Unit 1 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND FINITE AUTOMATA

CO1 Design the finite automata to recognize the regular languages. K3

Theory of Automata
Theory of automata is a theoretical branch of computer science and mathematical. It is the study
of abstract machines and the computation problems that can be solved using these machines. The
abstract machine is called the automata. The main motivation behind developing the automata
theory was to develop methods to describe and analyse the dynamic behaviour of discrete
systems.
This automaton consists of states and transitions. The State is represented by circles, and
the Transitions is represented by arrows.
Automata is the kind of machine which takes some string as input and this input goes through a
finite number of states and may enter in the final state.
There are the basic terminologies that are important and frequently used in automata:
Symbols:
Symbols are an entity or individual objects, which can be any letter, alphabet or any picture.
Example:
1, a, b, #
Alphabets:
Alphabets are a finite set of symbols. It is denoted by ∑.
Examples:
1. ∑ = {a, b}
2.
3. ∑ = {A, B, C, D}
4.
5. ∑ = {0, 1, 2}
6.
7. ∑ = {0, 1, ....., 5]
8.
9. ∑ = {#, β, Δ}

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

String:
It is a finite collection of symbols from the alphabet. The string is denoted by w.
Example 1:
If ∑ = {a, b}, various string that can be generated from ∑ are {ab, aa, aaa, bb, bbb, ba, aba.....}.
o A string with zero occurrences of symbols is known as an empty string. It is represented
by ε.
o The number of symbols in a string w is called the length of a string. It is denoted by |w|.
Example 2:
w = 010

Number of Sting |w| = 3

Language:
A language is a collection of appropriate string. A language which is formed over Σ can
be Finite or Infinite.
Example: 1
L1 = {Set of string of length 2}

= {aa, bb, ba, bb} Finite Language

Example: 2
L2 = {Set of all strings starts with 'a'}

= {a, aa, aaa, abb, abbb, ababb} Infinite Language

Finite Automata
o Finite automata are used to recognize patterns.
o It takes the string of symbol as input and changes its state accordingly. When the desired
symbol is found, then the transition occurs.
o At the time of transition, the automata can either move to the next state or stay in the
same state.
o Finite automata have two states, Accept state or Reject state. When the input string is
processed successfully, and the automata reached its final state, then it will accept.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Formal Definition of FA
A finite automaton is a collection of 5-tuple (Q, ∑, δ, q0, F), where:
1. Q: finite set of states
2. ∑: finite set of the input symbol
3. q0: initial state
4. F: final state
5. δ: Transition function
Finite Automata Model:
Finite automata can be represented by input tape and finite control.
Input tape: It is a linear tape having some number of cells. Each input symbol is placed in each
cell.
Finite control: The finite control decides the next state on receiving particular input from input
tape. The tape reader reads the cells one by one from left to right, and at a time only one input
symbol is read.

Types of Automata:
There are two types of finite automata:
1. DFA(deterministic finite automata)
2. NFA(non-deterministic finite automata)

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

1. DFA
DFA refers to deterministic finite automata. Deterministic refers to the uniqueness of the
computation. In the DFA, the machine goes to one state only for a particular input character.
DFA does not accept the null move.
2. NFA
NFA stands for non-deterministic finite automata. It is used to transmit any number of states for
a particular input. It can accept the null move.
Some important points about DFA and NFA:
1. Every DFA is NFA, but NFA is not DFA.
2. There can be multiple final states in both NFA and DFA.
3. DFA is used in Lexical Analysis in Compiler.
4. NFA is more of a theoretical concept.
Transition Diagram
A transition diagram or state transition diagram is a directed graph which can be constructed as
follows:
o There is a node for each state in Q, which is represented by the circle.
o There is a directed edge from node q to node p labeled a if δ(q, a) = p.
o In the start state, there is an arrow with no source.
o Accepting states or final states are indicating by a double circle.
Some Notations that are used in the transition diagram:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

There is a description of how a DFA operates:
1. In DFA, the input to the automata can be any string. Now, put a pointer to the start state q and
read the input string w from left to right and move the pointer according to the transition
function, δ. We can read one symbol at a time. If the next symbol of string w is a and the pointer
is on state p, move the pointer to δ(p, a). When the end of the input string w is encountered, then
the pointer is on some state F.
The string w is said to be accepted by the DFA if r ∈ F that means the input string w is processed
successfully and the automata reached its final state. The string is said to be rejected by DFA if r
∉ F.
Example 1:
DFA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts all strings starting with 1.
Solution:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

The finite automata can be represented using a transition graph. In the above diagram, the
machine initially is in start state q0 then on receiving input 1 the machine changes its state to q1.
From q0 on receiving 0, the machine changes its state to q2, which is the dead state. From q1 on
receiving input 0, 1 the machine changes its state to q1, which is the final state. The possible
input strings that can be generated are 10, 11, 110, 101, 111......., that means all string starts with
1.
Example 2:
NFA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts all strings starting with 1.
Solution:

The NFA can be represented using a transition graph. In the above diagram, the machine initially
is in start state q0 then on receiving input 1 the machine changes its state to q1. From q1 on
receiving input 0, 1 the machine changes its state to q1. The possible input string that can be
generated is 10, 11, 110, 101, 111......, that means all string starts with 1.
Transition Table
The transition table is basically a tabular representation of the transition function. It takes two
arguments (a state and a symbol) and returns a state (the "next state").
A transition table is represented by the following things:
o Columns correspond to input symbols.
o Rows correspond to states.
o Entries correspond to the next state.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 o The start state is denoted by an arrow with no source.
o The accept state is denoted by a star.
Example 1:

Solution:
Transition table of given DFA is as follows:

Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1

→q0 q1 q2

q1 q0 q2

*q2 q2 q2

Explanation:
o In the above table, the first column indicates all the current states. Under column 0 and 1,
the next states are shown.
o The first row of the transition table can be read as, when the current state is q0, on input 0
the next state will be q1 and on input 1 the next state will be q2.
o In the second row, when the current state is q1, on input 0, the next state will be q0, and
on 1 input the next state will be q2.
o In the third row, when the current state is q2 on input 0, the next state will be q2, and on 1
input the next state will be q2.
o The arrow marked to q0 indicates that it is a start state and circle marked to q2 indicates
that it is a final state.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

Example 2:

Solution:
Transition table of given NFA is as follows:

Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1

→q0 q0 q1

q1 q1, q2 q2

q2 q1 q3

*q3 q2 q2

Explanation:
o The first row of the transition table can be read as, when the current state is q0, on input 0
the next state will be q0 and on input 1 the next state will be q1.
o In the second row, when the current state is q1, on input 0 the next state will be either q1
or q2, and on 1 input the next state will be q2.
o In the third row, when the current state is q2 on input 0, the next state will be q1, and on 1
input the next state will be q3.
o In the fourth row, when the current state is q3 on input 0, the next state will be q2, and on
1 input the next state will be q2.
DFA (Deterministic finite automata)
o DFA refers to deterministic finite automata. Deterministic refers to the uniqueness of the
computation. The finite automata are called deterministic finite automata if the machine
is read an input string one symbol at a time.
o In DFA, there is only one path for specific input from the current state to the next state.

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 o DFA does not accept the null move, i.e., the DFA cannot change state without any input
character.
o DFA can contain multiple final states. It is used in Lexical Analysis in Compiler.
In the following diagram, we can see that from state q0 for input a, there is only one path which
is going to q1. Similarly, from q0, there is only one path for input b going to q2.

Formal Definition of DFA

A DFA is a collection of 5-tuples same as we described in the definition of FA.
1. Q: finite set of states
2. ∑: finite set of the input symbol
3. q0: initial state
4. F: final state
5. δ: Transition function
Transition function can be defined as:
1. δ: Q x ∑→Q
Graphical Representation of DFA
A DFA can be represented by digraphs called state diagram. In which:
1. The state is represented by vertices.
2. The arc labeled with an input character show the transitions.
3. The initial state is marked with an arrow.
4. The final state is denoted by a double circle.
Example 1:
1. Q = {q0, q1, q2}
2. ∑ = {0, 1}
3. q0 = {q0}

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

4. F = {q2}
Solution:
Transition Diagram:

Transition Table:

Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1

→q0 q0 q1

q1 q2 q1

*q2 q2 q2

Example 2:
DFA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts all starting with 0.
Solution:

Explanation:
o In the above diagram, we can see that on given 0 as input to DFA in state q0 the DFA
changes state to q1 and always go to final state q1 on starting input 0. It can accept 00,
01, 000, 001....etc. It can't accept any string which starts with 1, because it will never go
to final state on a string starting with 1.
Example 3:
DFA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts all ending with 0.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

Solution:

Explanation:
In the above diagram, we can see that on given 0 as input to DFA in state q0, the DFA changes
state to q1. It can accept any string which ends with 0 like 00, 10, 110, 100....etc. It can't accept
any string which ends with 1, because it will never go to the final state q1 on 1 input, so the
string ending with 1, will not be accepted or will be rejected.
Examples of DFA
Example 1:
Design a FA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts those string which starts with 1 and ends with 0.
Solution:
The FA will have a start state q0 from which only the edge with input 1 will go to the next state.

In state q1, if we read 1, we will be in state q1, but if we read 0 at state q1, we will reach to state
q2 which is the final state. In state q2, if we read either 0 or 1, we will go to q2 state or q1 state
respectively. Note that if the input ends with 0, it will be in the final state.
Example 2:
Design a FA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts the only input 101.
Solution:

In the given solution, we can see that only input 101 will be accepted. Hence, for input 101, there
is no other path shown for other input.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

Example 3:
Design FA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts even number of 0's and even number of 1's.
Solution:
This FA will consider four different stages for input 0 and input 1. The stages could be:

Here q0 is a start state and the final state also. Note carefully that a symmetry of 0's and 1's is
maintained. We can associate meanings to each state as:
q0: state of even number of 0's and even number of 1's.
q1: state of odd number of 0's and even number of 1's.
q2: state of odd number of 0's and odd number of 1's.
q3: state of even number of 0's and odd number of 1's.
Example 4:
Design FA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts the set of all strings with three consecutive 0's.
Solution:
The strings that will be generated for this particular languages are 000, 0001, 1000, 10001, .... in
which 0 always appears in a clump of 3. The transition graph is as follows:

Example 5:
Design a DFA L(M) = {w | w ε {0, 1}*} and W is a string that does not contain consecutive 1's.
Solution:
When three consecutive 1's occur the DFA will be:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

Here two consecutive 1's or single 1 is acceptable, hence

The stages q0, q1, q2 are the final states. The DFA will generate the strings that do not contain
consecutive 1's like 10, 110, 101,..... etc.
Example 6:
Design a FA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts the strings with an even number of 0's followed by single 1.
Solution:
The DFA can be shown by a transition diagram as:

NFA (Non-Deterministic finite automata)

o NFA stands for non-deterministic finite automata. It is easy to construct an NFA than
DFA for a given regular language.
o The finite automata are called NFA when there exist many paths for specific input from
the current state to the next state.
o Every NFA is not DFA, but each NFA can be translated into DFA.
o NFA is defined in the same way as DFA but with the following two exceptions, it
contains multiple next states, and it contains ε transition.
In the following image, we can see that from state q0 for input a, there are two next states q1 and
q2, similarly, from q0 for input b, the next states are q0 and q1. Thus it is not fixed or determined
that with a particular input where to go next. Hence this FA is called non-deterministic finite
automata.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Formal definition of NFA:
NFA also has five states same as DFA, but with different transition function, as shown follows:
δ: Q x ∑ →2Q
where,
1. Q: finite set of states
2. ∑: finite set of the input symbol
3. q0: initial state
4. F: final state
5. δ: Transition function
Graphical Representation of an NFA
An NFA can be represented by digraphs called state diagram. In which:
1. The state is represented by vertices.
2. The arc labeled with an input character show the transitions.
3. The initial state is marked with an arrow.
4. The final state is denoted by the double circle.
Example 1:
1. Q = {q0, q1, q2}
2. ∑ = {0, 1}
3. q0 = {q0}
4. F = {q2}
Solution:
Transition diagram:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

Transition Table:

Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1

→q0 q0, q1 q1

q1 q2 q0

*q2 q2 q1, q2

In the above diagram, we can see that when the current state is q0, on input 0, the next state will
be q0 or q1, and on 1 input the next state will be q1. When the current state is q1, on input 0 the
next state will be q2 and on 1 input, the next state will be q0. When the current state is q2, on 0
input the next state is q2, and on 1 input the next state will be q1 or q2.
Example 2:
NFA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts all strings with 01.
Solution:

Transition Table:

Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1

→q0 q1 ε

q1 Ε q2

*q2 q2 q2

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

Example 3:
NFA with ∑ = {0, 1} and accept all string of length atleast 2.
Solution:

Transition Table:

Present State Next state for Input 0 Next State of Input 1

→q0 q1 q1

q1 q2 q2

*q2 Ε ε

Examples of NFA
Example 1:
Design a NFA for the transition table as given below:

Present State 0 1

→q0 q0, q1 q0, q2

q1 q3 ε

q2 q2, q3 q3

→q3 q3 q3

Solution:
The transition diagram can be drawn by using the mapping function as given in the table.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Here,
1. δ(q0, 0) = {q0, q1}
2. δ(q0, 1) = {q0, q2}
3. Then, δ(q1, 0) = {q3}
4. Then, δ(q2, 0) = {q2, q3}
5. δ(q2, 1) = {q3}
6. Then, δ(q3, 0) = {q3}
7. δ(q3, 1) = {q3}
Example 2:
Design an NFA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts all string ending with 01.
Solution:

Hence, NFA would be:

Example 3:
Design an NFA with ∑ = {0, 1} in which double '1' is followed by double '0'.
Solution:
The FA with double 1 is as follows:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 It should be immediately followed by double 0.
Then,

Now before double 1, there can be any string of 0 and 1. Similarly, after double 0, there can be
any string of 0 and 1.
Hence the NFA becomes:

Now considering the string 01100011

1. q0 → q1 → q2 → q3 → q4 → q4 → q4 → q4
Example 4:
Design an NFA in which all the string contain a substring 1110.
Solution:
The language consists of all the string containing substring 1010. The partial transition diagram
can be:

Now as 1010 could be the substring. Hence we will add the inputs 0's and 1's so that the
substring 1010 of the language can be maintained. Hence the NFA becomes:

Transition table for the above transition diagram can be given below:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Present State 0 1

→q1 q1 q1, q2

q2 q3

q3 q4

q4 q5

*q5 q5 q5

Consider a string 111010,

1. δ(q1, 111010) = δ(q1, 1100)
2. = δ(q1, 100)
3. = δ(q2, 00)
Got stuck! As there is no path from q2 for input symbol 0. We can process string 111010 in
another way.
1. δ(q1, 111010) = δ(q2, 1100)
2. = δ(q3, 100)
3. = δ(q4, 00)
4. = δ(q5, 0)
5. = δ(q5, ε)
As state q5 is the accept state. We get the complete scanned, and we reached to the final state.
Example 5:
Design an NFA with ∑ = {0, 1} accepts all string in which the third symbol from the right end is
always 0.
Solution:

Thus we get the third symbol from the right end as '0' always. The NFA can be:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 The above image is an NFA because in state q0 with input 0, we can either go to state q0 or q1.
Eliminating ε Transitions
NFA with ε can be converted to NFA without ε, and this NFA without ε can be converted to
DFA. To do this, we will use a method, which can remove all the ε transition from given NFA.
The method will be:
1. Find out all the ε transitions from each state from Q. That will be called as ε-closure{q1}
where qi ∈ Q.
2. Then δ' transitions can be obtained. The δ' transitions mean a ε-closure on δ moves.
3. Repeat Step-2 for each input symbol and each state of given NFA.
4. Using the resultant states, the transition table for equivalent NFA without ε can be built.
Example:
Convert the following NFA with ε to NFA without ε.

Solutions: We will first obtain ε-closures of q0, q1 and q2 as follows:

1. ε-closure(q0) = {q0}
2. ε-closure(q1) = {q1, q2}
3. ε-closure(q2) = {q2}
Now the δ' transition on each input symbol is obtained as:
1. δ'(q0, a) = ε-closure(δ(δ^(q0, ε),a))
2. = ε-closure(δ(ε-closure(q0),a))
3. = ε-closure(δ(q0, a))
4. = ε-closure(q1)
5. = {q1, q2}

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

6. δ'(q0, b) = ε-closure(δ(δ^(q0, ε),b))
7. = ε-closure(δ(ε-closure(q0),b))
8. = ε-closure(δ(q0, b))
9. =Ф
Now the δ' transition on q1 is obtained as:
1. δ'(q1, a) = ε-closure(δ(δ^(q1, ε),a))
2. = ε-closure(δ(ε-closure(q1),a))
3. = ε-closure(δ(q1, q2), a)
4. = ε-closure(δ(q1, a) ∪ δ(q2, a))
5. = ε-closure(Ф ∪ Ф)
6. =Ф

7. δ'(q1, b) = ε-closure(δ(δ^(q1, ε),b))

8. = ε-closure(δ(ε-closure(q1),b))
9. = ε-closure(δ(q1, q2), b)
10. = ε-closure(δ(q1, b) ∪ δ(q2, b))
11. = ε-closure(Ф ∪ q2)
12. = {q2}
The δ' transition on q2 is obtained as:
1. δ'(q2, a) = ε-closure(δ(δ^(q2, ε),a))
2. = ε-closure(δ(ε-closure(q2),a))
3. = ε-closure(δ(q2, a))
4. = ε-closure(Ф)
5. =Ф
6.
7. δ'(q2, b) = ε-closure(δ(δ^(q2, ε),b))
8. = ε-closure(δ(ε-closure(q2),b))
9. = ε-closure(δ(q2, b))
10. = ε-closure(q2)
11. = {q2}
Now we will summarize all the computed δ' transitions:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

1. δ'(q0, a) = {q0, q1}
2. δ'(q0, b) = Ф
3. δ'(q1, a) = Ф
4. δ'(q1, b) = {q2}
5. δ'(q2, a) = Ф
6. δ'(q2, b) = {q2}
The transition table can be:

States a b

→q0 {q1, q2} Ф

*q1 Ф {q2}

*q2 Ф {q2}

State q1 and q2 become the final state as ε-closure of q1 and q2 contain the final state q2. The
NFA can be shown by the following transition diagram:

Conversion from NFA to DFA

In this section, we will discuss the method of converting NFA to its equivalent DFA. In NFA,
when a specific input is given to the current state, the machine goes to multiple states. It can have
zero, one or more than one move on a given input symbol. On the other hand, in DFA, when a
specific input is given to the current state, the machine goes to only one state. DFA has only one
move on a given input symbol.
Let, M = (Q, ∑, δ, q0, F) is an NFA which accepts the language L(M). There should be
equivalent DFA denoted by M' = (Q', ∑', q0', δ', F') such that L(M) = L(M').
Steps for converting NFA to DFA:
Step 1: Initially Q' = ϕ
Step 2: Add q0 of NFA to Q'. Then find the transitions from this start state.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Step 3: In Q', find the possible set of states for each input symbol. If this set of states is not in Q',
then add it to Q'.
Step 4: In DFA, the final state will be all the states which contain F(final states of NFA)
Example 1:
Convert the given NFA to DFA.

Solution: For the given transition diagram we will first construct the transition table.

State 0 1

→q0 q0 q1

q1 {q1, q2} q1

*q2 q2 {q1, q2}

Now we will obtain δ' transition for state q0.

1. δ'([q0], 0) = [q0]
2. δ'([q0], 1) = [q1]
The δ' transition for state q1 is obtained as:
1. δ'([q1], 0) = [q1, q2] (new state generated)
2. δ'([q1], 1) = [q1]
The δ' transition for state q2 is obtained as:
1. δ'([q2], 0) = [q2]
2. δ'([q2], 1) = [q1, q2]
Now we will obtain δ' transition on [q1, q2].
1. δ'([q1, q2], 0) = δ(q1, 0) ∪ δ(q2, 0)
2. = {q1, q2} ∪ {q2}
3. = [q1, q2]
4. δ'([q1, q2], 1) = δ(q1, 1) ∪ δ(q2, 1)

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

5. = {q1} ∪ {q1, q2}
6. = {q1, q2}
7. = [q1, q2]
The state [q1, q2] is the final state as well because it contains a final state q2. The transition table
for the constructed DFA will be:

State 0 1

→[q0] [q0] [q1]

[q1] [q1, q2] [q1]

*[q2] [q2] [q1, q2]

*[q1, q2] [q1, q2] [q1, q2]

The Transition diagram will be:

The state q2 can be eliminated because q2 is an unreachable state.

Example 2:
Convert the given NFA to DFA.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Solution: For the given transition diagram we will first construct the transition table.

State 0 1

→q0 {q0, q1} {q1}

*q1 Φ {q0, q1}

Now we will obtain δ' transition for state q0.

1. δ'([q0], 0) = {q0, q1}
2. = [q0, q1] (new state generated)
3. δ'([q0], 1) = {q1} = [q1]
The δ' transition for state q1 is obtained as:
1. δ'([q1], 0) = ϕ
2. δ'([q1], 1) = [q0, q1]
Now we will obtain δ' transition on [q0, q1].
1. δ'([q0, q1], 0) = δ(q0, 0) ∪ δ(q1, 0)
2. = {q0, q1} ∪ ϕ
3. = {q0, q1}
4. = [q0, q1]
Similarly,
1. δ'([q0, q1], 1) = δ(q0, 1) ∪ δ(q1, 1)
2. = {q1} ∪ {q0, q1}
3. = {q0, q1}
4. = [q0, q1]
As in the given NFA, q1 is a final state, then in DFA wherever, q1 exists that state becomes a
final state. Hence in the DFA, final states are [q1] and [q0, q1]. Therefore set of final states F =
{[q1], [q0, q1]}.
The transition table for the constructed DFA will be:

State 0 1

→[q0] [q0, q1] [q1]

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 *[q1] ϕ [q0, q1]

*[q0, q1] [q0, q1] [q0, q1]

The Transition diagram will be:

Even we can change the name of the states of DFA.

Suppose
1. A = [q0]
2. B = [q1]
3. C = [q0, q1]
With these new names the DFA will be as follows:

Conversion from NFA with ε to DFA

Non-deterministic finite automata(NFA) is a finite automata where for some cases when a
specific input is given to the current state, the machine goes to multiple states or more than 1
states. It can contain ε move. It can be represented as M = { Q, ∑, δ, q0, F}.
Where
1. Q: finite set of states
2. ∑: finite set of the input symbol
3. q0: initial state

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

4. F: final state
5. δ: Transition function
NFA with ∈ move: If any FA contains ε transaction or move, the finite automata is called NFA
with ∈ move.
ε-closure: ε-closure for a given state A means a set of states which can be reached from the state
A with only ε(null) move including the state A itself.
Steps for converting NFA with ε to DFA:
Step 1: We will take the ε-closure for the starting state of NFA as a starting state of DFA.
Step 2: Find the states for each input symbol that can be traversed from the present. That means
the union of transition value and their closures for each state of NFA present in the current state
of DFA.
Step 3: If we found a new state, take it as current state and repeat step 2.
Step 4: Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 until there is no new state present in the transition table of
DFA.
Step 5: Mark the states of DFA as a final state which contains the final state of NFA.
Example 1:
Convert the NFA with ε into its equivalent DFA.

Solution:
Let us obtain ε-closure of each state.
1. ε-closure {q0} = {q0, q1, q2}
2. ε-closure {q1} = {q1}
3. ε-closure {q2} = {q2}
4. ε-closure {q3} = {q3}
5. ε-closure {q4} = {q4}

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Now, let ε-closure {q0} = {q0, q1, q2} be state A.
Hence
δ'(A, 0) = ε-closure {δ((q0, q1, q2), 0) }
= ε-closure {δ(q0, 0) ∪ δ(q1, 0) ∪ δ(q2, 0) }
= ε-closure {q3}
= {q3} call it as state B.

δ'(A, 1) = ε-closure {δ((q0, q1, q2), 1) }

= ε-closure {δ((q0, 1) ∪ δ(q1, 1) ∪ δ(q2, 1) }
= ε-closure {q3}
= {q3} = B.
The partial DFA will be

Now,
δ'(B, 0) = ε-closure {δ(q3, 0) }
=ϕ
δ'(B, 1) = ε-closure {δ(q3, 1) }
= ε-closure {q4}
= {q4} i.e. state C
For state C:
1. δ'(C, 0) = ε-closure {δ(q4, 0) }
2. =ϕ
3. δ'(C, 1) = ε-closure {δ(q4, 1) }
4. =ϕ
The DFA will be,

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 Example 2:
Convert the given NFA into its equivalent DFA.

Solution: Let us obtain the ε-closure of each state.

1. ε-closure(q0) = {q0, q1, q2}
2. ε-closure(q1) = {q1, q2}
3. ε-closure(q2) = {q2}
Now we will obtain δ' transition. Let ε-closure(q0) = {q0, q1, q2} call it as state A.
δ'(A, 0) = ε-closure{δ((q0, q1, q2), 0)}
= ε-closure{δ(q0, 0) ∪ δ(q1, 0) ∪ δ(q2, 0)}
= ε-closure{q0}
= {q0, q1, q2}

δ'(A, 1) = ε-closure{δ((q0, q1, q2), 1)}

= ε-closure{δ(q0, 1) ∪ δ(q1, 1) ∪ δ(q2, 1)}
= ε-closure{q1}
= {q1, q2} call it as state B

δ'(A, 2) = ε-closure{δ((q0, q1, q2), 2)}

= ε-closure{δ(q0, 2) ∪ δ(q1, 2) ∪ δ(q2, 2)}
= ε-closure{q2}
= {q2} call it state C
Thus we have obtained

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

1. δ'(A, 0) = A
2. δ'(A, 1) = B
3. δ'(A, 2) = C
The partial DFA will be:

Now we will find the transitions on states B and C for each input.
Hence
δ'(B, 0) = ε-closure{δ((q1, q2), 0)}
= ε-closure{δ(q1, 0) ∪ δ(q2, 0)}
= ε-closure{ϕ}
=ϕ

δ'(B, 1) = ε-closure{δ((q1, q2), 1)}

= ε-closure{δ(q1, 1) ∪ δ(q2, 1)}
= ε-closure{q1}
= {q1, q2} i.e. state B itself

δ'(B, 2) = ε-closure{δ((q1, q2), 2)}

= ε-closure{δ(q1, 2) ∪ δ(q2, 2)}
= ε-closure{q2}
= {q2} i.e. state C itself
Thus we have obtained
1. δ'(B, 0) = ϕ
2. δ'(B, 1) = B
3. δ'(B, 2) = C

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

The partial transition diagram will be

Now we will obtain transitions for C:

δ'(C, 0) = ε-closure{δ(q2, 0)}
= ε-closure{ϕ}
=ϕ

δ'(C, 1) = ε-closure{δ(q2, 1)}

= ε-closure{ϕ}
=ϕ

δ'(C, 2) = ε-closure{δ(q2, 2)}

= {q2}
Hence the DFA is

As A = {q0, q1, q2} in which final state q2 lies hence A is final state. B = {q1, q2} in which the
state q2 lies hence B is also final state. C = {q2}, the state q2 lies hence C is also a final state.
Minimization of DFA
Minimization of DFA means reducing the number of states from given FA. Thus, we get the
FSM(finite state machine) with redundant states after minimizing the FSM.
10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY
 We have to follow the various steps to minimize the DFA. These are as follows:
Step 1: Remove all the states that are unreachable from the initial state via any set of the
transition of DFA.
Step 2: Draw the transition table for all pair of states.
Step 3: Now split the transition table into two tables T1 and T2. T1 contains all final states, and
T2 contains non-final states.
Step 4: Find similar rows from T1 such that:
1. 1. δ (q, a) = p
2. 2. δ (r, a) = p
That means, find the two states which have the same value of a and b and remove one of them.
Step 5: Repeat step 3 until we find no similar rows available in the transition table T1.
Step 6: Repeat step 3 and step 4 for table T2 also.
Step 7: Now combine the reduced T1 and T2 tables. The combined transition table is the
transition table of minimized DFA.
Example:

Solution:
Step 1: In the given DFA, q2 and q4 are the unreachable states so remove them.
Step 2: Draw the transition table for the rest of the states.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

State 0 1

→q0 q1 q3

q1 q0 q3

*q3 q5 q5

*q5 q5 q5

Step 3: Now divide rows of transition table into two sets as:
1. One set contains those rows, which start from non-final states:

State 0 1

q0 q1 q3

q1 q0 q3

2. Another set contains those rows, which starts from final states.

State 0 1

q3 q5 q5

q5 q5 q5

Step 4: Set 1 has no similar rows so set 1 will be the same.

Step 5: In set 2, row 1 and row 2 are similar since q3 and q5 transit to the same state on 0 and 1.
So skip q5 and then replace q5 by q3 in the rest.

State 0 1

q3 q3 q3

Step 6: Now combine set 1 and set 2 as:

State 0 1

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

→q0 q1 q3

q1 q0 q3

*q3 q3 q3

Now it is the transition table of minimized DFA.

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGES AND AUTOMATA THEORY

 FINITE AUTOMATA WITH OUTPUT:

Moore Machine

Moore machine is a finite state machine in which the next state is decided by the current state
and current input symbol. The output symbol at a given time depends only on the present state of
the machine. Moore machine can be described by 6 tuples (Q, q0, ∑, O, δ, λ) where,

1. Q: finite set of states

2. q0: initial state of machine
3. ∑: finite set of input symbols
4. O: output alphabet
5. δ: transition function where Q × ∑ → Q
6. λ: output function where Q → O

Example 1:

The state diagram for Moore Machine is

Transition table for Moore Machine is:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGE AND AUTOMATO THEORY

In the above Moore machine, the output is represented with each input state separated by /. The
output length for a Moore machine is greater than input by 1.

Input: 010

Transition: δ (q0,0) => δ(q1,1) => δ(q1,0) => q2

Output: 1110(1 for q0, 1 for q1, again 1 for q1, 0 for q2)

Example 2:

Design a Moore machine to generate 1's complement of a given binary number.

Solution: To generate 1's complement of a given binary number the simple logic is that if the
input is 0 then the output will be 1 and if the input is 1 then the output will be 0. That means
there are three states. One state is start state. The second state is for taking 0's as input and
produces output as 1. The third state is for taking 1's as input and producing output as 0.

Hence the Moore machine will be,

For instance, take one binary number 1011 then

Input 1 0 1 1

State q0 q2 q1 q2 q2

Output 0 0 1 0 0

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGE AND AUTOMATO THEORY

 Thus we get 00100 as 1's complement of 1011, we can neglect the initial 0 and the output which
we get is 0100 which is 1's complement of 1011. The transaction table is as follows:

Thus Moore machine M = (Q, q0, ∑, O, δ, λ); where Q = {q0, q1, q2}, ∑ = {0, 1}, O = {0, 1}.
the transition table shows the δ and λ functions.

Mealy Machine

A Mealy machine is a machine in which output symbol depends upon the present input symbol
and present state of the machine. In the Mealy machine, the output is represented with each input
symbol for each state separated by /. The Mealy machine can be described by 6 tuples (Q, q0, ∑,
O, δ, λ') where

1. Q: finite set of states

2. q0: initial state of machine
3. ∑: finite set of input alphabet
4. O: output alphabet
5. δ: transition function where Q × ∑ → Q
6. λ': output function where Q × ∑ →O

Example 1:

Design a Mealy machine for a binary input sequence such that if it has a substring 101, the
machine output A, if the input has substring 110, it outputs B otherwise it outputs C.

Solution: For designing such a machine, we will check two conditions, and those are 101 and
110. If we get 101, the output will be A. If we recognize 110, the output will be B. For other
strings the output will be C.

The partial diagram will be:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGE AND AUTOMATO THEORY

Now we will insert the possibilities of 0's and 1's for each state. Thus the Mealy machine
becomes:

10211CS106 FORMAL LANGUAGE AND AUTOMATO THEORY