complexity. Of interest in these notes are the topics on string matching algorithms, such as Knuth-Morris-Pratt and Boyer-Moore. Suffix trees and dictionary techniques are also part of the discussion here. Among the methods to be shown in a way of analyzing algorithm efficiency are amortized analysis and randomized algorithms. It also treats the pairing technique, Ziv-Lempel coding; further topics on statistical adversaries, portfolio selection, and reservation-price policies that are objects of other techniques discussed herein.
Author(s): Seoul National University
NAPages
