Theory Of Computation

Theory of Computation

Instructor: Shai Simonson

Course Description | Lecture and Course Files | Student Evaluations

A theoretical treatment of what can be computed and how fast it can be done. Applications to compilers, string searching, and control circuit design will be discussed. The hierarchy of finite state machines, pushdown machines, context free grammars and Turing machines will be analyzed, along with their variations. The notions of decidability, complexity theory and a complete discussion of NP-Complete problems round out the course.

Text: Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Michael Sipser.

Reference: Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and Computation, Hopcroft, Motwani and Ullman.

Requirements: Two exams, five problem sets.