Introduction to languages http://zain.tp.googlepages.

com

Theory of Computation Proof Techniques

• Some of the commonly used proof

Why Study Theory of Computation! techniques in the theory of computation:
1. It purports to answer the following seemingly 1. Proof by Construction
simple questions.
• Used to prove that a particular type of
(a) What is a problem?
object exists.
(b) How do you determine the degree of
• The proof demonstrates how the object is
hardness of a given problem? (Is there

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to be constructed.
such a thing?)

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(c) Are there unsolvable problems? (And
2. Proof by Contradiction
how can you know that a problem is
unsolvable without trying to solve it?) • Strategy: Assume the statement is false

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(d) What is an algorithm? and show that this leads to a contradiction.
(e) What is a computer?

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2. Its tools are applied all over the place in 3. Proof by Induction
• Used to prove that all elements of some

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computer science.
3. In its own cryptic way, it is fun after all. infinite set have a certain property.
• For now, consider only the infinite set, N, of

gl
oo natural numbers.
• Strategy: If P is the property under
0. Some Mathematical Creatures! consideration, then
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-- Prove that P(1) is true. This is called

• A definition describes the objects and the basis.
te

notions that we talk about. Definition should -- Prove that, for k ∈ N, P(k) implies
ui

be precise; as precise as, for example, P(k + 1). This is called the induction step.
Java class definition. -- The assumption that P(k) is true is
ts

called the induction hypothesis.

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• A theorem is a specially interesting

statement proven true.
nd

• A lemma is a statement that is special only

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because proving it assists in proving

another, more significant statement.
• A corollary is a statement whose proof
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follows from the proof of a theorem.

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Proofs
• A proof is a logical argument that a
statement is true.
• It is a sequence of statements; each
statement follows from previous
statements, definitions, or already-proven
results.
-As you will see, writing a proof is
pretty much like writing a program.)

Theory of Computation 1
Introduction to languages http://zain.tp.googlepages.com

1. Formal Languages 1.1.3 Concatenation

1.1 Alphabets
An alphabet is a nonempty finite set of symbols.
ƒ A symbol is an abstract entity that we shall
not formally define; we shall rely on
intuition.
ƒ Alphabets are typically denoted by the
uppercase Greek letters Σ and Γ.

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es
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Prefixes

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1.1.1 Strings

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oo
A string over an alphabet is a k-tuple (i.e., finite
sequence) of symbols from the alphabet.
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Symbols of a string are usually written next to

one another, and not using the standard tuple-
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notation.
Suffixes
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ts
ou
nd
ha
://

1.1.2 The Empty String

For any alphabet Σ

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Substrings

Theory of Computation 2
Introduction to languages http://zain.tp.googlepages.com

1.2 Languages

For any alphabet Σ, any subset of Σ* is called a

language over Σ.
Note that
ƒ A language is a set of strings; an
alphabet is a set of symbols. (Although a
set of strings of length one would look like
an alphabet.)

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ƒ A language may be an empty set (called
the empty language); an alphabet is

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nonempty by definition.
ƒ A language may be infinite; an alphabet is

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finite by definition.

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Examples

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gl
oo
.g
te
ui
ts
ou
nd
ha

1.2.1 Operations on Languages

• Concatenation
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S1S2 = {s1s2: s1 ∈ S1, s2 ∈ S2

• Union
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S1 U S1 = {s: s ∈ S1 ∨ s ∈ S2}
• Kleene Star
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S* = {ε } U {s1s2 ...sn : ∀i, si ∈ S}

• All set operations: union, intersection,

difference.
• The concatenation of two languages, L1 and
L2, is the language

Theory of Computation 3