562 research outputs found
In the Maze of Data Languages
In data languages the positions of strings and trees carry a label from a
finite alphabet and a data value from an infinite alphabet. Extensions of
automata and logics over finite alphabets have been defined to recognize data
languages, both in the string and tree cases. In this paper we describe and
compare the complexity and expressiveness of such models to understand which
ones are better candidates as regular models
Reachability in Higher-Order-Counters
Higher-order counter automata (\HOCS) can be either seen as a restriction of
higher-order pushdown automata (\HOPS) to a unary stack alphabet, or as an
extension of counter automata to higher levels. We distinguish two principal
kinds of \HOCS: those that can test whether the topmost counter value is zero
and those which cannot.
We show that control-state reachability for level \HOCS with -test is
complete for \mbox{}-fold exponential space; leaving out the -test
leads to completeness for \mbox{}-fold exponential time. Restricting
\HOCS (without -test) to level , we prove that global (forward or
backward) reachability analysis is \PTIME-complete. This enhances the known
result for pushdown systems which are subsumed by level \HOCS without
-test.
We transfer our results to the formal language setting. Assuming that \PTIME
\subsetneq \PSPACE \subsetneq \mathbf{EXPTIME}, we apply proof ideas of
Engelfriet and conclude that the hierarchies of languages of \HOPS and of \HOCS
form strictly interleaving hierarchies. Interestingly, Engelfriet's
constructions also allow to conclude immediately that the hierarchy of
collapsible pushdown languages is strict level-by-level due to the existing
complexity results for reachability on collapsible pushdown graphs. This
answers an open question independently asked by Parys and by Kobayashi.Comment: Version with Full Proofs of a paper that appears at MFCS 201
Two-Way Parikh Automata
Parikh automata extend automata with counters whose values can only be tested at the end of the computation, with respect to membership into a semi-linear set. Parikh automata have found several applications, for instance in transducer theory, as they enjoy a decidable emptiness problem.
In this paper, we study two-way Parikh automata. We show that emptiness becomes undecidable in the non-deterministic case. However, it is PSpace-C when the number of visits to any input position is bounded and the semi-linear set is given as an existential Presburger formula. We also give tight complexity bounds for the inclusion, equivalence and universality problems. Finally, we characterise precisely the complexity of those problems when the semi-linear constraint is given by an arbitrary Presburger formula
Synchronizing Deterministic Push-Down Automata Can Be Really Hard
The question if a deterministic finite automaton admits a software reset in the form of a so-called synchronizing word can be answered in polynomial time. In this paper, we extend this algorithmic question to deterministic automata beyond finite automata. We prove that the question of synchronizability becomes undecidable even when looking at deterministic one-counter automata. This is also true for another classical mild extension of regularity, namely that of deterministic one-turn push-down automata. However, when we combine both restrictions, we arrive at scenarios with a PSPACE-complete (and hence decidable) synchronizability problem. Likewise, we arrive at a decidable synchronizability problem for (partially) blind deterministic counter automata.
There are several interpretations of what synchronizability should mean for deterministic push-down automata. This is depending on the role of the stack: should it be empty on synchronization, should it be always the same or is it arbitrary? For the automata classes studied in this paper, the complexity or decidability status of the synchronizability problem is mostly independent of this technicality, but we also discuss one class of automata where this makes a difference
Decision Problems for Subclasses of Rational Relations over Finite and Infinite Words
We consider decision problems for relations over finite and infinite words
defined by finite automata. We prove that the equivalence problem for binary
deterministic rational relations over infinite words is undecidable in contrast
to the case of finite words, where the problem is decidable. Furthermore, we
show that it is decidable in doubly exponential time for an automatic relation
over infinite words whether it is a recognizable relation. We also revisit this
problem in the context of finite words and improve the complexity of the
decision procedure to single exponential time. The procedure is based on a
polynomial time regularity test for deterministic visibly pushdown automata,
which is a result of independent interest.Comment: v1: 31 pages, submitted to DMTCS, extended version of the paper with
the same title published in the conference proceedings of FCT 2017; v2: 32
pages, minor revision of v1 (DMTCS review process), results unchanged; v3: 32
pages, enabled hyperref for Figure 1; v4: 32 pages, add reference for known
complexity results for the slenderness problem; v5: 32 pages, added DMTCS
metadat
Programming Using Automata and Transducers
Automata, the simplest model of computation, have proven to be an effective tool in reasoning about programs that operate over strings. Transducers augment automata to produce outputs and have been used to model string and tree transformations such as natural language translations. The success of these models is primarily due to their closure properties and decidable procedures, but good properties come at the price of limited expressiveness. Concretely, most models only support finite alphabets and can only represent small classes of languages and transformations. We focus on addressing these limitations and bridge the gap between the theory of automata and transducers and complex real-world applications: Can we extend automata and transducer models to operate over structured and infinite alphabets? Can we design languages that hide the complexity of these formalisms? Can we define executable models that can process the input efficiently? First, we introduce succinct models of transducers that can operate over large alphabets and design BEX, a language for analysing string coders. We use BEX to prove the correctness of UTF and BASE64 encoders and decoders. Next, we develop a theory of tree transducers over infinite alphabets and design FAST, a language for analysing tree-manipulating programs. We use FAST to detect vulnerabilities in HTML sanitizers, check whether augmented reality taggers conflict, and optimize and analyze functional programs that operate over lists and trees. Finally, we focus on laying the foundations of stream processing of hierarchical data such as XML files and program traces. We introduce two new efficient and executable models that can process the input in a left-to-right linear pass: symbolic visibly pushdown automata and streaming tree transducers. Symbolic visibly pushdown automata are closed under Boolean operations and can specify and efficiently monitor complex properties for hierarchical structures over infinite alphabets. Streaming tree transducers can express and efficiently process complex XML transformations while enjoying decidable procedures
Revisiting Membership Problems in Subclasses of Rational Relations
We revisit the membership problem for subclasses of rational relations over
finite and infinite words: Given a relation R in a class C_2, does R belong to
a smaller class C_1? The subclasses of rational relations that we consider are
formed by the deterministic rational relations, synchronous (also called
automatic or regular) relations, and recognizable relations. For almost all
versions of the membership problem, determining the precise complexity or even
decidability has remained an open problem for almost two decades. In this
paper, we provide improved complexity and new decidability results. (i) Testing
whether a synchronous relation over infinite words is recognizable is
NL-complete (PSPACE-complete) if the relation is given by a deterministic
(nondeterministic) omega-automaton. This fully settles the complexity of this
recognizability problem, matching the complexity of the same problem over
finite words. (ii) Testing whether a deterministic rational binary relation is
recognizable is decidable in polynomial time, which improves a previously known
double exponential time upper bound. For relations of higher arity, we present
a randomized exponential time algorithm. (iii) We provide the first algorithm
to decide whether a deterministic rational relation is synchronous. For binary
relations the algorithm even runs in polynomial time
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