Theory of computation, automata and languages

Abstract

Automata theory is the study of abstract machines and problems they could solve. History had it that A. Turing studied an abstract machine that possessed the capabilities of computers even before the advent of the first
computer machine in 1930s. In 1940s, another machine known as finite automata, which would model human brain function, was proposed. In the same manner, in late 1950s other areas such as formal grammars, which have closed relationships to abstract automata, were studied. This research work critically studied the theory of computation, automata and languages. It also looked at problems that could be solved by computer and those that could in principle be solved.

Keywords: Automata theory, deterministic and non-deterministic automata, pushdown automata, turing machine.