Turing Machines

Chapter 12 textbook

Prepared by LC Kwek
Edited by NHAA Nov 2019
 Objectives

• In this module we will

• explore the limitations of FSM’s
• specify a Turing Machine’s components
• see TM in Operation
• view examples of TM - a bit inverter, a binary number incrementor

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 Limitations of FSM (1/3)

• Not all things that can be computed could be computed with an FSA
• FSA below can check for strings a(a|b)*b

a, b

0 1 2
a b
• However, there is no way to build an FSA to check if there are
precisely the same number of a’s and b’s
• Let’s try to build a FSA!

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 Limitations of FSM (2/3)

• FSA that accepts 0 a’s and b’s

• FSA that accepts a difference of 0 or 1 a’s and b’s

a a
1a 0 1b
b b

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 Limitations of FSM (3/3)

• FSA that accepts a difference of 0, 1, or 2 a’s and b’s

a a a a
2a 1a 0 1b 2b
b b b b

• It is a never-ending process! An infinite state automata is needed!

a a a a a a
... 3a 2a 1a 0 1b 2b 3b ...
b b b b b b

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 The Turing Machine (1/8)

• A Turing machine is a theoretical computing machine invented by

Alan Turing (1937) to serve as an idealized model for mathematical
calculation
• It consists of an infinite paper tape, a read/write head and a finite
state machine controller

tape
read/write
FSM head
FSM
controller
controller
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 The Turing Machine (2/8)

• Tape
• Infinite length
• Divided into squares where each square is blank or contains one symbol
from a finite alphabet of symbols
• Records input and output
• Serves as memory

• Read/Write head
• Reads: symbols from the tape, one square at a time, usually beginning at the
left-most square that contains a symbol
• Writes: symbol to the tape
• Moves: one square to the right or left or stops

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 The Turing Machine (3/8)

• A special FSM controller

• It reads from the current position of the paper tape to obtain its input
• It may write to the current position of the paper tape, leave the symbol
unchanged or erase it
• It may move the read/write head one square to the right or left or leave it in
the same place
• The transitions are labelled with a triple of
• the symbol the head can currently read on the tape
• the symbol the head should write to the tape
• the direction the head should move

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 The Turing Machine (4/8)

• Example:
• The controller starts out in state 0 at the left-most non-blank square

A B A A

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 The Turing Machine (5/8)

• Example: (cont.)
• If it reads ‘A’, ‘A’ remains unchanged, it moves right, and stays in state 0

A B A A
don’t write

move right

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 The Turing Machine (6/8)

• Example: (cont.)
• If it reads ‘B’, it will write an ‘A’, and not move, and change to state 1

ABAA
write ‘A’
don’t move

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 The Turing Machine (7/8)

• Example: (cont.)
• It halts as state 1 is an accepting state

AAAA
STO P

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 The Turing Machine (8/8)

• Instructions for a TM consist in specified conditions under which the

machine will transition between one state and another
• Each instruction of a TM says something like
if (you are in state i) and (you are reading symbol j) then
write symbol k onto the tape
go to state s
move in direction d

• A shorthand notation for instructions

• Current state, Current symbol, Next symbol, Next state, Direction of move

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 Representations of TM (1/2)

• State diagram
• As what we have seen earlier …

• Pseudo-code
• The same TM can be represented as textual program code

0 A then move right, goto 0

B then write A, goto 1
1 halt

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 Representations of TM (2/2)

• Table
• It can be also represented as a table
State Input Write Move New state
0 A A > 0
0 B A Stay 1
1 Any Nothing Stay Halt

• Set of tuples
• The items in a tuple are in the same order as the table
(0,A,A,>,0)
(0,B,A,-,1)

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 TM in Operation: Source Code
1 #include <stdio.h>
2 #define N 256 Enter string: ABAA
3 void changeBtoAthenStop(char *b); AAAA
4 int main(void){
5 char b[N];
6
7 printf("Enter string: ");
8 fgets(b,N,stdin); /* gets(b); */
9 changeBtoAthenStop(b);
10 fputs(b,stdout);
11 return(0);
12 }
13 void changeBtoAthenStop(char *b){
14 int k=0;
15
16 while(b[k]=='A') k++;
17 b[k]='A';
18 return;
19 }
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 Example 1: Bit Inverter

• A bit inverter TM
• Beginning in state 1 on the leftmost non-blank cell, it inverts whatever the
current symbol is by printing its opposite
• It keeps moving right while remaining in state 1

(1,0,>) (0,1,>)
(1,0,1,>,1)
1 (1,1,0,>,1)

• Example: Inverting 011 to 100

0 1 1
1 1 1
1 0 1
1 0 0

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 Example 2: Binary Number Incrementor
(1/2)

• A binary number incrementor TM

• It expects a tape that contains a binary number, starting with S, in the
reverse order, i.e., S1 is 1, S01 is 2, S11 is 3 and S001 is 4
• It then repeatedly increments the number
S1_
(' ',1,<)
S01
(0,1,<) S11_
(0,0,<) (1,0,>) S001
(1,1,<) S101
L R
S011
(' ',' ',>) S111_
S0001
(S,S,>)
S1001
…
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 Example 2: Binary Number Incrementer
(2/2)

• A binary number incrementor TM (cont.)

• This can be represented as tuples
(L, , ,>,L)
(L,S,S,>,R)
(L,0,0,<,L)
(L,1,1,<,L)
(R,1,0,>,R)
(R, ,1,<,L)
(R,0,1,<,L)
• The corresponding C code: long x=0; while(1) x++;
• This machine could not be implemented on a real computer. Why?
• You will run out of memory sometime!

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 Summary

• Turing Machines can compute anything that is computable

• TM are able to model a computer
• By analogy with modern computers, the tape is the memory and the head is
the microprocessor
• A deterministic TM works as a deterministic computer
• A non-deterministic TM works as a quantum computer

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