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unit 1

The document provides an overview of basic concepts in automata theory and formal languages, focusing on set theory, including definitions of sets, operations on sets, and types of sets such as empty sets and subsets. It also covers sequences, ordered pairs, Cartesian products, and introduces the concepts of graphs and trees, detailing their properties and types. Additionally, it explains the significance of languages, symbols, and strings in the context of formal languages.

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1 views

unit 1

The document provides an overview of basic concepts in automata theory and formal languages, focusing on set theory, including definitions of sets, operations on sets, and types of sets such as empty sets and subsets. It also covers sequences, ordered pairs, Cartesian products, and introduces the concepts of graphs and trees, detailing their properties and types. Additionally, it explains the significance of languages, symbols, and strings in the context of formal languages.

Uploaded by

jrtadlip
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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AUTOMATA THEORY AND FORMAL LANGUAGES

Mathematical Preliminaries and Formal Languages


Basic Terminology
Set Theory
The concept of sets is extremely basic and is applied in all fields of mathematics.
Sets are used to describe a group of similar objects.
Definition : A Set is defined as a collection of objects.
These objects are called elements of the set. All the elements are enclosed
within curly brackets ‘{}’, and every element is separated by commas.

If a is an element of set A, then we say that a ∈ A (read as ‘a belongs to A’)


and
If a is not an element of A, then we say that a ∉ A (read as ‘a does not belong
to A’). Sets can be finite or infinite.
NULL Set or EMPTY Set has no members at all.
SINGLETON is a set with only one member (singleton of a).

Describing a Set
Typically, a set is denoted by capital letter. There are three main ways to specify
a set:
1. by Listing all its members (list notation);
2. by stating a property of its elements (predicate notation);
3. by defining a set of rules that generates (defines) its members (recursive
rules).
List Notation:
the first method is suitable only for finite sets. In this case, we list the
elements of a set separated by commas and enclosed in braces.

Predicate Notation:
Empty set:
A set having no Element in it is called an empty set.
Identity and Cardinality:
Two sets are identical if and only if they have exactly the same members, that
is, A = B if for every x, x ∈ A ↔ x ∈ B.

The number of Elements in a Set A is called the cardinality of A, written |A|.


The cardinality of a finite set is a natural number. Infinite sets also have
cardinalities, but they are not natural numbers.

Subset:
A set A is a subset of a set B if every element of A is also an element of B.
Such a relation between sets is denoted by A ⊆ B. If A ⊆ B and A ≠ B, we call A a
proper subset of B and write A ⊂ B.
Both signs can be negated using a slash (/) through the sign.
Operations on Sets: Union, Intersection
The Union of A and B, written A U B, is the set whose elements are just the
elements of A or B of both.

The Intersection of A and B, written A ∩ B, is the set whose elements are


just elements of both A and B.

The Difference A minus B, written A – B, subtracts from A all elements that


are in B.

The Complement of a set A, written A’ which is the set consisting of


everything not in A
Sequence
In sequence, order of elements is important and repetition is not allowed.

Ordered Pairs
ordered pair is written <a , b>, a will be considered as first member and b as
second member of the pair. So in general <a , b> ≠ <b , a>.

Cartesian Product
The cartesian product of two sets A and B is a set of all possible ordered pairs
whose first component is a member of A and whose second component is a
member of B. It is denoted by ‘X’.
Alphabet, String and Language
A Language is a dynamic set of visual, auditory or tactile symbols of
communication and the elements used to manipulate them.

Symbol and alphabet: Symbol is an abstract entity. It cannot be formerly


defined as points in geometry.
A word over an alphabet can be a finite sequence or a string or group of letters.

The set of all words over an alphabet Σ is usually denoted by Σ*.

There is only one word of length 0 , the Empty string can be denoted as Ԑ.

Prefix of any string is any number of leading symbol of string.

Suffix of any string is any number of trailing symbol of string.

Proper substring is any substring except string itself.


Graphs and Trees

A graph G is a pair (V , E), where V is a finite set and E is a relation on

V. The elements of V are called nodes or vertices. The elements of E

are called edged or arcs.

If <U , V>, then U is a predecessor and V is a successor of U.


Directed Graph

A graph with directed edges is called directed graph. Edges are given

by ordered pairs.
Undirected Graph

The degree of a vertex in an undirected graph is the number of edges

for a vertex. A self loop is counted twice. The degree is given for directed

graphs in terms of indegree and outdegree.

Undirected Undirected graph with self- directed graph with self-loop


graph loop
Trees

Tree is a collection of vertices and edges with the following properties.

1. There is one vertex called root which has no predecessors and from

which there is a path to every vertex.

2. From this root node, all the successors are ordered from left.
Trees

• Binary Tree: A binary tree is a data structure on which each node has at

most two children, which are called left and right child.

leaf is a node having no children.

The depth of node n is the length of path from the root to the node.

The set of all nodes at a given depth is called level.

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