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TOCSemester 5CSE

Theory of Computation Notes

DFA/NFA, regular languages, CFG, Turing machines, decidability.

14 min read3 sectionsExam-ready notes

Key points

  • DFA vs NFA equivalence
  • Regular expressions & pumping lemma
  • CFG & PDA
  • Turing machine model
  • Decidable vs undecidable

1. Finite Automata

DFA: exactly one transition per symbol

NFA: zero/more transitions; ε-moves allowed

Theorem: DFA ≡ NFA (power-set construction)

Regular languages closed under ∪, ·, *, complement, intersection

Pumping lemma proves non-regularity

2. CFG & PDA

CFG: productions A → string of terminals/variables

Parse trees, ambiguity

PDA: NFA + stack; accepts CFLs

Chomsky hierarchy: Type-0 TM ⊃ Type-1 CSG ⊃ Type-2 CFG ⊃ Type-3 Regular

3. Turing Machines

TM = infinite tape + head + finite control

Accepts RE languages

Decidable (recursive) vs RE but undecidable

Classic undecidable: Halting problem, emptiness of TM language