Turning automata theory into a hands-on course
Journal Article
We present a hands-on approach to problem solving in the formal languages and automata theory course. Using the tool JFLAP, students can solve a wide range of problems that are tedious to solve using pencil and paper. In combination with the more traditional theory problems, students study a wider-range of problems on a topic. Thus, students explore the formal languages and automata concepts computationally and visually with JFLAP, and theoretically without JFLAP. In addition, we present a new feature in JFLAP, Turing machine building blocks. One can now build complex Turing machines by using other Turing machines as components or building blocks. Copyright 2006 ACM.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Rodger, SH; Bressler, B; Finley, T; Reading, S
Published Date
- December 1, 2007
Published In
- Proceedings of the Thirty Seventh Sigcse Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Start / End Page
- 379 - 383
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1145/1121341.1121459
Citation Source
- Scopus