Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF
ENGINEERING
COMPUTER SCIENCE
ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Engineering
Theory of Computation (CST-353)

Topic: Equivalence of Finite

DISCOVER . LEARN .
Automata
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 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Learning Objectives & Outcomes

Objective:
• To understand the concept of Finite Automata, and
equivalence of Finite Automata.

Outcome:
• Student will understand the
 Equivalence of DFA and NDFA
 NFA with null transition

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 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Equivalence of DFA & NFA

• Theorem:
– A language L is accepted by a DFA if and only if it is
Should be accepted by an NFA.
true for
any L • Proof:
1. If part:
• Prove by showing every NFA can be converted to an
equivalent DFA (in the next few slides…)

2. Only-if part is trivial:

• Every DFA is a special case of an NFA where each state has
exactly one transition for every input symbol. Therefore, if L is
accepted by a DFA, it is accepted by a corresponding NFA.

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 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Proof for the if-part

• If-part: A language L is accepted by a DFA if it is
accepted by an NFA
• rephrasing…
• Given any NFA N, we can construct a DFA D such
that L(N)=L(D)
• How to convert an NFA into a DFA?
– Observation: In an NFA, each transition maps to a subset
of states
– Idea: Represent:
each “subset of NFA_states”  a single “DFA_state”

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 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

NFA to DFA by subset construction

• Let N = {QN,∑,δN,q0,FN}
• Goal: Build D={QD,∑,δD,{q0},FD} s.t. L(D)=L(N)
• Construction:
1. QD= all subsets of QN (i.e., power set)
2. FD=set of subsets S of QN s.t. S∩FN≠Φ
3. δD: for each subset S of QN and for each input symbol a
in ∑:
• δD(S,a) = U δN(p,a)

p in s

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NFA to DFA construction: Example

Idea: To avoid
• L = {w | w ends in 01} enumerating all of
1 0 power set, do “lazy
creation of states”
NFA: DFA: 0 1
0,1 {q0} {q0,q1} {q0,q2}
0
0 1 1
q0 q1 q2

δD 0 1 δD 0 1
δN 0 1
Ø Ø Ø {q0} {q0,q1} {q0}
q0 {q0,q1} {q0}
{q0} {q0,q1} {q0} {q0,q1} {q0,q1} {q0,q2}
q1 Ø {q2}
{q1} Ø {q2} *{q0,q2} {q0,q1} {q0}
*q2 Ø Ø
*{q2} Ø Ø
0. Enumerate all possible subsets
{q0,q1} {q0,q1} {q0,q2}
1. Determine
*{q0,q2} {q0,q1} {q0}
transitions
2. Retain only those states
*{q1,q2} Ø {q2}
reachable from {q0}
*{q0,q1,q2} {q0,q1} {q0,q2}
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NFA to DFA: Repeating the example

•
using
L = {w | w ends in 01}
LAZY CREATION
1 0
NFA: DFA: 0 1
0,1 {q0} {q0,q1} {q0,q2}
0
0 1 1
q0 q1 q2

δN 0 1 δD 0 1
q0 {q0,q1} {q0} {q0} {q0,q1} {q0}
q1 Ø {q2} {q0,q1} {q0,q1} {q0,q2}
*q2 Ø Ø *{q0,q2} {q0,q1} {q0}
Main Idea: Introduce
states as you go(on a
need basis)

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Correctness of subset construction

Theorem: If D is the DFA constructed from NFA N by subset
construction, then L(D)=L(N)
• Proof:
– Show that δD({q0},w) ≡ δN(q0,w} , for all w
– Using induction on w’s length:
• Let w = xa
• δD({q0},xa) ≡ δD( δN(q0,x}, a ) ≡ δN(q0,w}

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A bad case where #states(DFA)>>#states(NFA)

• L = {w | w is a binary string s.t., the kth symbol
from its end is a 1}

– NFA has k+1 states

– But an equivalent DFA needs to have at least 2k states

(Pigeon hole principle)

– m holes and >m pigeons
• => at least one hole has to contain two or more pigeons

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Applications

• Text indexing
– inverted indexing
– For each unique word in the database, store all locations
that contain it using an NFA or a DFA
• Find pattern P in text T
– Example: Google querying
• Extensions of this idea:
– PATRICIA tree, suffix tree

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A few subtle properties of DFAs and NFAs

• The machine never really terminates.
– It is always waiting for the next input symbol or making transitions.
• The machine decides when to consume the next symbol from the
input and when to ignore it.
– (but the machine can never skip a symbol)
• => A transition can happen even without really consuming an input
symbol (think of consuming  as a free token) – if this happens, then
it becomes an -NFA (see next few slides).
• A single transition cannot consume more than one (non-) symbol.

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FA with -Transitions
• We can allow explicit -transitions in finite
automata
– i.e., a transition from one state to another state without
consuming any additional input symbol
– Makes it easier sometimes to construct NFAs

Definition:  -NFAs are those NFAs with at least

one explicit -transition defined.
•  -NFAs have one more column in their transition
table

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 Example of an -NFA

L = {w | w is empty, or if non-empty will end in 01}

0,1

0 1
• -closure of a state q,
q0 q1 q2 ECLOSE(q), is the set of

all states (including
start q’0 itself) that can be
δE 0 1
 reached from q by
*q’0 Ø Ø {q’0,q0} repeatedly making an
q0 {q0,q1} {q0} {q0} arbitrary number of -
q1 Ø {q2} {q1} transitions.
*q2 Ø Ø {q2}

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 Example of an -NFA

To simulate any transition:

Step 1) Go to all immediate destination states.
Step 2) From there go to all their -closure states as well.

L = {w | w is empty, or if non-empty will end in 01}

0,1

0 1
Simulate for w=101:
q0 q1 q2
 q0’
 
start q’0
q0’ q0
1 1

δE 0 1
Ø q0
*q’0 Ø Ø {q’0,q0} x 0
ECLOSE(q’0)
q0 {q0,q1} {q0} {q0} q1
ECLOSE(q0) 1
q1 Ø {q2} {q1}
q2
*q2 Ø Ø {q2}

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 Example of another -NFA
To simulate any transition:
Step 1) Go to all immediate destination states.
Step 2) From there go to all their -closure states as well.

0,1 Simulate for w=101: ?

0 1
q0 q1 q2
  1

start q’0 q3

δE 0 1

*q’0 Ø Ø {q’0,q0,q3}
q0 {q0,q1} {q0} {q0,q3}
q1 Ø {q2} {q1}
*q2 Ø Ø {q2}
q3 Ø {q2} {q3}

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Equivalency of DFA, NFA, -NFA

• Theorem: A language L is accepted by some -NFA if
and only if L is accepted by some DFA

• Implication:
– DFA ≡ NFA ≡ -NFA
– (all accept Regular Languages)

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Eliminating -transitions
Let E = {QE,∑,δE,q0,FE} be an -NFA
Goal: To build DFA D={QD,∑,δD,{qD},FD} s.t. L(D)=L(E)
Construction:
1. QD= all reachable subsets of QE factoring in -closures
2. qD = ECLOSE(q0)
3. FD=subsets S in QD s.t. S∩FE≠Φ
4. δD: for each subset S of QE and for each input symbol a∑:
• Let R= U δE(p,a) // go to destination states

p in s
• δD(S,a) = U ECLOSE(r) // from there, take a union
of all their
-closures r in R

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 Example: -NFA  DFA

L = {w | w is empty, or if non-empty will end in 01}

0,1

0 1
q0 q1 q2

start q’0


δE 0 1
δD 0 1
*q’0 Ø Ø {q’0,q0}
*{q’0,q0}
q0 {q0,q1} {q0} {q0}
…
q1 Ø {q2} {q1}
*q2 Ø Ø {q2}

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 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Summary
• Equivalency of DFA & NFA
• Removal of redundant states and including dead states
• -transitions in NFA
• Pigeon hole principles
• Text searching applications

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References
• Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite-state_machine
• https://www.safaribooksonline.com
• http://studentsfocus.com/
• http://www.francisxavier.ac.in/

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THANK YOU

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