Our assignments will only go to the CS562 mailing list (so send me your mailing address, if you haven't done so already). Canvas insists on using your sdsu.edu address, but I don't. Let me know where you'd like mail to go, and I'll stick with your preference. [I don't expect to make much use of Canvas at all...]
Since not everyone has the text yet, here are some approximations
to the first two chapters (the page numbers don't match up with the
printed textbook, and there are probably errors in these files, but they
should be helpful anyway):
A pdf of Chapter 0
A pdf of Chapter 1
Syllabus Information:
To get relevant course mailings:
Send mail to carroll@edoras.sdsu.edu,
just to let me know your name and email address
(I will email your grades to you at various points during the semester,
and this will help ensure I send the right grades to the right address.
[I don't expect to use the Canvas website much.]
Homework assignments will also be announced in class, but the email version
of the announcements will usually contain various hints and explanations.)
Text:
Theory of Finite Automata: John Carroll and Darrell Long
(available at Cal Copy (619-582-9949, 6367 Alvarado Court #104)
as a reader (about $25, which is basically the cost of xeroxing 400 pages),
or perhaps as a real textbook on Ebay or Amazon (for not much more)...
look here for pricing.
Course Content:
We will cover the following sections of the text:
0.1-0.6, Review: Equivalence Relations, Functions, Induction
1.1-1.5, Deterministic Finite Automata Basics
2.1-2.3, Right Congruences, Nerode's Theorem, Pumping Lemmas
3.1-3.2, DFA Minimization
4.1-4.3, NDFAs
5.1-5.2, Closure Properties
6.1-6.4, Regular Expressions
7.1-7.2, 7.4, Finite-State Transducers
8.1-8.3, Regular Grammars
12.1, 12.3, Decidability
Prerequisites:
Math245 (Discrete Mathematics).
Brush up on induction, equivalence classes, and well-defined functions.
This is covered briefly in ``Chapter Zero'' of our textbook.
There is a good approximation of what is in Chapter 0 (and Chapter 1)
in the links given above.
Grading:
The homework will comprise about one third of your total points.
Exams are closed book, but you may bring one page of notes to each exam.
Exam 1 and Exam 2 will each comprise about one sixth of your grade,
and the (comprehensive) final will comprise about one third of your grade.
https://registrar.sdsu.edu/calendars/final_exam_schedule/fall-2021-final-exam-schedule
says that our final is scheduled [in our normal classroom] on
Tuesday, December 14 (2021), 3:30-5:30pm
Policies:
Homework will be collected and graded regularly.
The first portion of each
class period will be reserved for questions about homework.
Homework is due at 4:00pm;
partial credit is given for partially worked or partially correct assignments,
and will be returned and discussed the following period.
There is no credit possible for late assignments.
You can typeset your proofs if you wish, but pencil and paper submissions
are fine (as long as they are legible!)
You may discuss ideas,
but you must do your own work and write up your own solutions and programs.
In particular, you may NOT work on an assignment (or a program) as a team.
Using another person's work is cheating.
Copying a program from a book is plagiarism, just like copying from a paper
for a humanities class, unless you give an appropriate citation.
If you are in
doubt about where the border line is for our assignments, ASK ME.
It should go without saying (but
past experience suggests saying it) that copying on exams, homework,
or other forms of cheating will be dealt with severely.
Automatic failure of the course is guaranteed in such cases,
and sanctions can include expulsion from the university.
If an assignment is copied (or developed as a team),
BOTH parties will fail the course
(so, if someone asks to copy your work, point them at this paragraph :-)
Your assignments are due at the beginning of class
on the day specified on the assignment.
To maintain fairness and uniformity of grading,
I cannot accept late assignments.
Similarly, there will be no
make-up exams. In unusual circumstances (to be determined by me),
you might be allowed to take an oral makeup at the end of the semester.
If you know in advance that you will miss an exam,
see me about it in advance.
Note the date of our final exam now;
don't make plans that conflict with the final.
Note in particular that the university policy described in
https://registrar.sdsu.edu/calendars/final_exam_schedule/fall-2021-final-exam-schedule
prohibits taking the final early.
This is a good place to stop reading. What follows are mandatory statements the university forces every instructor to include. The statements found in each of these policies are NOT my words!
Obligatory "COVID insanity statement."
The following is what we were told
to announce at the start of the semester. Be aware that the administration
seems to modify the policy on a weekly, if not daily, basis.
"Effective Fall 2021, students who register for face-to-face classes are
expected to attend as indicated in the course schedule. Faculty teaching
face-to-face courses will not be required to create a new, alternative
on-line class as an accommodation for any student.
Students with medical conditions that would present a COVID-related risk
in a face-to-face instructional setting should contact the Student Ability
Success Center (https://sdsu.edu/sasc) to begin the process of getting
support. Students who do not adhere to the Covid19 Student Policies or the
directives of their faculty will be directed to leave the classroom and
will be referred to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Do not come to campus if you do not feel well. Remain home and monitor your symptoms and seek medical attention as needed."
Obligatory "Student Learning Outcomes" statement:
1. Ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the
program's student outcomes and to the discipline.
2. 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.
3. Ability to precisely define infinite sets (languages) via various finite
descriptions: designing DFAs, NDFAs, regular sets, regular expressions,
Mealy machines, etc.
4. Ability to transform natural language descriptions into formal
specifications, and to classify the complexity of a language.
5. Mastery of the techniques for generating and minimizing the formal constructs.
Obligatory "Accommodating students with disabilities" statement:
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need
accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student
Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt
of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services
as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive,
and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until you
have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student
Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Obligatory "Religious observances" notification:
According to the University Policy File, students should notify the instructors
of affected courses of planned absences for religious observances by the end of
the second week of classes.