An Introduction To Formal Language Theory 1st Robert N Moll by Robert N. Moll, Michael A. Arbib, A. J. Kfoury, James Pustejovsky 9781461395973, 9781461395959, 1461395976, 146139595X instant download after payment.

The study of formal languages and of related families of automata has long been at the core of theoretical computer science. Until recently, the main reasons for this centrality were connected with the specification and analy­ sis of programming languages, which led naturally to the following ques­ tions. How might a grammar be written for such a language? How could we check whether a text were or were not a well-formed program generated by that grammar? How could we parse a program to provide the structural analysis needed by a compiler? How could we check for ambiguity to en­ sure that a program has a unique analysis to be passed to the computer? This focus on programming languages has now been broadened by the in­ creasing concern of computer scientists with designing interfaces which allow humans to communicate with computers in a natural language, at least concerning problems in some well-delimited domain of discourse. The necessary work in computational linguistics draws on studies both within linguistics (the analysis of human languages) and within artificial intelligence. The present volume is the first textbook to combine the topics of formal language theory traditionally taught in the context of program­ ming languages with an introduction to issues in computational linguistics. It is one of a series, The AKM Series in Theoretical Computer Science, designed to make key mathematical developments in computer science readily accessible to undergraduate and beginning graduate students.

[From the Back Cover]

An Introduction to Formal Language Theory is the first text to integrate an exposition of the theory underlying syntax and parsing of programming languages with a thorough discussion of issues in computational linguistics and the grammar of natural languages. The book begins with standard formal language material, including a discussion of regular, context-free, context sensitive, and arbitrary phrase structure languages. This material is followed by a discussion of the corresponding families of automata: finite-state, push-down, linear bounded, and Turing machines. Important topics introduced along the way include closure properties, normal forms, nondeterminism, basic parsing algorithms, and the theory of computability and undecidabiiity.

The role of algebraic techniques in formal language theory is emphasized through a chapter devoted to the fixed point approach to the analysis of context-free languages. Advanced topics in parsing are also emphasized in an unusually clear and precise presentation.

A unique feature of the book is the two-chapter introduction to the formal theory of natural languages. Chomsky's theory is presented in a historical perspective ranging from the classic approach using transformations to the core concepts of government and binding. Alternative schemes for representing natural language are also discussed, in particular Augmented Transition Networks and Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar.

This book is part of the AKM Series in Theoretical Computer Science. A Basis for Theoretical Computer Science, also in the series, provides the necessary background for this volume, which is Intended to serve as a text for upper-division undergraduateand graduate-Ievei students in both computer science and linguistics.