Syllabus for CSC 4170-50
Theory of Computation

Email is by far the best way to contact me. During the workday I can usually respond almost immediately--if I don't, I'm probably tied up in a meeting. I don't usually check email in the evenings, and only occasionally on weekends.

Textbook: An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata
Peter Linz, ISBN 0-669-17342-8

Here are some comparable courses I've found on the Web:

• A Concise Tutorial on Finite Automata (and another copy)
• Theory of Computation
• Introduction to Computation Theory (most files are in postscript format)
• Formal Languages and Computation Theory (good but incomplete)

Grades will be based primarily on exams. I expect to grade 20% homework, 30% midterm, and 50% final exam. (The final exam will be comprehensive.) These numbers may be modified slightly depending on the amount of homework I assign.

Here are the topics we will cover and the relevant chapters in the book. Dates are tentative.