Simulators for teaching formal languages and automata theory: a comparative survey

Formal languages and automata theory (FL&AT) are central subjects in the CS curricula which are usually diffcult both to teach and to learn. This situation has motivated the development of a number of computer simulators as educational tools which allow the student to implement and `bring to life' many topics which traditionally were studied and analyzed mathematically rather than algorithmically. This paper discusses the main features of several educational software tools currently available for teaching FL&AT. Advantages and weaknesses of different tools are analyzed and contrasted. Based in our experience, some rationales and practical considerations for the development of this kind of educational tools are proposed.Eje: Tecnología aplicada en EducaciónRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Implementation of DNA Pattern Recognition in Turing Machines

Pattern recognition is the act of takingin raw data and taking an action based on thecategory of the pattern. DNA pattern recognitionhas applications in almost any field. It hasapplications in forensics, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, DNA nanotechnology, history and soon. The size of the DNA molecules can be verylarge that it is a tedious task to perform patternrecognition for the same using commontechniques. Hence this paper describes the patternrecognition for DNA molecules using the conceptof Turing Machines. It also performs a simulationof the standard Turing Machine that performsDNA pattern recognition on the Universal TuringMachine

Simulators for teaching formal languages and automata theory: a comparative survey

Formal languages and automata theory (FL&AT) are central subjects in the CS curricula which are usually diffcult both to teach and to learn. This situation has motivated the development of a number of computer simulators as educational tools which allow the student to implement and `bring to life' many topics which traditionally were studied and analyzed mathematically rather than algorithmically. This paper discusses the main features of several educational software tools currently available for teaching FL&AT. Advantages and weaknesses of different tools are analyzed and contrasted. Based in our experience, some rationales and practical considerations for the development of this kind of educational tools are proposed.Eje: Tecnología aplicada en EducaciónRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Synthesis of regular expression problems and solutions

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Máquina de Turing Analógica para Ensino de Linguagens Formais e Autômatos

The article describes the development of a practical device for teachingin the area of Computer Theory. In the study, an adaptationof the Turing Machine is presented, using hardware and softwareintegration to interpret Formal Languages. Simulating an Automaton,sensors and motors are used to move the device head to the leftand right and to read and write the input tape. The developmentof the mechanism is described in two parts, the first includes thehardware that consists of the construction and adaptation of theTuring Machine, the second the implementation of the software andcommunication part between both. The developed device, allowsthe interpretation of a binary alphabet (0, 1), where an input word isaccepted, and as an output result, such device rejected or acceptedthe word

Proceedings of the Second Program Visualization Workshop, 2002

The Program Visualization Workshops aim to bring together researchers who design and construct program visualizations and, above all, educators who use and evaluate visualizations in their teaching. The first workshop took place in July 2000 at Porvoo, Finland. The second workshop was held in cooperation with ACM SIGCSE and took place at HornstrupCentret, Denmark in June 2002, immediately following the ITiCSE 2002 Conference in Aarhus, Denmark

Tecnología informática en un curso de lenguajes formales y teoría de autómatas: un enfoque constructivista

El estudio de lenguajes formales y teoría de autómatas (LFTA) juega un rol importante en las carreras de grado de Ciencias de la Computación. La temática involucrada es compleja, dado que contiene muchos conceptos altamente abstractos que requieren un sólido manejo matemático para su comprensión. A partir de experiencias con alumnos de grado de segundo año hemos podido apreciar que muchos estudiantes no se sienten motivados e interesados en ciertos temas fundacionales de la computación en virtud de que los perciben erróneamente como demasiado “orientados hacia las matemáticas”. Este trabajo presenta distintas estrategias didácticas basadas en el uso de tecnología informática que se introdujeron en los últimos semestres de un curso de LFTA para atacar el problema antes planteado. Dichas estrategias estuvieron sustentadas en el marco teórico provisto por el modelo constructivista. Nuestro objetivo principal fue promover un aprendizaje más motivador y significativo de los distintos conceptos teóricos de un curso de LFTA orientado a estudiantes de computación.Eje: Tecnología Informática aplicada en Educación (TIE)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Tecnología informática en un curso de lenguajes formales y teoría de autómatas: un enfoque constructivista

El estudio de lenguajes formales y teoría de autómatas (LFTA) juega un rol importante en las carreras de grado de Ciencias de la Computación. La temática involucrada es compleja, dado que contiene muchos conceptos altamente abstractos que requieren un sólido manejo matemático para su comprensión. A partir de experiencias con alumnos de grado de segundo año hemos podido apreciar que muchos estudiantes no se sienten motivados e interesados en ciertos temas fundacionales de la computación en virtud de que los perciben erróneamente como demasiado “orientados hacia las matemáticas”. Este trabajo presenta distintas estrategias didácticas basadas en el uso de tecnología informática que se introdujeron en los últimos semestres de un curso de LFTA para atacar el problema antes planteado. Dichas estrategias estuvieron sustentadas en el marco teórico provisto por el modelo constructivista. Nuestro objetivo principal fue promover un aprendizaje más motivador y significativo de los distintos conceptos teóricos de un curso de LFTA orientado a estudiantes de computación.Eje: Tecnología Informática aplicada en Educación (TIE)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI