A Course in Formal Languages, Automata and Groups

The study of formal languages and automata has proved to be a source of much interest and discussion amongst mathematicians in recent times. This book, written by Professor Ian Chiswell, attempts to provide a comprehensive textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate mathematicians with an interest in this developing field. The first three Chapters give a rigorous proof that various notions of recursively enumerable language are equivalent. Chapter Four covers the context-free languages, whereas Chapter Five clarifies the relationship between LR(k) languages and deterministic (context-free languages). Chiswell's book is unique in that it gives the reader a thorough introduction into the connections between group theory and formal languages. This information, contained within the final chapter, includes work on the Anisimov and Muller-Schupp theorems.