Introduction to Theory of Computation Lecture Notes

Overview & Synopsis

These lecture notes give an introduction to the more fundamental parts of the theory of computation and begin by presenting finite automata, starting with deterministic and nondeterministic finite automata, their equivalence, and practical implications of these concepts. The lecture notes include sections on regular expressions and their relationship to finite automata, nonregular languages, and the Pumping Lemma to prove nonregularity. MyhillNerode Theorem, For understanding recognition of languages. The notes go further to present contextfree languages, including their ambiguity and properties of closure. The pumping lemma for contextfree languages is also discussed, while decidable and recognizable languages are informed by a deep underpinning in computational theory.