Context-Sensitive and Turing Machines

Back to Automata Theory
Arjit Sharma
01 Min

What Is a Context-Sensitive Grammar (CSG)?

Context-Sensitive Grammars are more powerful than context-free grammars (CFGs). Their rules allow multiple symbols on the left-hand side, restricted by context.

For example: αAβ → αγβ (A transforms to γ only when surrounded by α and β).

A Context-Sensitive Grammar can generate more complex patterns than CFGs, and these patterns are recognized by Linear Bounded Automata (LBA). An LBA is like a Turing Machine but with limited memory (it can only use memory proportional to the input length)

Example of a Context-Sensitive Language:

L = { aⁿbⁿcⁿ | n ≥ 1 }

In this language, the number of a’s must match the number of b’s and c’s. A CFG can’t handle this, but a context-sensitive grammar can.

Turing Machines: The Ultimate Power

A Turing Machine (TM) is the most powerful model of computation. It can simulate any other machine (including PDAs and LBAs) and is the foundation of computation theory.

A Turing Machine consists of:

  1. An infinite tape (like memory) divided into cells
  2. A head that reads and writes on the tape
  3. A state register to keep track of the machine’s state
  4. A transition function that determines the machine’s next action (move left/right, write a symbol, change state)

Turing Machine Example

turing-machine

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