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COURSE SYLLABUS COT 4420 Theory of Computation Prerequisites: MAD 3105 Fall Semester 2024 |
The
goal of this course is to provide students with an understanding of basic
concepts in the theory of computation. Students will learn about a variety of
issues in the mathematical development of computer science theory, particularly
finitary representations for languages and machines, as well as gain a more
formal understanding of algorithms and procedures. At the end of this course,
the student will:
Be able to construct finite state machines and the equivalent regular expressions.
Be able to prove the equivalence of languages
described by finite state machines, regular grammars
and regular expressions.
Be able to construct pushdown automata and the
equivalent context free grammars.
Be able to prove the equivalence of languages
described by pushdown automata and context free grammars.
Be able to construct Turing machines.
Be able to define the Chomsky Hierarchy.
Be able to have a basic understanding of the P = NP
problem.
Theory
of automata and formal languages. Finite state automata, Moore and Mealy
machines, regular expressions and languages, deterministic and
non-deterministic pushdown automata, context free languages, context sensitive
languages, normal forms, Turing machines, recursive and recursively enumerable
sets, undecidability, introduction to computability and complexity theory.
Sudhir Aggarwal: 263 LOV
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.
Tania Taami: 0025A LOV (inside
Majors Lab)
Office hours: Monday 9:30 am to 11
am, and Wednesday 3 pm to 4:30 pm.
(could also be via zoom)
Email: taami@cs.fsu.edu Phone: 850-345-1226
Qijin Bao: MCH 104 (certain homework only)
Office hours: Friday 3-3:30 pm
Email: qb24@fsu.edu
Dominic Miller: Majors Lab
Office hours: Wednesday 1pm to
2pm.
Email: dgm21@fsu.edu
Dion Tryban: Majors Lab
Office hours: Friday 1:30 pm to
2:30 pm
Email: dtryban@fsu.edu
[Linz] Peter Linz. An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, Latest Edition, Jones and Bartlett. (Required; however previous editions ok also).
Much of the communication
will be via this website or information given in class. Canvas will be used to
post raw scores of assignments / tests, etc. Most other information related to
grades etc. on Canvas may not be correct. Do not email or text anything via
Canvas for the class instructor as it may not be answered.
Lectures |
Tuesdays and Thursdays |
9:45 am - 11:00 am |
MCH 0201 |
Week
# |
Meeting
Days |
Reading
Assignments & Information |
Class
Notes & Homework
Assignments |
1 |
August 27, 2024 August 29, 2024 |
Read
Chapter 1 in text Start
reading Lecture1 Read
Chapter 11.1 in text. Finish reading lecture 1. Watch
this video. Supplementary
lectures are additional optional readings. |
|
2 |
September 3, 2024 September 5, 2024 |
Finish
previous readings Start
reading Lecture2 |
Lecture2-finite state machines |
3 |
September
10, 2024 September 12, 2024 |
Continue
reading Lecture2 Finish
reading Lecture2 |
Homework 2:
Due October 1, 2024 |
4 |
September 17, 2024 September 19, 2024 |
Review
Lecture2. Start reading Lecture3. Read Chapters 2.1 and 3.1 in text. Continue
reading Lecture3. Read 2.2 through 2.4 in text |
|
5 |
September 24, 2024 September 25, 2024 September 26, 2024 |
Review
Hw1. Read 3.2 and 3.3 in text. Continue reading Lecture 3. Due
to Hurricane Due Date Homework 2 changed to October 1, 2024 Finish
reading Lecture 3 and Chapters 2 and 3 in text. |
Homework 3: Due TBD |
6 |
October 1, 2024 October 3, 2024 |
Finish
previous readings Start
reading Chapter 4 in text and Lecture4 except pages 60-65 |
Homework
3: Due October 11, 2024 (see
revised Hw3 below) Lecture4-Properties
of Regular Languages |
7 |
October 8, 2024 October 10, 2024 |
Cover rest of Lecture 3. Also, Hw2 solutions as
time permits Due to hurricanes Helene and Milton, the midterm
will only cover through Lecture 3 and Chapter 3 in the text. Hence revised
Homework 3 attached removes problems 8 and 9 which will be assigned in a
subsequent assignment. Note that the due date for hw3 has been
extended and there will be no late homework 3s accepted. Review
of Homework 2 as time permits. |
Homework3
revised: Due Date October 14, 2024 |
8 |
October 15, 2024 October 17, 2024 |
Review
Hw3 Midterm
1 |
|
9 |
October 22, 2024 October 24, 2024 |
Read
Chapter 4 in text and Lecture4 except pages 60-65. Start
reading Lecture 5 and Chapter 5 in text. |
Lecture
4 is in week 6 above. |
10 |
October 29, 2024 October 31, 2024 |
Finish
reading lecture 5. Read Chapter 6 in text. Continue
previous readings |
Homework
4:Due date November 12, 2024 |
11 |
November 5, 2024 November 7, 2024 November 9, 2024 |
Finish
previous readings Start
reading Lecture6 until page 102. Start
reading Chapter 7 in text, covering similar material. Continue
previous readings Finish
reading Lecture 6. Start
reading Lecture 7 and Chapter 8 in the text. You need not cover the proof for
the pumping lemma. Homework
5 will be due November 18, 2024, with no late credit for that homework. |
Homework 5:
Due November 18, 2024 |
12 |
November 12, 2024 November 14, 2024 |
|
|
13 |
November 19, 2024 November 21, 2024 |
Review
Homework 4 and 5. Midterm
2 |
|
14 |
November 26, 2024 November 28, 2024 November 30, 2024 |
Start
reading Lecture 8 through page 128, and Chapters 9 and 10 in text. Thanksgiving
- No Class Finish reading Lecture8 through page
128 and Chapters 9 and 10 in text. There will be a
short Quiz as an Assessment in class (about 20-30 minutes) on December
3, covering the course material. The assessment is voluntary. Bonus points
for taking the assessment (max 30 pts) will be added to your total homework
points. |
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15 |
December 3, 2024 December 5, 2024 December 8, 2024 |
Assessment Finish all previous readings. Review of Midterm2 and overall course material I will have extra
office hours on Monday, December 9th, from 1 to 2 pm and 3 to 5 pm.
You can also pick up your midterms at that time if you wish. |
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EXAM WEEK |
December 9-13, 2024 |
FINAL EXAM: MCH201 Tuesday December
10, 2024, 7:30 am - 9:30 am |
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Grading will be on a curve. The initial curve for the class is specified below. The curve may
be changed after each midterm test. Students can always choose to stay with the
initial curve.
Initial Course Curve COT4420 Fall 2024
Average Score |
Grade |
80 |
A |
75 |
A- |
70 |
B+ |
65 |
B |
60 |
B- |
55 |
C+ |
50 |
C |
45 |
C- |
Below 45 |
D+, D,
D-, F |
|
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Modified Grade Curve as of 11/30/2024 COT4420 Fall 2024
Average Score |
Grade |
70 |
A |
65 |
A- |
60 |
B+ |
55 |
B |
50 |
B- |
45 |
C+ |
40 |
C |
35 |
C- |
Below 35 |
D+, D, D-, F |
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