Adaptive Non-linear Pattern Matching Automata

Efficient pattern matching is fundamental for practical term rewrite engines. By preprocessing the given patterns into a finite deterministic automaton the matching patterns can be decided in a single traversal of the relevant parts of the input term. Most automaton-based techniques are restricted to linear patterns, where each variable occurs at most once, and require an additional post-processing step to check so-called variable consistency. However, we can show that interleaving the variable consistency and pattern matching phases can reduce the number of required steps to find all matches. Therefore, we take the existing adaptive pattern matching automata as introduced by Sekar et al and extend these with consistency checks. We prove that the resulting deterministic pattern matching automaton is correct, and show several examples where some reduction can be achieved.

Ambiguity Hierarchy of Regular Infinite Tree Languages

An automaton is unambiguous if for every input it has at most one accepting computation. An automaton is k-ambiguous (for k > 0) if for every input it has at most k accepting computations. An automaton is boundedly ambiguous if it is k-ambiguous for some $k \in \mathbb{N}$. An automaton is finitely (respectively, countably) ambiguous if for every input it has at most finitely (respectively, countably) many accepting computations. The degree of ambiguity of a regular language is defined in a natural way. A language is k-ambiguous (respectively, boundedly, finitely, countably ambiguous) if it is accepted by a k-ambiguous (respectively, boundedly, finitely, countably ambiguous) automaton. Over finite words every regular language is accepted by a deterministic automaton. Over finite trees every regular language is accepted by an unambiguous automaton. Over $\omega$-words every regular language is accepted by an unambiguous B\"uchi automaton and by a deterministic parity automaton. Over infinite trees Carayol et al. showed that there are ambiguous languages. We show that over infinite trees there is a hierarchy of degrees of ambiguity: For every k > 1 there are k-ambiguous languages that are not k - 1 ambiguous; and there are finitely (respectively countably, uncountably) ambiguous languages that are not boundedly (respectively finitely, countably) ambiguous.

Non-Self-Embedding Grammars and Descriptional Complexity

Non-self-embedding grammars are a subclass of context-free grammars which only generate regular languages. The size costs of the conversion of non-self-embedding grammars into equivalent finite automata are studied, by proving optimal bounds for the number of states of nondeterministic and deterministic automata equivalent to given non-self-embedding grammars. In particular, each non-self-embedding grammar of size s can be converted into an equivalent nondeterministic automaton which has an exponential size in s and into an equivalent deterministic automaton which has a double exponential size in s. These costs are shown to be optimal. Moreover, they do not change if the larger class of quasi-non-self-embedding grammars, which still generate only regular languages, is considered. In the case of letter bounded languages, the cost of the conversion of non-self-embedding grammars and quasi-non-self-embedding grammars into deterministic automata reduces to an exponential of a polynomial in s.

Concise Representations of Reversible Automata

In this paper, we present two concise representations of reversible automata. Both representations have a size comparable to the size of the minimum equivalent deterministic automaton and can be exponentially smaller than the size of the explicit representations of corresponding reversible automata. Using these representations it is possible to simulate the computations of reversible automata without explicitly writing down their complete descriptions.

On the length of uncompletable words in unambiguous automata

This paper deals with uncomplete unambiguous automata. In this setting, we investigate the minimal length of uncompletable words. This problem is connected with a well-known conjecture formulated by A. Restivo. We introduce the notion of relatively maximal row for a suitable monoid of matrices. We show that, if M is a monoid of {0, 1}-matrices of dimension n generated by a set S, then there is a matrix of M containing a relatively maximal row which can be expressed as a product of O(n3) matrices of S. As an application, we derive some upper bound to the minimal length of an uncompletable word of an uncomplete unambiguous automaton, in the case that its transformation monoid contains a relatively maximal row which is not maximal. Finally we introduce the maximal row automaton associated with an unambiguous automaton A. It is a deterministic automaton, which is complete if and only if A is. We prove that the minimal length of the uncompletable words of A is polynomially bounded by the number of states of A and the minimal length of the uncompletable words of the associated maximal row automaton.

Decidability of regular language genus computation

This article continues the study of the genus of regular languages that the authors introduced in a 2013 paper (published in 2018). In order to understand further the genus g(L) of a regular language L, we introduce the genus size of |L|gen to be the minimal size of all finite deterministic automata of genus g(L) computing L.We show that the minimal finite deterministic automaton of a regular language can be arbitrarily far away from a finite deterministic automaton realizing the minimal genus and computing the same language, in terms of both the difference of genera and the difference in size. In particular, we show that the genus size |L|gen can grow at least exponentially in size |L|. We conjecture, however, the genus of every regular language to be computable. This conjecture implies in particular that the planarity of a regular language is decidable, a question asked in 1976 by R. V. Book and A. K. Chandra. We prove here the conjecture for a fairly generic class of regular languages having no short cycles. The methods developed for the proof are used to produce new genus-based hierarchies of regular languages and in particular, we show a new family of regular languages on a two-letter alphabet having arbitrary high genus.