BCA 3RD SEMESTER FLA 2017
WHAT IS AUTOMATA THEORY?
Automata Theory is an area of computer science concerned with the construction of abstract self-propelled computing systems that automatically follow a specified sequence of actions. A Finite Automaton is an automaton having a finite number of states. This lesson explains the essential ideas of Finite Automata, Regular Languages, and Pushdown Automata before moving on to Turing machines and Decidability.
APPLICATIONS
Each model in automata theory plays an essential role in a variety of applications. Text processing, compilers, and hardware design all make use of finite automata. Context-free grammars (CFGs) are utilised in programming languages and AI. CFGs were originally utilised in the study of human languages. Cellular automata are utilised in the field of artificial life, with John Conway's Game of Life being the most well-known example. Other biological phenomena that might be described using automata theory are mollusc and pine cone development and pigmentation patterns. Further, some scientists propose a notion that the entire cosmos is calculated by some kind of discrete automaton. The concept started with Konrad Zuse's work and was popularised in America by Edward Fredkin. Automata also emerge in the theory of finite fields: the set of irreducible polynomials that can be expressed as a composition of degree two polynomials called a regular language. Induction of regular languages is another topic for which automata may be utilised.