Finite Automata
Finite Automata (FA) is the simplest machine to recognize patterns. The
finite automata or finite state machine is an abstract machine which have five
elements or tuple. It has a set of states and rules for moving from one state
to another but it depends upon the applied input symbol. Basically, it is an
abstract model of digital computer. Following figure shows some essential
features of a general automation.
Figure: Features of Finite Automata
The above figure shows following features of automata:
1. Input
2. Output
3. States of automata
4. State relation
5. Output relation
A Finite Automata consists of the following:
Q: Finite set of states.
Σ: set of Input Symbols.
q: Initial state.
F: set of Final States.
δ: Transition Function.
Formal specification of machine is
{ Q, Σ, q, F, δ}.
FA is characterized into two types:
Fig: 1
Fig: 2
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Finite Automata (Alt. Definition)
o Finite automata are used to recognize patterns.
o It takes the string of symbol as input and changes its state accordingly. When
the desired symbol is found, then the transition occurs.
o At the time of transition, the automata can either move to the next state or
stay in the same state.
o Finite automata have two states, Accept state or Reject state. When the input
string is processed successfully, and the automata reached its final state, then
it will accept.
Formal Definition of FA
A finite automaton is a collection of 5-tuple (Q, ∑, δ, q0, F), where:
1. Q: finite set of states
2. ∑: finite set of the input symbol
3. q0: initial state
4. F: final state
5. δ: Transition function
Types of Automata:
There are two types of finite automata:
1. DFA (deterministic finite automata)
2. NFA (non-deterministic finite automata)
Deterministic Finite Automata (DFA)
DFA consists of 5 tuples {Q, Σ, q, F, δ}.
Q: set of all states.
Σ: set of input symbols. (Symbols which machine takes as
input)
q: Initial state. (Starting state of a machine)
F: set of final state.
δ: Transition Function, defined as δ: Q X Σ --> Q.
{
A deterministic finite automaton M is a 5-tuple, (Q, Σ, δ, q0, F), consisting of
a finite set of states Q
a finite set of input symbols called the alphabet Σ
a transition function δ : Q × Σ → Q
an initial or start state
a set of accept states
}
In a DFA, for a particular input character, the machine goes to one
state only. A transition function is defined on every state for every
input symbol. Also, in DFA null (or ε) move is not allowed, i.e., DFA
cannot change state without any input character.
1) For example, below DFA with Σ = {0, 1} accepts all strings ending with
0.
Figure: DFA with Σ = {0, 1}
One important thing to note is, there can be many possible DFAs
for a pattern. A DFA with minimum number of states is generally
preferred.
Nondeterministic Finite Automata (NFA)
NFA is similar to DFA except following additional features:
1. Null (or ε) move is allowed i.e., it can move forward without reading
symbols.
2. Ability to transmit to any number of states for a particular input.
However, these above features don’t add any power to NFA. If we compare
both in terms of power, both are equivalent.
Due to above additional features, NFA has a different transition function, rest
is same as DFA.
δ: Transition Function
δ: Q X (Σ U ε) --> 2 ^ Q.
For example, below is a NFA for above problem
NFA
One important thing to note is, in NFA, if any path for an input string
leads to a final state, then the input string accepted. For example, in
above NFA, there are multiple paths for input string “00”. Since, one of the
paths leads to a final state, “00” is accepted by above NFA.
Justification:
Since all the tuples in DFA and NFA are the same except for one of the
tuples, which is Transition Function (δ)
In case of DFA
δ: Q X Σ --> Q
In case of NFA
δ: Q X Σ --> 2Q
Now if you observe you’ll find out Q X Σ –> Q is part of Q X Σ –> 2 Q.
In the RHS side, Q is the subset of 2 Q which indicates Q is contained in 2 Q or
Q is a part of 2 Q, however, the reverse isn’t true. So mathematically, we can
conclude that every DFA is NFA but not vice-versa. Yet there is a way to
convert an NFA to DFA, so there exists an equivalent DFA for every
NFA.
1. Both NFA and DFA have same power and each NFA can be translated
into a DFA.
2. There can be multiple final states in both DFA and NFA.
3. NFA is more of a theoretical concept.
4. DFA is used in Lexical Analysis in Compiler.
Transition Table
The transition table is basically a tabular representation of the transition function. It takes two
arguments (a state and a symbol) and returns a state (the "next state").
A transition table is represented by the following things:
o Columns correspond to input symbols.
o Rows correspond to states.
o Entries correspond to the next state.
o The start state is denoted by an arrow with no source.
o The accept state is denoted by a star.
Example 1:
Solution:
Transition table of given DFA is as follows:
Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1
→q0 q1 q2
q1 q0 q2
*q2 q2 q2
Explanation:
o In the above table, the first column indicates all the current states. Under
column 0 and 1, the next states are shown.
o The first row of the transition table can be read as, when the current state is
q0, on input 0 the next state will be q1 and on input 1 the next state will be
q2.
o In the second row, when the current state is q1, on input 0, the next state will
be q0, and on 1 input the next state will be q2.
o In the third row, when the current state is q2 on input 0, the next state will be
q2, and on 1 input the next state will be q2.
o The arrow marked to q0 indicates that it is a start state and circle marked to
q2 indicates that it is a final state.
Example 2:
Solution:
Transition table of given NFA is as follows:
Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1
→q0 q0 q1
q1 q1, q2 q2
q2 q1 q3
*q3 q2 q2
Explanation:
o The first row of the transition table can be read as, when the current state is q0, on
input 0 the next state will be q0 and on input 1 the next state will be q1.
o In the second row, when the current state is q1, on input 0 the next state will be
either q1 or q2, and on 1 input the next state will be q2.
o In the third row, when the current state is q2 on input 0, the next state will be q1, and
on 1 input the next state will be q3.
o In the fourth row, when the current state is q3 on input 0, the next state will be q2,
and on 1 input the next state will be q2.
