University of Nevada Las Vegas
Howard R. Hughes
College of Engineering
School of Computer Science
My Home Page
Computer Science 456/656
Automata and Formal Languages
Fall 2006
Revised August 29, 2006.
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Instructor:
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Dr. Larmore
- Office, TBE B378B.
Telephone ☎ 702-895-1096,
larmore@cs.unlv.edu
- Office Hours: Subject to change.
- 8:00 -- 9:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- 10:00 -- 11:000 Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- 1:00 -- 2:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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Contacting Me:
- It's best to send me email at
larmore@cs.unlv.edu. Be sure to write "CS456" (or "CS656")
in the subject field
so that I know what the message is about. (I delete lots of messages
without reading them, based on the subject fields.)
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You may also telephone my office and leave a message.
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Please, never try to communicate with me by leaving notes on my
door, under my door, or in my mailbox in the department office, as
those notes get lost, and I can't retrieve them remotely.
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If it is absolutely necessary to give me something, please leave it
with the department staff, but do not put it into my mailbox or push
it under my door. In this case, please also send me an email message
stating that the item has been left for me.
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Graduate Assistant:
- James Oravec.
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Days of Instruction:
- August 29, 2006 - December 7, 2006.
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Thanksgiving Day Recess:
- November 23, 2006.
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Time of Instruction:
- 4:00 - 5:15,
Tuesday and Thursday.
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Place of Instruction:
- TBE B172.
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Final Examination:
- Tuesday, December 12, 6:00 -- 8:00 PM.
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Textbook:
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Introduction to the
Theory of Computation, by Michael Sipser. PWS. ISBN 0-534-95097-3.
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We are using the
second edition.
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Prerequisites:
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CS 302 (Introduction to Data Structures) (Formerly CSC 269)
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MAT 351 (Discrete Mathematics II).
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Click here
if you did not take both
CSC 269 and MAT 351 at UNLV and receive a grade of "C" or better in
each of those two courses.
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Graduate Students:
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If you want graduate credit, you must enroll in 656, not 456.
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Compiler Construction:
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CS 456/656 is a prerequisite for CS 460/CS 678 (Compiler Construction).
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I do not advise you to take that course concurrently.
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Written Homework:
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will be assigned, collected, and graded.
You are permitted to discuss homework.
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Examinations:
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The first examination will be TBA.
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The second examination will be TBA.
This course is arguably the most interesting in the Computer Science core
curriculum. During this Semester, you will learn the accurate meanings of
a number of terms that you have probably heard. In some cases, you will
have to unlearn what you previously believed! For example, you will learn
the following concepts:
Detailed description of the CYK algorithm.
Homework and
tests from prior semesters are available.