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What is an Automaton a Quick Intro

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8 views

What is an Automaton a Quick Intro

Uploaded by

soumenpatra0987
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is an Automaton?

A Quick Intro
Definition Purpose Types

An automaton is an abstract self- Automata model computation. They There are many types of automata.
operating machine. This includes help understand computability and These include Finite Automata,
finite state machines. complexity. Pushdown Automata and Turing
Machines.
Deterministic vs. Non-Deterministic
Deterministic Non-Deterministic

For each state and input, there is only one possible next For each state and input, there can be multiple possible
state. next states.
NFA: Definition and
Components
1 States 2 Alphabet
A finite set of states where A finite set of input symbols.
the automaton can be.

3 Transition Function
Defines how the automaton moves between states based on
input.
NFA: State Diagrams and Transition Tables
State Diagrams Transition Tables

Visual representation of states and transitions. Arrows Tabular representation of the transition function. Rows are
indicate possible transitions. states and columns are inputs.
How NFAs Process Input
Strings
Start State
Begin at the designated start state.

Input Reading
Read the input string symbol by symbol.

Transition
Move between states based on the transition function.

Acceptance
If any path leads to an accept state, the string is accepted.
NFA Example: Accepting
Strings with "ab"
States Transitions
Include start, intermediate, Moves to the next state on 'a'
and accept states. then 'b'.

Acceptance
Accept if "ab" is a substring.
NFA vs. DFA: Strengths and Weaknesses
NFAs DFAs

• Simpler to design. • Easier to implement.


• Can be more concise. • Deterministic processing.
• May require more computation. • Can have larger state space.
Applications of NFAs in
Computer Science

Pattern Matching Lexical Analysis Text Search


Used in regular Help in tokenizing Efficiently search for
expression source code. patterns.
matching.
Conclusion: NFA Key
Takeaways and Next
Steps
1 Key Takeaways
NFAs provide a flexible model of computation. They are useful
for pattern recognition.

2 Next Steps
Learn about DFA minimization and NFA to DFA conversion.

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