University of Central Arkansas
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
CSCI 4390/5330/6397: Theory of Computation
FALL 2022 Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Benjamin Garlington
Email: bgarlington@uca.edu will
respond typically within 2 business
days
Class Schedule: CRN 22806: 100% Online (Asynchronous)
Course Website: Blackboard at https://bblearn.uca.edu/
Office Hours: TBA, All office hours will be held on Blackboard virtual classroom.
Disclaimer: This syllabus represents a general plan for the course and deviations from this plan
may be necessary during the duration of the course.
"Note to CSCI 4390 students: This class may be used only as a Math Elective (it cannot be
used as a CSCI Elective)."
Course Materials
Textbook:
An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata, 7th Edition, Peter Linz and Susan
H. Rodger, Jones & Barlett, 2023
Course Description:
An elective course for undergraduate and graduate students. Topics include abstract basis of
machines and programming, automata, context free grammars and Turing machines, Chomsky
hierarchy, incomputability, and computational complexity. Prerequisites: CSCI 2320 and
MATH
Course Goals and Outcomes:
This course provides necessary theoretical foundations for machines and programming
languages and expresses computations as mathematical objects. Constructs the formulation of
what is computable, by what means, and in what amount of space and time without depending
on any particular digital technology or programming language. This course contributes to the
students’ ability to demonstrate:
 An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal;
 An ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic principles, and computer
science theory in the modeling and design of computer-based systems in a way that
demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices.
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Course outline:
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Basic computation theory terminology: Informal look at the subject of computability,
introduction to string representations and operations such as lexicographical
enumeration. Definition of a language and set operations on languages. Properties of
finite-state languages.
Encoding: Encoding of symbolically reach problem domain to symbolically
impoverished world of a machine. Casting problem into a language problem.
Fundamental computational models: Introduction to computing machines, finite-state
control machines, concepts common among all computing machines, basic machine
notions, deterministic and nondeterministic finite automata, stack and tape machines,
pushdown automata, and Turing machines.
Deterministic Finite Automaton (DFA) and Nondeterministic Finite Automaton (NFA):
Details about DFA and NFA, language representations with DFA and/or NFA, NFA to
DFA conversion algorithm, closure properties, equivalence of states, and state
minimization algorithms for both DFA and NFA.
Regular expressions, non-regular languages, and Pumping Lemma: Description of a
language in regular expressions, regular operators and properties, DFA to regular
expression conversion. Details about Pumping Lemma to prove language is non-regular
language.
Grammars: Grammars generating a language, regular grammars, basics of context-free
languages and grammars, parse trees and attribution, non-context-free languages,
Chomsky Normal Form.
Pushdown Automata: Context-free language and grammar representations in pushdown
automata.
Turing machine: Definition of a Turing machine and details of Church-Turing thesis.
Representation of problems as configurations in the Turing machine. Fundamental
types of Turing machines and their combinations, equivalence of computability
(existence of algorithm) of a problem to Turing computability. Decidability and
enumerability in Turing machines, equivalence of decidability and canonical
enumerability.
Description of all major assignments and examinations with due dates
Brief List of Topics to be Covered:
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Theory of Computation
Chapter 2 Finite Automata
Chapter 3 Regular Languages and Regular Grammars
Chapter 4 Properties of Regular Languages
Chapter 5 Context-Free Languages
Chapter 6 Simplification of Context-Free Grammars and Normal Forms
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Chapter 7 Pushdown Automata
Chapter 8 Properties of Context-Free Languages
Chapter 9 Turing Machines
Chapter 10 Other Models of Turing Machines
Chapter 11 A Hierarchy of Formal Languages and Automata
Chapter 12 Limits of Algorithmic Computation
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Course Grade:
The grade breakdown is as follows:
Assignments – There will typically be one assignment per section and sometimes two. These
will account for 25% of the total grade.
Exams – There will be one Final exam. Worth 50% of the total grade.
Attendance – Attendance is collected via blackboard discussion based on student’s
correspondence. Attendance will be worth 25% of the overall grade.
A table with the above information is available towards the end of this syllabus with the same
information.
Finally, your numeric score will be translated to a letter grade at the end of the semester
according to:
Numeric Score
90 – 100
80 – 89
70 – 79
60 – 69
0 – 59
Letter Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Assignments:
Assignments are essential to achieve the course objectives. There will be assignments posted
throughout the course that correspond to the lecture being covered. No late assignments shall
be accepted. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the work submitted must reflect the
individual effort of the person presenting the work.
Attendance and drop policy
You are expected to follow lecture videos (asynchronously). If you miss exams please provide
documentation for:
a. School related functions such as orchestra, sports events, etc. A note from the coach, instructor,
supervisor, etc. must be provided. Any homework, lab assignments, or programming projects
due during the planned absence must be turned in to the instructor prior to the missed class,
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unless prior approval is obtained from your instructor (via written request) to submit the work
after you return. Any missed exams must be made-up by the first class-day following the return
from such an excused even
b. Medically related absence. For all medically related absences proper documentation from a
physician including the physician’s name and phone number included on the document must be
provided.
c. Family related emergency.
University Rules and Regulations
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Covid-19: UCA has developed the Student Guide to Returning to Campus to help you understand
important changes we have made in order to make the 2021-22 academic year a successful and
safe experience for you and the entire campus community. Please take the time to review that
informative guide at https://uca.edu/coronavirus/files/2020/08/student- guide-returning-tocampus.pdf All students are expected to comply with the University policy regarding face
coverings. The policy and other information for students is available at:
https://uca.edu/coronavirus/students/ with regular updates and current information. Please
remember to follow the the MCS Building Protocols and Procedures.
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Academic Integrity statement: The University of Central Arkansas affirms its commitment to
academic integrity and expects all members of the university community to accept shared
responsibility for maintaining academic integrity. Students in this course are subject to the
provisions of the university’s Academic Integrity Policy, approved by the Board of Trustees as
Board Policy No. 709 on February 10, 2010, and published in the Student Handbook. Penalties
for academic misconduct in this course may include a failing grade on an assignment, a failing
grade in the course, or any other course-related sanction the instructor determines to be
appropriate. Continued enrollment in this course affirms a student’s acceptance of this
university policy.
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Americans with Disabilities Act statement: The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under this
Act due to a disability, please contact the UCA Disability Resource Center, 450- 3613.
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Building Emergency Plan statement: An Emergency Procedures Summary (EPS) for the
building in which this class is held will be discussed during the first week of this course. EPS
documents for most buildings on campus are available at http://uca.edu/mysafety/bep/. Every
student should be familiar with emergency procedures for any campus building in which he/she
spends time for classes or other purposes.
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Title IX disclosure: If a student discloses an act of sexual harassment, discrimination, assault,
or other sexual misconduct to a faculty member (as it relates to “student-on-student” or
“employee-on-student”), the faculty member cannot maintain complete confidentiality and is
required to report the act and may be required to reveal the names of the parties involved. Any
allegations made by a student may or may not trigger an investigation. Each situation differs,
and the obligation to conduct an investigation will depend on the specific set of circumstances.
The determination to conduct an investigation will be made by the Title IX Coordinator.
For further information, please visit: https://uca.edu/titleix.
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*Disclosure of sexual misconduct by a third party who is not a student and/or employee is also
required if the misconduct occurs when the third party is a participant in a universitysponsored program, event, or activity.
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Please familiarize yourselves with all policies included in the Student Handbook,
particularly the following:
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Sexual Harassment Policy
Academic Policies
Information about the Timing of Student Evaluations
Student evaluations of a course and its professor are a crucial element in helping faculty
achieve excellence in the classroom and the institution in demonstrating that students are
gaining knowledge. Students may evaluate courses they are taking starting on the Monday of
the thirteenth week of instruction through the end of finals week by logging in to myUCA and
clicking on the Course Evaluations task.
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Regular and Substantive Interaction
Instructor/student interactions will take place through, , Blackboard postings (announcements,
lecture notes, solutions for the assignments, etc.), virtual office hours on Blackboard, email
communications, and discussion forums.
The overall grade is based on the following weights, which meet the guidelines of the USDOE
and HLC for online courses that state distance education courses must include “regular and
substantive
Weight
Frequency
Types/Date
Asynchronous
Assignments
25%
At least 1 per
section
Final Exam
50%
1
As scheduled by the
Registrar
Attendance/Discussion
25%
At least 4 posts
for each
module
Asynchronous
Discussion Forums will be open for each module. These interactive forums will be used to ask
questions and discuss challenging topics for each section.
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