Automata theory (also known as Theory Of Computation) is a theoretical branch of Computer Science and Mathematics, which mainly deals with the logic of computation with respect to simple machines, referred to as automata.
Automata* enables scientists to understand how machines compute the functions and solve problems. The main motivation behind developing Automata Theory was to develop methods to describe and analyze the dynamic behavior of discrete systems.
Automata is originated from the word “Automaton” which is closely related to “Automation”.
Now, let’s understand the basic terminologies, which are important and frequently used in the Theory of Computation.
Symbol: Symbol(often also called character) is the smallest building block, which can be any alphabet, letter, or picture.
Alphabets (Σ): Alphabets are a set of symbols, which are always finite.
String: String is a finite sequence of symbols from some alphabet. A string is generally denoted as w and the length of a string is denoted as |w|.
