CSC 351 Theory of Computation

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CSC 351 Theory of Computation

• Fall 2004

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Course Description

• In this introduction to theoretical computer
  science and analysis of discrete mathematical
  structures which find application in computer
  science, topics may include predicate calculus,
  groups, coding theory, graphs, trees, formal
  languages, grammars, finite state automata,
  Turing machines, complexity theory.
• ACM Topics
• AL5 - Basic computability (6)
• AL6 - The complexity classes P and NP
• AL7 - Automata theory

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Course Goals

• Examine the mathematical models of machines that
  act as acceptors for the principal classes of
  grammars and languages. 
•  Study the closure and decidability properties
  that pertain to each class, write formal proofs
  using various pumping lemmas and theorems, and
  reach an understanding of language structure that
  cannot be encompassed in the class.
• Learn about the historical background of the
  theory of computation, about the ideas of
  computability and NP-completeness.

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Topics

•  Regular expressions and languages, deterministic
  and non deterministic finite automata.
• Closure and decidability properties of regular
  languages.
• Pumping lemma for regular languages.
• Context-free grammars, Chomsky normal form,
  pushdown automata.
• Closure and decidability properties of
  context-free languages.
• Self-embeddedness, pumping lemma for context-free
  languages.
• Turing machines and variants, recursively
  enumerable languages.
• Non recursive enumerable languages, the Chomsky
  hierarchy.
• Computability, complexity, NP-completeness.

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Course Administration

• Textbook An Introduction to Formal Languages and
  Automata by Linz
• Software JFLAP

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Evaluation

• Final Exam Average 77
• Course Grade Average 80 100 passing
• Most improved Automata, understanding of
  non-determinism
• Still needs work remembering details of
  algorithms, proofs, especially proof by induction

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Teaching Evaluation

• Worked
• JFLAP as visualization tool
• Applications discussions and assignments
• Theoretical discussions Turings thesis,
  computability
• Changes for next year
• Less emphasis on set functions
• More applications homework