CMSC 28000: Introduction to Formal Languages

Fall 2013: TTR 9:00-10:20 at RY 251

Announcements

There will be weekly homework assignments handed out each Thursday afternoon and due the follwing Thursday at the beginning of class. Tutorials will be held weekly in Ry 277, Wednesday from 7:00 to 7:50 p.m.

No tutorial on Oct. 16th!

There was a tutorial session on 10/15 instead of a lecture: topics covered

MIDTERM: closed-book, closed-note exam in class, on Tuesday, November 5th (9:00 a.m. - 10:20 a.m), in Ry251
The exam will address material covered in class up to (and including) the material covered on Thursday, Oct 31, 2013.

Midterm statistics:

average = 40.93

median = 43

stdev = 11.08

Range: 10 - 20: 4, 20 - 30: 8, 30 - 40: 9, 40 - 50: 21, 50 - 60: 15

FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, December 10th - 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

The exam will address material covered in class (everything), including those covered before the midterm.

Tips:

The exam format and problem types will be similar to the midterm - proof-based.
Please make sure you know the important theorems and definitions covered in class and in the textbook.
There may be problems covered in class, but not in one of the homeworks.
The best way to get credit: 1) be precise and clear with your definitions. 2) (in proofs) Even if you don't have the technical details, make sure you clearly state the main idea and apprach of your proof.

Staff

Instructor

Ketan Mulmuley
Office hour: Thursday 3:00 p.m.
Office: Ryerson 165B
Email: mulmuley at cs dot uchicago dot edu
Teaching Assistant:

David Kim
Office hour: Monday 3:00 p.m.
Tutorial: Wednesday 7:00 p.m. @ Ryerson 277
Office: Ryerson 162B
Email: hongk at cs dot uchicago dot edu
Additional Grader:
Ted Lee
Email: slee325 at uchicago dot edu

Book

Hopcroft, Motwani, Ulman. Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and Computation. Addison-Wesley.

Grading

Homework: 40%
Midterm: 20%
Final: 40%

Homework

Homework 1 due Thursday Oct. 10 in class. Topics covered: textbook chapters 1 - 3.
Homework 2 due Thursday Oct. 17 in class. Topics covered: textbook chapters 4.1 - 4.3
Homework 3 due Thursday Oct. 24 in class. Topics covered: textbook chapters 4.2 - 4.4
Homework 4 due Thursday Oct. 31 in class. Topics covered: textbook chapters 5.1
No homework this week.
Homework 5 due Thursday Nov. 14 in class. Topics covered: textbook chapters 6 - 7
Homework 6 due Thursday Nov. 21 in class. Topics covered: textbook chapter 7.3 - 8.2
Homework 7 due Tuesday Dec. 3 in class. Topics covered: textbook chapter 8.2 - 8.4