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An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, Fifth Edition

Author(s): Peter Linz, University of California, Davis, California
Details:
  • ISBN-13: 9781449615529
  • Hardcover    437 pages      © 2012
Price: International Sales $170.95 US List
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Overview

Written to address the fundamentals of formal languages, automata, and computability, An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata provides an accessible, student-friendly presentation of all material essential to an introductory Theory of Computation course. It 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. In the new Fifth Edition, Peter Linz continues to offer a straightforward, uncomplicated treatment of formal languages and automata and avoids excessive mathematical detail so that students may focus on and understand the underlying principles. In an effort to further the accessibility and comprehension of the text, the author has added new illustrative examples and exercises throughout.

New and Key Features of the revised and updated Fifth Edition:

  • Includes a new chapter within the appendices on finite-state transducers, including basic results on Mealy and Moore machines. This optional chapter can be used to prepare students for further related study.
  • Provides an introduction to JFLAP, also within the appendices. Many of the exercises in the text require creating structures that are complicated and that have to be tested for correctness. JFLAP can greatly reduce students’ time spent on testing as well as help them visualize abstract concepts.
  • A CD-ROM accompanies every new copy of the text and contains the following:
    • A summary description of JFLAP
    • Numerous new exercises that illustrate the value and efficiency of JFLAP
    • JFLAP implementations of most of the examples in the text that allow students and instructors to experiment dynamically with these examples

ShowKey Features

  • Fully revised to offer the most straightforward, easily-accessible treatment of complicated concepts.
  • New illustrative examples throughout aid in students comprehension and retention of the material presented.
  • Two-color design to help students navigate through the pedagogical features of the text.
  • Exercise sets with a wide range of difficulty are presented at the end of each section
     

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ShowTable of Contents

Chapter  1  Introduction to the Theory of Computing
Chapter  2  Finite Automata
Chapter  3  Regular Languages and Regular Grammars
Chapter  4  Properties of Regular Languages
Chapter  5  Context-Free Languages
Chapter  6  Simplifications 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
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ShowAbout the Author(s)

Peter Linz-University of California, Davis, California

Peter Linz, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Davis
Peter Linz is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Davis. Linz received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Professor Linz's research emphasizes the development of a theory of numerical analysis that can be used in the construction of reliable numerical methods used in the design of problem-solving environments for scientific computing. Linz has released the fourth edition of An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, as well as Exploring Numerical Methods: An Introduction to Scientific Computing. 

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Written to address the funamentals of  formal languages, automata, and computabilty, An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata provides an accessible, student-friendly presentation of all material essential to an introductory Theory of Computation course.

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