A Course on Automata Theory • Hacker News Board

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#11

Post by alicancote60 » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 12:59 AM UTC

I'm probably going to check this out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7fYvrllbOA&feature

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#12

Post by dopeboy » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 1:02 AM UTC

Out of all the theory I learned in school, learning a FSA in compilers class has probably been the most helpful. Whether I'm teaching kids 'if' statements for implementing a vending machine or sitting down with a client and trying to document their workflow, automata theory has been incredibly useful for me.

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#13

Post by saurabhjha » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 4:10 AM UTC

I am taking this course as it is a prerequisite to the subjects of compilers and computational complexity theory.

Has anyone used Sipser's text with this course? I found Sipser's textbook a great introduction to this field and thinking of complementing this course with the book.

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#14

Post by Chetan496 » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 4:16 AM UTC

The book by Peter Linz for Theory of Computation (https://books.google.co.in/books/about/An_Introduction_to_Fo...) is also a good text.

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#15

Post by userbinator » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 5:37 AM UTC

gnuvince wrote: post #9

When I was an undergrad at Université de Montréal, the theory of computation class which dealt with automata was called "Informatique Théorique"; literally, "theoretical computer science". "Why do theoretical computer science," I'd ask, "let's do practical computer science instead!" However, thanks to the enthusiasm of my professor and his teaching assistant and the very interesting nature of the subject, it became t…

Regular expressions are probably one of the most practical and immediately obviously useful things to come out of automata theory.

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#16

Post by WasimBhai » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 5:57 AM UTC

I am an EE who has previously tried to take this course and found it incredibly hard because of theory, formal proofs etc.. Can anyone recommend a book, lecture notes to accompany this course to make life easy?

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#17

Post by ArloJamesBarnes » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 6:30 AM UTC

WasimBhai wrote: post #16

I am an EE who has previously tried to take this course and found it incredibly hard because of theory, formal proofs etc.. Can anyone recommend a book, lecture notes to accompany this course to make life easy?

I am not sure what the course is like, so I am not sure if this would help, but Stephen Wolfram's book about automata is pretty good.

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#18

Post by rifung » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 6:32 AM UTC

WasimBhai wrote: post #16

I am an EE who has previously tried to take this course and found it incredibly hard because of theory, formal proofs etc.. Can anyone recommend a book, lecture notes to accompany this course to make life easy?

This is the book that was used when I was an undergrad.

http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Theory-Computation-Michae...

It is also used for the graduate course.

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#19

Post by yashwant123 » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 6:37 AM UTC

gnuvince wrote: post #9

When I was an undergrad at Université de Montréal, the theory of computation class which dealt with automata was called "Informatique Théorique"; literally, "theoretical computer science". "Why do theoretical computer science," I'd ask, "let's do practical computer science instead!" However, thanks to the enthusiasm of my professor and his teaching assistant and the very interesting nature of the subject, it became t…

fgjutyhgki

Re: A Course on Automata Theory

#20

Post by makoz » Thu, Aug 20, 2015, 7:52 AM UTC

hyperpallium wrote: post #5

Do you have to use your full name to enroll, in the field asking for it? I've probably become excessively paranoid about giving personal info on the web - Stanford is probably OK...

Only really matters for certificate.