1. Show that Kleene’s theorem and its significance in regular language theory.
Understanding
o Answer: Kleene's theorem asserts the equivalence between regular grammars and finite
automata, demonstrating that any language generated by a regular grammar can be
recognized by a finite automaton, and vice versa. This theorem forms the foundation of
understanding regular languages and their properties.
2. What is the main purpose of the Pumping Lemma for regular languages? Remembering
o Answer: The Pumping Lemma serves as a tool to prove that certain languages are not
regular. It states that for any regular language, there exists a pumping length beyond which
certain strings cannot be generated or recognized by finite automata. This lemma aids in
demonstrating the limitations of regular languages.
3. Define Context-Free Grammars (CFG) and their role in language theory. Remembering
o Answer: Context-Free Grammars (CFG) are formal grammars consisting of a set of
production rules where each rule has a single non-terminal symbol on the left-hand side
and a sequence of terminals and/or non-terminals on the right-hand side. They are
fundamental in generating context-free languages and are extensively used in parsing
algorithms and language processing.
4. What are the key properties of regular languages? Remembering
o Answer: Regular languages exhibit closure under union, concatenation, and Kleene star
operations. They can be recognized by finite automata, possess decidable membership, and
every regular language has an equivalent minimal finite automaton.
5. Explain the significance of Chomsky and Greibach normal forms in context-free grammars.
Understanding
o Answer: Chomsky Normal Form (CNF) and Greibach Normal Form (GNF) are standard
forms used to represent context-free grammars. CNF simplifies the structure of production
rules, facilitating parsing algorithms, while GNF is advantageous for certain parsing
techniques. These normal forms streamline the analysis and manipulation of context-free
grammars.
6. Define Regular Grammars and Finite Automata. Remembering
o Regular Grammars: A regular grammar is a formal system used to generate all possible
strings in a regular language. It consists of a set of production rules where each rule
specifies how to replace a non-terminal symbol with a string of terminal symbols or other
non-terminal symbols.
o Finite Automata: A finite automaton is a computational model with a finite number of
states that can transition between states based on input symbols. It recognizes languages
that can be described by regular expressions.
7. What are the properties of regular languages? Remembering
o Closure Properties: Regular languages are closed under union, concatenation, and Kleene
star operations.
o Decidability: There exist algorithms to determine whether a given string belongs to a
regular language.
o Minimization: Every regular language has an equivalent minimal finite automaton.
8. Explain the Pumping Lemma for Regular Languages.
o The Pumping Lemma is a tool used to prove that certain languages are not regular. It states
that for any regular language L, there exists a constant p (the pumping length) such that any
string s in L of length at least p can be divided into three parts, s = xyz, satisfying certain
conditions. This lemma can be used to show that a language does not meet the conditions
of the Pumping Lemma, thus proving it is not regular.
9. What are Context-Free Grammars (CFG) & Context-Free Languages (CFL)? Remembering
o Context-Free Grammars: A CFG is a formal grammar in which each production rule is of
the form A -> α, where A is a non-terminal symbol and α is a string of terminals and/or
non-terminals. These grammars are used to generate context-free languages.
o Context-Free Languages: CFLs are languages that can be generated by context-free
grammars. These languages have applications in programming languages, natural language
processing, and parsing algorithms.
10. Explain Chomsky and Greibach Normal Forms. Understanding
o Chomsky Normal Form (CNF): In CNF, all production rules are of the form A -> BC or A
-> a, where A, B, and C are non-terminal symbols, and 'a' is a terminal symbol.
Additionally, there are no ε-productions (productions that generate the empty string).
o Greibach Normal Form (GNF): In GNF, all production rules are of the form A -> aγ,
where 'a' is a terminal symbol, A is a non-terminal symbol, and γ is a string of non-terminal
symbols. Like CNF, GNF also doesn't allow ε-productions.
PART B
1. How does Kleene's theorem establish the equivalence between regular grammars and finite
automata?
2. Describe the conditions imposed by the Pumping Lemma for regular languages.
3. What distinguishes context-free grammars from regular grammars?
4. Discuss the closure properties exhibited by regular languages.
5. How does the Pumping Lemma aid in demonstrating the non-regularity of certain
languages?
6. What role do context-free grammars play in natural language processing?
7. Explain the structure and purpose of Chomsky Normal Form (CNF) in context-free
grammars.
PART C
1. What are the limitations of regular languages compared to context-free
languages?
8. How does one demonstrate that a language is not regular using the Pumping Lemma?
9. What advantages do Greibach Normal Form (GNF) provide in certain parsing algorithms?
