An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata / Edition 6

by Peter Linz

Overview

An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, Sixth Edition provides an accessible, student-friendly presentation of all material essential to an introductory Theory of Computation course. Written to address the fundamentals of formal languages, automata, and computability, the text is designed to familiarize students with the foundations and principles of computer science and to strengthen the students' ability to carry out formal and rigorous mathematical arguments. The author, Peter Linz, continues to offer a straightforward, uncomplicated treatment of formal languages and automata and avoids excessive mathematical detail allowing students to focus on and understand the key underlying principles.

New & Key Features:

• An accessible approach allows students to clearly understand key content while retaining the appropriate mathematical notations and theorems required for the course
• New Chapter Synopsis, found at the end of each chapter, recap important concepts found in the text
• Every major idea is preceded by a motivating example, drawn from applications, that introduces the concept and illustrates its usefulness
• The exercise section has been restructured and improved with accessible exercises more closely tied to examples in the text
• An enhanced Instructor's Manual includes more detailed solutions to problems found in the text

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781284077247
Publisher:	Jones & Bartlett Learning
Publication date:	01/26/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	450
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

University of California, Davis, California

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Theory of Computation
Chapter 2 Finite Automata
Chapter 3 Regular Languages and Regular Grammars
Chapter 4 Properties of Regular Languages
Chapter 5 Context-Free Languages
Chapter 6 Simplification of Context-Free Grammars and Normal Forms
Chapter 7 Pushdown Automata
Chapter 8 Properties of Context-Free Languages
Chapter 9 Turing Machines
Chapter 10 Other Models of Turing Machines
Chapter 11 A Hierarchy of Formal Languages and Automata
Chapter 12 Limits of Algorithmic Computation
Chapter 13 Other Models of Computation
Chapter 14 An Overview of Computational Complexity

Editorial Reviews

Formal languages, automata, computability, and related matters form the major part of the theory of computation. This textbook is designed for an introductory course for computer science and computer engineering majors who have knowledge of some higher-level programming language, the fundamentals of data structures and algorithms, and discrete mathematics (including set theory, functions, relations, logic, and mathematical reasoning). Linz (U. of California, Davis) gives the motivation for proofs rather than their mathematical detail, focusing rather on the underlying principles as illustrated by examples. A sampling of topics covered includes finite and pushdown automata, regular and context-free languages and grammars, turing machines, and algorithmic and other models of computation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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