Turing Machines
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The Language Hierarchy
n n n
a b c ? ww ?
Context-Free Languages
n n R
a b ww
Regular Languages
a* a *b *
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Languages accepted by
Turing Machines
n n n
a b c ww
Context-Free Languages
n n R
a b ww
Regular Languages
a* a *b *
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A Turing Machine
Tape
...... ......
Read-Write head
Control Unit
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The Tape
No boundaries -- infinite length
...... ......
Read-Write head
The head moves Left or Right
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...... ......
Read-Write head
The head at each transition (time step):
1. Reads a symbol
2. Writes a symbol
3. Moves Left or Right
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Example:
Time 0
...... a b a c ......
Time 1
...... a b k c ......
1. Reads a
2. Writes k
3. Moves Left
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Time 1
...... a b k c ......
Time 2
...... a f k c ......
1. Reads b
2. Writes f
3. Moves Right
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The Input String
Input string Blank symbol
...... a b a c ......
head
Head starts at the leftmost position
of the input string
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States & Transitions
Read Write
Move Left
q1 a b, L q2
Move Right
q1 a b, R q2
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Example:
Time 1
...... a b a c ......
q1
current state
q1 a b, R q2
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Time 1
...... a b a c ......
q1
Time 2
...... a b b c ......
q2
q1 a b, R q2
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Example:
Time 1
...... a b a c ......
q1
Time 2
...... a b b c ......
q2
q1 a b, L q2
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Example:
Time 1
...... a b a c ......
q1
Time 2
...... a b b c g ......
q2
q1 g, R q2
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Determinism
Turing Machines are deterministic
Allowed Not Allowed
a b, R q2 a b, R q2
q1 q1
q3 a d, L q3
b d, L
No lambda transitions allowed
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Partial Transition Function
Example:
...... a b a c ......
q1
a b, R q2 Allowed:
q1 No transition
for input symbol c
b d, L q3
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Halting
The machine halts in a state if there is
no transition to follow
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Halting Example 1:
...... a b a c ......
q1
q1 No transition from q1
HALT!!!
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Halting Example 2:
...... a b a c ......
q1
a b, R q2
No possible transition
q1 from q1 and symbol c
b d, L q3 HALT!!!
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Accepting States
q1 q2 Allowed
q1 q2 Not Allowed
•Accepting states have no outgoing transitions
•The machine halts and accepts
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Acceptance
If machine halts
Accept Input
string in an accept state
If machine halts
in a non-accept state
Reject Input or
string
If machine enters
an infinite loop
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Observation:
In order to accept an input string,
it is not necessary to scan all the
symbols in the string
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Turing Machine Example
Input alphabet {a , b }
Accepts the language: a*
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 0 a a a
q0
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 1 a a a
q0
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 2 a a a
q0
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 3 a a a
q0
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 4 a a a
q1
a a, R Halt & Accept
, L
q0 q1
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Rejection Example
Time 0 a b a
q0
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 1 a b a
q0
No possible Transition
a a, R Halt & Reject
, L
q0 q1
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A simpler machine for same language
but for input alphabet {a }
Accepts the language: a*
q0
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Time 0 a a a
q0
Halt & Accept
q0
Not necessary to scan input
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Infinite Loop Example
A Turing machine
for language a * b( a b) *
b b, L
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 0 a b a
q0
b b, L
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 1 a b a
q0
b b, L
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 2 a b a
q0
b b, L
a a, R
, L
q0 q1
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Time 2 a b a
q0
Time 3 a b a
Infinite loop
q0
Time 4 a b a
q0
Time 5 a b a
q0
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Because of the infinite loop:
•The accepting state cannot be reached
•The machine never halts
•The input string is rejected
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Another Turing Machine Example
n n
Turing machine for the language {a b }
n 1
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Basic Idea:
Match a’s with b’s:
Repeat:
replace leftmost a with x
find leftmost b and replace it with y
Until there are no more a’s or b’s
If there is a remaining a or b reject
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Time 0 a a b b
q0
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 1 x a b b
q1
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 2 x a b b
q1
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 3 x a y b
q2
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 4 x a y b
q2
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 5 x a y b
q0
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 6 x x y b
q1
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 7 x x y b
q1
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 8 x x y y
q2
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 9 x x y y
q2
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 10 x x y y
q0
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 11 x x y y
q3
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 12 x x y y
q3
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Time 13 x x y y
q4
Halt & Accept
q4 y y, R y y, L
y y, R a a, R a a, L
, L
y y, R a x, R b y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x x, R
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Observation:
If we modify the
n n
machine for the language {a b }
we can easily construct
n n n
a machine for the language {a b c }
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Formal Definitions
for
Turing Machines
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Transition Function
q1 a b, R q2
(q1, a ) (q2 , b, R )
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Transition Function
q1 c d, L q2
(q1, c) (q2 , d , L)
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Turing Machine:
Input Tape
alphabet alphabet
States
M (Q, , , , q0 , , F )
Transition Accept
function states
Initial blank
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state M.Anand 59
Configuration
c a b a
q1
Instantaneous description: ca q1 ba
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Time 4 Time 5
x a y b x a y b
q2 q0
A Move: q2 xayb x q0 ayb
(yields in one mode)
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Time 4 Time 5
x a y b x a y b
q2 q0
Time 6 Time 7
x x y b x x y b
q1 q1
A computation
q2 xayb x q0 ayb xx q1 yb xxy q1 b
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q2 xayb x q0 ayb xx q1 yb xxy q1 b
Equivalent notation: q2 xayb xxy q1 b
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Initial configuration: q0 w
Input string
w
a a b b
q0
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The Accepted Language
For any Turing Machine M
L( M ) {w : q0 w x1 q f x2 }
Initial state Accept state
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If a language L is accepted
by a Turing machine M
then we say that L is:
•Turing Recognizable
Other names used:
•Turing Acceptable
•Recursively Enumerable
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Computing Functions
with
Turing Machines
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A function f (w) has:
Domain: D Result Region: S
f (w)
w D f ( w) S
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A function may have many parameters:
Example: Addition function
f ( x, y ) x y
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Integer Domain
Decimal: 5
Binary: 101
Unary: 11111
We prefer unary representation:
easier to manipulate with Turing machines
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Definition:
A function f is computable if
there is a Turing Machine M such that:
Initial configuration Final configuration
w f (w)
q0 qf
initial state accept state
For all w D Domain
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In other words:
A function f is computable if
there is a Turing Machine M such that:
q0 w q f f ( w)
Initial Final
Configuration Configuration
For all w D Domain
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Example
The function f ( x, y ) x y is computable
x, y are integers
Turing Machine:
Input string: x0 y unary
Output string: xy 0 unary
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x y
Start 1 1 1 0 1 1
q0
initial state
The 0 is the delimiter that
separates the two numbers
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x y
Start 1 1 1 0 1 1
q0 initial state
x y
Finish 1 1 1 1 0
q f final state
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The 0 here helps when we use
the result for other operations
x y
Finish 1 1 1 1 0
q f final state
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Turing machine for function f ( x, y ) x y
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Execution Example: Time 0
x y
x 11 (=2)
1 1 0 1 1
y 11 (=2) q0
Final Result
x y
1 1 1 1 0
q4
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Time 0 1 1 0 1 1
q0
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 1 1 1 0 1 1
q0
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 2 1 1 0 1 1
q0
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 3 1 1 1 1 1
q1
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 4 1 1 1 1 1
q1
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 5 1 1 1 1 1
q1
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 6 1 1 1 1 1
q2
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 7 1 1 1 1 0
q3
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 8 1 1 1 1 0
q3
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 9 1 1 1 1 0
q3
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 10 1 1 1 1 0
q3
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 11 1 1 1 1 0
q3
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
q4
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Time 12 1 1 1 1 0
q4
1 1, R 1 1, R 1 1, L
q0 0 1, R q1 , L q 1 0, L q3
2
, R
HALT & accept q4
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Another Example
The function f ( x) 2 x is computable
x is integer
Turing Machine:
Input string: x unary
Output string: xx unary
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x
Start 1 1 1
q0 initial state
2x
Finish 1 1 1 1 1
q f accept state
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Turing Machine Pseudocode for f ( x) 2 x
• Replace every 1 with $
• Repeat:
• Find rightmost $, replace it with 1
• Go to right end, insert 1
Until no more $ remain
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Turing Machine for f ( x) 2 x
1 $, R 1 1, L 1 1, R
q0 , L q1 $ 1, R q2
, R 1, L
q3
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Example
Start Finish
1 1 1 1 1 1
q0 q3
1 $, R 1 1, L 1 1, R
q0 , L q1 $ 1, R q2
, R 1, L
q3
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Another Example
1 if x y
The function f ( x, y )
is computable 0 if x y
Input: x0 y
Output: 1 or 0
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Turing Machine Pseudocode:
• Repeat
Match a 1 from x with a 1 from y
Until all of x or y is matched
• If a 1 from x is not matched
erase tape, write 1 ( x y)
else
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erase tape, write 0
M.Anand
( x y) 98
Combining Turing Machines
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Block Diagram
Turing
input output
Machine
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Example: x y if x y
f ( x, y )
0 if x y
x, y
Adder x y
x, y x y
Comparator
x y Eraser 0
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