Arba Minch University

Arba Minch Institute of Technology

Department of Computer Science & IT

Formal Language and

Automata Theory

Prince M. Thomas

Target Group - G3CS – A/B/C Academic Year – 2019/20

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 Chapter – 05
Simplification of CFG and Pushdown Automata

Methods for Transforming Grammar – Normal Forms –

Chomsky’s hierarchy of Grammar – Pushdown Automata –
Non Deterministic Pushdown Automata – Pushdown
Automata and Context Free languages – Deterministic
Pushdown Automata and Deterministic Context Free
language – Properties of Context free Languages

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Methods for Transforming Grammar

Transforming grammar is nothing but simplification of

grammar. We have discussed simplification of CFG in
Chapter-04. Methods for Transforming grammar are;
• Removal of useless symbol
• Removal of ε productions
• Removal of Unit productions

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Normal Forms

In previous unit, you have learned how to simplify the

CFG. Now here how to write the grammar in a specific
form. Using that forms you can decide, how many non-
terminal and terminals should present in the right side of
the grammar. Lot of normal forms available but here you
are going to see two important forms.

• Chomsky’s Normal Form (CNF)

• Greibach Normal Form (GNF)

Here you are going to study the above two forms with help
of example.
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Chomsky’s Normal Form

Definition:
A CFG is in CNF, if each of its productions has one of
the following two forms.
1. Non-terminal  Non-terminal . Non-terminal
• Only two non-terminal in the right of production
• Ex: S  AB

2. Non-terminal  terminal
• only one terminal in the right of the production
• Ex: S  a

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 Cont.,
Procedure for converting to CNF:
 Simplify the CFG
 Eliminate non-terminal, if more than two non-terminal presented in the
production and make new rule
 Ex: S  ABA
 In CNF form: P1  BA rule 1
S  AP1 rule 2
See the rule 1 and 2, only two non-terminals only available in right of the
production.
 Eliminate the terminal, if more than one terminal is presented in the
production and make new rule
Ex: S  aa
In CNF form: P1  a rule1
P2  a rule2
S  P1P2 rule3
Now see the rule1 and 2 are containing only one terminal. Also rule3 is
containing two non-terminals only
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 Cont.,
Example 5.1: Convert the given CFG to CNF
S  aSa | bSb | a | b
Write the rules separately S  aSa rule1
S  bSb rule2
S  a rule3
S  b rule4
Start with adding new symbol for the terminals
Aa new rule1
Bb new rule2
Apply new rule1 in rule1
S  ASA in this rule three non-terminal available so eliminate
the non-terminals
S  AP1 new rule3
P1  SA new rule4
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 Cont.,
Apply new rule2 in rule2
S  BSB in this rule three non-terminal available so eliminate the
non-terminals
S  BP2 new rule5
P2  SB new rule6
Now consider the rule3 and rule4, these two rules are already in
CNF format so no need to change it.
Finally the CFG in CNF
Aa new rule1
Bb new rule2
S  AP1 new rule3
P1  SA new rule4
S  BP2 new rule5
P2  SB new rule6
Sa new rule7
Sb new rule8 8
 Cont.,
Example 5.2: Reduce the following grammar to chomsky
normal form.
S  a | AAB
A  ab | aB | 
B  aba | 
First simplify the given grammar by removal of unit
production, useless symbol and  production. After simplify
the above CFG you will get the simplified CFG like the
below:

S  a | AB | AA | B
A  ab | aB | a
B  aba
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 Cont.,
In the simplified CFG, rule1, rule2, rule3 and rule7 are already in
CNF.
Rule4 S  B can be
B  aba
Let P1  a is in CNF newrule1
P2  b is in CNF newrule2
so now B  P1P2P1
P3  P2P1 is in CNF newrule3
so B P1P3 is in CNF newrule4
So S  P1P3 in CNF newrule5
Rule5 A  ab apply the newrule1 and 2
So A  P1P2 is in CNF newrule6
Rule6 A  aB apply the newrule1
So A  P1B is in CNF newrule7
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 Cont.,
Final the CFG in CNF
P1  a
P2  b
P3  P2P1
B P1P3
S  P1P3
A  P1P2
A  P1B
S  a | AB | AA
Aa

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Greibach Normal Form (GNF)
Definition:
A CFG is in CNF, if each of its productions has one of
the following form.

Non-terminal  one terminal . Any number of Non-terminal

• Only one terminal and any number of non-terminals in the

right of production
–Ex: S  a, S  aB, S  aBA,

But S  Aa, S  AB, S  AA are not in GNF

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 Cont.,
Example 5.3: Convert the grammar CFG to GNF
S  abSbrule1
S  aa rule2
Consider rule1: S  abSb
if we create another NT to define terminal b.
Bb newrule1
Hence S  aBSB newrule2
Now consider rule2: S  aa
if we create another NT to define terminal a.
Aa newrule3
Hence S  aA newrule4
So the GNF will be:
S  aBSB | aA
Aa
Bb 13
 Cont.,
Example 5.4: Convert the given CFG to GNF
S  ABA
A aA | 
B  bB | 
Before converting the CFG to GNF, first we have to simplify the CFG by
using the removal of useless symbol,  production and unit production.
After simplifying the CFG, we will get the below simplified CFG.
S  ABA | AB | BA | AA | A | B
A  aA | a
B  bB | b
In the above CFG, rule7, 8, 9 and 10 are in GNF so need to convert. Then
the remaining rules from the CFG has to change in the GNF format.
Let us replace the A by aA and a
So S  aABA | aBA | aAB | aB | aAA | aA | a
Let us replace the B by bB and b
So S  bBA | bB | bA | b
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 Cont.,
Hence the GNF
S  aABA | aBA | aAB | aB | aAA | aA | a
S  bBA | bB | bA | b
A  aA | a
B  bB | b

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Chomsky’s hierarchy of Grammar
The Chomsky hierarchy
1. Type-0 Unrestricted Grammar
2. Type-1 Context Free Grammar
3. Type-2 Context Sensitive Grammar
4. Type-3 Regular Grammar

Type-0 Unrestricted Grammar:

It includes all formal grammars. It generate exactly all languages
that can recognized by Turing machine. These languages are
known as Recursively Enumerable Language

Type-1 Context Sensitive Grammar:

Generate the context-sensitive languages. The languages
described by these grammars are exactly all languages that
can be recognized by a linear bounded automata
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 Cont.,
Type-2 Context Free Grammar:
Generate the context-free languages. These are defined by rules of
the form with a non-terminal and a string of terminals and/or non-
terminals. These languages are exactly all languages that can be
recognized by a non-deterministic pushdown automaton.

Type-3 Regular Grammar:

Generate the regular languages. Such a grammar restricts its rules
to a single non-terminal on the left-hand side and a right-hand side
consisting of a single terminal, possibly followed by a single non-
terminal (right regular).

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Pushdown Automata
Introduction:
Non-regular languages are not accepted by the Finite State
machine. So we need another new model to accept the non-regular
languages. That automata is called Pushdown Automata (PDA). It has
a stack which is used to remember the input.
Inserting symbol into the stack is called Push operation
Removing symbol from the stack is called Pop operation
Definition: PDA is a collection of the seven components
M = (Q, Σ, δ,┌, q , Z0, F )
0

Q – finite set of states

Σ – input set
┌ - stack alphabet
q – starting state
0

Z - starting symbol in stack which is in ┌

0

F – set of final state

δ - mapping function
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Cont.,

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Pushdown Automata and Context Free Language

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Cont.,

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Cont.,

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Cont.,

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Cont.,

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26
Cont.,

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Cont.,

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Cont.,

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Deterministic PDA and Deterministic CFL

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Properties of CFL
The context free languages closed under some operation means after
performing that particular operation on those CFLs the resultant
language is context free language. Properties are:
Here L, L1 and L2 are considered as CFL
1. The context free languages are closed under union
L = L1 U L2
2. The context free languages are closed under concatenation
L = L1 L2
3. The context free languages are closed under kleen closure
L1 = L1*
4. The context free languages are not closed under intersection

5. The context free languages are not closed under complement

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End of Chapter - 05

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