PECS5304 THEORY

OF COMPUTATION (3-0-0)

Module I 10 Hrs
Alphabet, languages and grammars. Production rules and derivation of languages.
Chomsky hierarchy of languages. Regular grammars, regular expressions and finite
automata (deterministic and nondeterministic). Closure and decision properties of regular
sets. Pumping lemma of regular sets. Minimization of finite automata. Left and right linear
grammars.
Module II 12 Hrs
Context free grammars and pushdown automata. Chomsky and Griebach normal forms.
Parse trees, Cook, Younger, Kasami, and Early's parsing algorithms. Ambiguity and
properties of context free languages. Pumping lemma, Ogden's lemma, Parikh's theorem.
Deterministic pushdown automata, closure properties of deterministic context free
languages.
Module III 14 Hrs
Turing machines and variation of Turing machine model, Turing computability , Type 0
languages. Linear bounded automata and context sensitive languages. Primitive recursive
functions. Cantor and Godel numbering. Ackermann's function, mu-recursive functions,
recursiveness of Ackermann and Turing computable functions. Church Turing hypothesis.
Recursive and recursively enumerable sets.. Universal Turing machine and undecidable
problems. Undecidability of Post correspondence problem. Valid and invalid computations
of Turing machines and some undecidable properties of context free language problems.
Time complexity class P, class NP, NP completeness.
Text Books:
1. Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and Computation: J.E. Hopcroft and J.D Ullman,
Pearson Education, 3rd Edition.
2. Introduction to the theory of computation: Michael Sipser, Cengage Learning
3. Theory of computation by Saradhi Varma, Scitech Publication
Reference Books:
1. Introduction to Languages and the Theory of Computation: Martin, Tata McGraw Hill, 3rd
Edition
2. Introduction to Formal Languages, Automata Theory and Computation: K. Kirthivasan, Rama
R, Pearson Education.
3. Theory of computer Science (Automata Language & computations) K.L. Mishra N.
Chandrashekhar, PHI.
4. Elements of Theory of Computation: Lewis, PHI
5. Theory of Automata and Formal Languages: Anand Sharma, Laxmi Publication
6. Automata Theory: Nasir and Srimani , Cambridge University Press.
7. Introduction to Computer Theory: Daniel I.A. Cohen, Willey India, 2 nd Edition.

MCC204 - THEORY OF COMPUTATION

3-0-0)

Module- I (12 hours)

Introduction of Automata, Computability, and Complexity ; Mathematical notations and terminology;
Finding proofs and types of proofs.
Finite Automata and regular languages: Formal definitions, Designing finite automata, Deterministic
finite automata, Non-deterministic finite automata, Equivalence of NFAs and DFAs, finite automata
with -transition; regular expressions and languages, Properties of Regular languages, conversion of
RE to FA and vice versa.
Module II (12 hours)
Push down Automata and Context free languages: Context free grammars, Designing context free
grammar, Ambiguity in CFG and its removal, Chomsky normal form
Push down Automata: formal definition, graphical notations, Languages accepted by PDA,
Equivalence of PDA and CFG, Non-context free languages.
Module-III (12 hours)
Turing Machines and Computability: Formal definition of Turing machines with examples, Graphical
notations, Variants of Turing machines, Church-Turing thesis, Hilberts problem
Decidability, undecidability and reducibility: Decidable languages; Decidable problems concerning
regular languages and context free languages, The halting problem, Post correspondence problems,
Undecidable problems, Mapping reducibility, Decidability of logical theories, Turing reducibility.
Recommended Texts:
1. Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Second Edition, 2007,
CENGAGE learning India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
2. John E. Hopcroft, Rajeev Motwani & Jeffrey D. Ullman, Introduction to Automata
Theory, Languages, and Computation, Third Edition, 2007, Pearson Education Inc., New
Delhi.
Reference Books:
1. Nasir S.F.B., P.K. Srimani A text book on Automata Theory, Cambridge University press
India Pvt. Ltd.
2. Peter Linz, An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, Fourth Edition, 2007,
Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi.
3. John C. Martin, Introduction to Languages and the Theory of Computation, Third
Edition, 2003, Tata McGraw-Hill (TMH) Publication Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
4. Thomas A. Sudkamp, Languages and Machines: An Introduction to the Theory of
Computer Science, Third Edition, 2006, Pearson Education Inc., New

Table of problems[edit]
Hilbert's twenty-three problems are:

Problem

1st

Brief explanation

The continuum hypothesis (that is, there is

Status

Proven to be impossible to prove

Year
Solved

1963

Problem

Brief explanation

Status

Year
Solved

or disprove within the Zermelo

Fraenkel set theory with or
without the Axiom of
Choice (provided the Zermelo
no set whose cardinalityis strictly between

Fraenkel set theory with or

that of the integers and that of the real

without the Axiom of Choice is

numbers)

consistent, i.e., contains no two

theorems such that one is a
negation of the other). There is no
consensus on whether this is a
solution to the problem.

There is no consensus on
whether results
of Gdel and Gentzengive a
solution to the problem as stated
by Hilbert. Gdel's second
2nd

Prove that
the axioms of arithmetic are consistent.

incompleteness theorem, proved

in 1931, shows that no proof of its

1936?

consistency can be carried out

within arithmetic itself. Gentzen
proved in 1936 that the
consistency of arithmetic follows
from the well-foundedness of the
ordinal .

Given any two polyhedra of equal volume, is

3rd

it always possible to cut the first into finitely

Resolved. Result: no, proved

many polyhedral pieces that can be

using Dehn invariants.

reassembled to yield the second?

1900

Problem

4th

Brief explanation

Status

Construct all metrics where lines

Too vague to be stated resolved

are geodesics.

or not.[n 1]

Year
Solved

Resolved by Andrew Gleason,

Are
5th

continuous groups automatically differential

groups?

depending on how the original

statement is interpreted. If,
however, it is understood as an

1953?

equivalent of the HilbertSmith

conjecture, it is still unsolved.

Partially resolved depending on

how the original statement is
interpreted.[13] In particular, in a
further explanation Hilbert
proposed two specific problems:
(i) axiomatic treatment of
probability with limit theorems for
6th

Mathematical treatment of
the axioms of physics

foundation of statistical physics

and (ii) the rigorous theory of
limiting processes "which lead

19332002?

from the atomistic view to the

laws of motion of continua".
Kolmogorovs axiomatics (1933)
is now accepted as standard.
There is some success on the
way from the "atomistic view to
the laws of motion of continua". [14]

7th

Is a b transcendental, for algebraic a 0,1

Resolved. Result: yes, illustrated

and irrational algebraicb ?

by Gelfond's theorem or

1935

Problem

Brief explanation

Year

Status

Solved

theGelfondSchneider theorem.

The Riemann hypothesis ("the real part of

any non-trivial zero of the Riemann zeta
8th

function is ") and other prime number

Unresolved.

Partially resolved.[n 2]

problems, among them Goldbach's

conjecture and the twin prime conjecture

9th

Find the most general law of the reciprocity

theorem in anyalgebraic number field.

Find an algorithm to determine whether a

10th

given polynomialDiophantine equation with

integer coefficients has an integer solution.

11th

Solving quadratic forms with algebraic

numerical coefficients.

Resolved. Result:
impossible, Matiyasevich's
theorem implies that there is no

1970

such algorithm.

Partially resolved.[15]

Unresolved.

Extend the KroneckerWeber theorem on

12th

abelian extensions of therational numbers to

any base number field.

Solve 7-th degree equation using algebraic The problem was partially solved
13th

(variant: continuous)functions of
two parameters.

14th

Is the ring of invariants of an algebraic

by Vladimir Arnold based on work

by Andrei Kolmogorov.

Resolved. Result: no,

1957

[n 4]

1959

Problem

15th

Brief explanation

Status

group acting on apolynomial

counterexample was constructed

ring always finitely generated?

byMasayoshi Nagata.

Rigorous foundation of Schubert's

enumerative calculus.

Year
Solved

Partially resolved.[citation needed]

Unresolved.

Describe relative positions of ovals

16th

originating from a real algebraic curve and

as limit cycles of a polynomial vector field on
the plane.

Resolved. Result: yes, due

17th

Express a nonnegative rational

function as quotient of sums ofsquares.

to Emil Artin. Moreover, an upper

limit was established for the

1927

number of square terms

necessary.[citation needed]

(a) Resolved. Result: yes (by Karl

Reinhardt).
(b) Widely believed to be
resolved, by computer-assisted
18th

(a) Is there a polyhedron that admits only

proof (byThomas Callister Hales).

an anisohedral tiling in three dimensions?

Result: Highest density achieved

(b) What is the densest sphere packing?

by close packings, each with

density approximately 74%, such
as face-centered cubic close
packing and hexagonal close
packing.[n 5][citation needed]

(a) 1928
(b) 1998

Problem

Brief explanation

Are the solutions of regular problems in

19th

the calculus of variationsalways

necessarily analytic?

Status

Year
Solved

Resolved. Result: yes, proven

by Ennio de Giorgi and,
independently and using different

1957

methods, by John Forbes Nash.

Resolved. A significant topic of

20th

Do all variational problems with

certain boundary conditions have solutions?

research throughout the 20th

century, culminating in

solutions[citation needed] for the nonlinear case.

Proof of the existence of linear differential

21st

equations having a prescribed monodromic

group

22nd

23rd

Uniformization of analytic relations by means

of automorphic functions

Further development of the calculus of

variations

Resolved. Result: Yes or no,

depending on more exact
formulations of the problem.[citation

needed]

Resolved.[citation needed]

Unresolved.