Automata and Languages

Theoretical models of simple computing machines, known as automata, play a central role in theoretical computer science. This textbook presents an introduction to the theory of automata and to their connections with the study of languages.

At the heart of the book is the notion that by considering a language as a set of words it is possible to construct automata which `recognize' words in the language. Consequently one can generate a correspondence between a hierarchy of machines and a corresponding hierarchy of grammars and languages.