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Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation
It has been more than 20 years since this classic book on formal languages, automata theory, and computational complexity was first published. With this long-awaited revision, the authors continue to present the theory in a concise and straightforward manner, now with an eye out for the practical applications. They have revised this book to make it more accessible to today's students, including the addition of more material on writing proofs, more figures and pictures to convey ideas, side-boxes to highlight other interesting material, and a less formal writing style. Exercises at the end of each chapter, including some new, easier exercises, help readers confirm and enhance their understanding of the material.
521 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
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2001 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 14, 2014
Read in tandem with the definitive Sipser text on the topic. I would recommend Sipser, as it is much better at simply communicating the raw concepts, but is weak in application to keep you engaged. And that is where this text delivers. It kept me interested in the topics so that I would dig deeper in to Sipser. The two are parallel from start to finish, so it made an excellent companion.
March 30, 2015
This is the original edition which has a nice description of CSGs and LBA. These two topics are omitted in later editions. I lost my personal copy of the original edition and ordered the later edition only to find that several important topics including the above two which are of particular interest to me to be missing. While the missing topics are not very practical they have certain theoretical beauty. The two author edition is highly recommended.
PS: Original review which had been written on an iPad is revised to be lot more coherent with proper grammar and spelling corrections. Smartphone/Handheld/Tablet/Phablet predictive spelling/grammar correction, to put it mildly, is a shame to the model based predictive NLP research community.
PS: Original review which had been written on an iPad is revised to be lot more coherent with proper grammar and spelling corrections. Smartphone/Handheld/Tablet/Phablet predictive spelling/grammar correction, to put it mildly, is a shame to the model based predictive NLP research community.
October 19, 2011
Enjoyed studying undergraduate CS theory from this book. It was interesting enough for me to read the half we didn't get to in class's on my own, and it didn't require monumental effort / re-reading / outside materials to understand the subject matter. In that regard, I would say it is a find undergrad book, but probably not the best choice for grad level studies. It does seem to cover a lot of the expected knowledge that shows up in other classes, and it doesn't presuppose the student is an expert at magnetically proof but also does not avoid proofs.
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August 31, 2023in terms of style, this book favors laborious construction and unyieldingly rigorous precision over conceptual understanding. It demands careful understanding of every word in a sentence and if I skip a few sentences, I'm in the swamp of befuddlement.
December 28, 2007
SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND!!!
January 16, 2024
This was another textbook for my studies and I read about 50% of the book. I thought it was really good and if this topic was relevant to me, I would read the whole book. There were many exercises and examples. Also, I think the authors did a good job explaining all the topics I read.
May 4, 2013
I haven't read the original version of this book, which some computer scientists told me that they prefer. But for my own sake, as an engineering who just want to get a grasp of some basic ideas about automata, Turing machine, decidability and NP vs. P, I would say this book is the perfect match.
June 25, 2017
Not a great book to learn about Automata. Good as a reference.
March 22, 2019
Worst One......
November 22, 2023
tearjerker
November 29, 2015
After picking at this for goodies here and there, I finally read it more or less start to finish while taking the Automata course from one of the authors on Coursera. Wasn't able to give this learning experience quite the commitment I had in mind, but I still got a lot out of it.
As for the book, I like this first edition I have better than its successors. The proofs are the kind that you can get your hands dirty with and in so doing you really come to grips with them. Coming from a maths background they're not Rudin-esque, but not inelegant either. Probably best to work through the book in the order the material is presented, but once you have it will do for a reference as well.
The popular alternative is Sipser, which I agree might be more intuitive and easier going on the face of it, but you can get a deeper understanding here if you work for it- I guess working for it just feels less optional than with Sipser.
As for the book, I like this first edition I have better than its successors. The proofs are the kind that you can get your hands dirty with and in so doing you really come to grips with them. Coming from a maths background they're not Rudin-esque, but not inelegant either. Probably best to work through the book in the order the material is presented, but once you have it will do for a reference as well.
The popular alternative is Sipser, which I agree might be more intuitive and easier going on the face of it, but you can get a deeper understanding here if you work for it- I guess working for it just feels less optional than with Sipser.
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December 11, 2012Picked up from Saida Akhter in exchange for
ECE 372 Project Report on January, 30th 2012.
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1 of: Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation (3rd Edition) by John E. Hopcroft [Hardcover]
ECE 372 Project Report on January, 30th 2012.
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1 of: Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation (3rd Edition) by John E. Hopcroft [Hardcover]
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August 30, 2016Extremely dense. This was the text for an Automata Coursera class I did. I think this is a good reference book, but I found it difficult to get through independently. That is, without accompanying lectures, this book would be challenging to digest.
The exercises in the book are helpful.
The exercises in the book are helpful.
February 22, 2007
Translated to farsi with Ahmad Reza Jalili.
It's my reference on this term teaching.
It had good slides in it's site, translated to farsi by Dr Minaei.
It's my reference on this term teaching.
It had good slides in it's site, translated to farsi by Dr Minaei.
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September 13, 2010best text book for an introduction on this subject
August 5, 2011
A classic, so there's not much to say. I did find the notation somewhat cumbersome.
October 24, 2014
Since I am a beginner it's a bit tough for me to grasp the subject.
Want to read
December 2, 2014dddaa aaa
December 10, 2014
This is really a good book. I want to learn more from this book.
July 17, 2019
All the subjects are well-explained, yet it's a little too lengthy for some parts.
Currently reading
February 8, 2011hgkjdsg
December 10, 2023
This was not written very accessibly. I wish there was more guidance on the exercises, since I am more of a concrete learner. I found this textbook too abstract. Another section at my school used Dr. Michael Sipser's book, I found that one had more online support (he has an MIT OCW course free online): https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/18-404j-t... - not light reading or a light course for sure.
December 21, 2023
I've always stumbled with automata theory in general, but Dr. Hopcroft really comes through with his very straightforward and concise approach along with a sizable coverage of practical applications. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their grip on formal languages and theoretical computation.
January 28, 2018
The original text is easy to understand.
December 9, 2018
Can be a little dense at times, Sipser's book on the other hand is a lot easier to digest.
May 16, 2025
To my secret admirers - I will make a comeback (in a big way), I just have a lot on my plate right now
February 22, 2025
ottimo libro sul piano teorico.
esplicita teoremi e dimostrazioni in modo chiaro ed efficace.
peccato per la parte di esercizi che è molto misera e non presenta soluzioni, se non molto stringate, su pochissimi esercizi
esplicita teoremi e dimostrazioni in modo chiaro ed efficace.
peccato per la parte di esercizi che è molto misera e non presenta soluzioni, se non molto stringate, su pochissimi esercizi
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March 7, 2016good job
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September 6, 2018Location: ND6 IRC
Accession No: DL030136
Accession No: DL030136
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews