Finite Automata

Languages
Deterministic Finite Automata
Representations of Automata

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 Informal Explanation
 Finite automata are finite collections
of states with transition rules that
take you from one state to another.
 Original application was sequential
switching circuits, where the “state”
was the settings of internal bits.
 Today, several kinds of software can
be modeled by FA.
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 Representing FA
 Simplest representation is often a
graph.
 Nodes = states.
 Arcs indicate state transitions.
 Labels on arcs tell what causes the
transition.

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Example: Protocol for
Sending Data

timeout
data in
Ready Sending

Start ack

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 Alphabets
 An alphabet is any finite set of
symbols.
 Examples: ASCII, Unicode, {0,1}
(binary alphabet ), {a,b,c}.

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 Strings
 The set of strings over an
alphabet Σ is the set of lists, each
element of which is a member of Σ.
 Strings shown with no commas, e.g.,
abc.
 Σ* denotes this set of strings.
 ε stands for the empty string
(string of length 0).
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 Example: Strings
 {0,1}* = {ε, 0, 1, 00, 01, 10, 11,
000, 001, . . . }
 Subtlety: 0 as a string, 0 as a
symbol look the same.
 Context determines the type.

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 Languages
 A language is a subset of Σ* for
some alphabet Σ.
 Example: The set of strings of 0’s and
1’s with no two consecutive 1’s.
 L = {ε, 0, 1, 00, 01, 10, 000, 001,
010, 100, 101, 0000, 0001, 0010,
0100, 0101, 1000, 1001, 1010, . . . }

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 Deterministic Finite
Automata
 A formalism for defining
languages, consisting of:
1. A finite set of states (Q, typically).
2. An input alphabet (Σ, typically).
3. A transition function (δ, typically).
4. A start state (q0, in Q, typically).
5. A set of final states (F ⊆ Q, typically).
 “Final” and “accepting” are synonyms.
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 The Transition Function
 Takes two arguments: a state and
an input symbol.
 δ(q, a) = the state that the DFA
goes to when it is in state q and
input a is received.

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 Graph Representation of
DFA’s
 Nodes = states.
 Arcs represent transition function.
 Arc from state p to state q labeled by all
those input symbols that have transitions
from p to q.
 Arrow labeled “Start” to the start
state.
 Final states indicated by double
circles.
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 Example: Graph of a DFA
Accepts all strings without two consecutive 1’s.

0 0,1
1 1
A B C

Start 0
Previous Previous Consecutive
string OK, String OK, 1’s have
does not ends in a been seen.
end in 1. single 1.
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 Alternative
Representation: Transition
Table
Final states
starred Columns =
0 1 input symbols
*A A B
Arrow for *B A C
start state C C C

Rows = states

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 Classwork
Draw transition diagram for DFA
accepting all strings with a substring 01

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 Classwork
Draw transition diagram for DFA
accepting all strings with a substring 01

Answer:

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 Extended Transition
Function
 We describe the effect of a string
of inputs on a DFA by extending δ
to a state and a string.
 Induction on length of string.
 Basis: δ(q, ε) = q
 Induction: δ(q,wa) = δ(δ(q,w),a)
 w is a string; a is an input symbol.

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 Extended δ: Intuition
 Convention:
 … w, x, y, x are strings.
 a, b, c,… are single symbols.
 Extended δ is computed for state q
and inputs a1a2…an by following a
path in the transition graph,
starting at q and selecting the arcs
with labels a1, a2,…,an in turn.
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Example: Extended Delta
0 1
A A B
B A C
C C C

δ(B,011) = δ(δ(B,01),1) = δ(δ(δ(B,0),1),1) =

δ(δ(A,1),1) = δ(B,1) = C

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 Delta-hat
 In book, the extended δ has a
“hat” to distinguish it from δ itself.
 Not needed, because both agree
when the string is a single symbol.
˄ ˄
 δ(q, a) = δ(δ(q, ε), a) = δ(q, a)

Extended deltas

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 Language of a DFA
 Automata of all kinds define
languages.
 If A is an automaton, L(A) is its
language.
 For a DFA A, L(A) is the set of strings
labeling paths from the start state to
a final state.
 Formally: L(A) = the set of strings w
such that δ(q0, w) is in F. 20
 Example: String in a
Language
String 101 is in the language of the DFA below.
Start at A.

0 0,1
1 1
A B C

Start 0

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 Example: String in a
Language
String 101 is in the language of the DFA below.
Follow arc labeled 1.
0 0,1
1 1
A B C

Start 0

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 Example: String in a
Language
String 101 is in the language of the DFA below.

Then arc labeled 0 from current state B.

Start 0

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 Example: String in a
Language
String 101 is in the language of the DFA below.
Finally arc labeled 1 from current state A. Result
is an accepting state, so 101 is in the language.
0 0,1
1 1
A B C

Start 0

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 Example – Concluded
 The language of our example DFA
is:
{w | w is in {0,1}* and w does not
have
two consecutive 1’s}
Such that… These conditions
about w are true.
Read a set former as
“The set of strings w…
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 Regular Languages
 A language L is regular if it is the
language accepted by some DFA.
 Note: the DFA must accept only the
strings in L, no others.
 Some languages are not regular.
 Intuitively, regular languages “cannot
count” to arbitrarily high integers.

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 Example: A Nonregular
Language
L1 = {0n1n | n ≥ 1}
 Note: ai is conventional for i a’s.
 Thus, 04 = 0000, e.g.
 Read: “The set of strings consisting
of n 0’s followed by n 1’s, such
that n is at least 1.
 Thus, L1 = {01, 0011, 000111,…}
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