3 Review(s)

This easy-to-follow text provides an accessible introduction to the key topics of formal languages and abstract machines within Computer Science. The author follows the successful formula of his first book on this subject, this time making these core computing topics more fundamental and providing an excellent foundation for undergraduates. The book is divided into two parts, Languages and Machines and Machines and Computation. The first part is concerned with formal language theory, as it applies to Computer Science, whereas the second part considers the computational properties of the machines in more detail. This text is deliberately non-mathematical and, wherever possible, links theory to practical considerations, in particular the implications for programming, computation and problem solving. Written in an informal style, this textbook assumes only a basic knowledge of programming on the part of the reader. Features: Extensive use of examples to illustrate algorithms and proofs Pictorial representations of key concepts Chapter-opening overviews providing an introduction and guidance to each topic An introductory chapter supplies the reader with a solid overview End-of-chapter exercises and solutions Table of Contents Introduction Part 1: Language and Machines Elements of Formal Languages Syntax, Semantics and Ambiguity Regular Languages and Finite State Recognisers Context Free Languages and Pushdown Recognisers Important Features of Regular and Context Free Languages Phrase Structure Languages and Turing Machines Part 2: Machines and Computation Finite State Transducers Turing Machines as Computers Turing's Thesis and the Universality of the Turing Machine Computability, Solvability and the Halting Problem Dimensions of Computation Further Reading Solutions to Selected Exercises Index.