Formal Languages and
Automata Theory
Academic Year 2016 - 2017
Department of Informatics
Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics
West University of Timisoara
The structure and the content of the lecture is based on http://www.eecs.wsu.
edu/~ananth/CptS317/Lectures/index.htm1
Instructor Contacts
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Instructor:
Madalina Erascu
Room F109
Email: [email protected]
Webpage: http://staff.ieat.ro/~merascu/
Weekly Office Hours: Wednesdays 4 - 7:30 PM
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Objectives
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Introduce concepts in automata theory and
theory of computation
Identify different formal language classes and
their relationships
Design grammars and recognizers for
different formal languages
Prove or disprove theorems in automata
theory using its properties
Determine the decidability and intractability of
computational problems
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Course Organization
Very broadly, the course will contain
three parts:
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Part I)
Part II)
Part III)
Regular languages
Context-free languages
Turing machines & decidability
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Seminar
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TA1
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Madalina Erascu
TA2:
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Alexandra Fortis
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: Mondays 11:20 AM – 12:50 PM
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Prerequisites
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No course work prerequisites
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Basic math knowledge, problem solving,
programming skills
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Required Textbook
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Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and
Computation
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By J.E. Hopcroft, R. Motwani, J.D. Ullman
2rd Edition
Addison Wesley/Pearson
I have an electronic copy!
Limbaje Formale
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By Mircea Dragan, stefan Maruster
Eubeea
You can find it at university library
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Course Webpage
http://staff.ieat.ro/~merascu/links/FLAT.html
Why do I need to check the webpage?
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Lecture Notes
Homeworks will be posted on the webpage
A tentative schedule will also be posted and maintained
Misc. static information about the course
How frequently do I need to keep checking the course
webpage?
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Once in a week
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How to get in touch with the
instructor and the TA(s)?
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Office hours
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Weekly once
preferred way to meet one-on-one
By appointment
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Attendance
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Course: no mandatory attendance
Lab/Seminar: no mandatory attendance
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Grading
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Homeworks (30%)
2 midterms (20% + 20%)
1 final (30%)
Projects, not mandatory (20%)
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Homework Submission Policy
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Hardcopy to be brought in class when the
lab/seminar takes place
No late submissions
Homeworks will be posted on the course
website
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Homework Policy
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All homework must be done individually
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Cheating:
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Helping others, getting help, looking up website for
solutions, etc.
Any deviation from the above rule will be
considered cheating and will be subject to
punishment
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Exam Policy
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2 Midterms and 1 Final
Closed book, closed notes,
comprehensive
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Course Schedule - Tentative
C1. (2h) Course overview. Introduction to Automata Theory &
Formal Languages
C2. (2h) Finite Automata
C3. (2h) Regular Expressions
C4. (2h) Regular Language Properties
C5. (2h) Midterm I
C6. (2h) Context Free Grammars and Languages
C7. (2h) Pushdown Automata
C8-9. (4h) Context-Free Language Properties
C10. (2h) Midterm II
C11. (2h) Turing Machines
C12-C13. (4h) Undecidability
C14. (2h) Course & Finals Review
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Lecture basics
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Classes will involve both Slides + Board
Lecture slides available online
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However, no scribes from class will be
made available
So, take your own notes in class
For latest/updated slides, download
before each use
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