This unit gives an introduction to formal languages, basic logic programming, models of computation, and computational complexity. It looks at what computers can and cannot compute. Topics include finite state automata, regular expressions, grammars, computable functions, Turing machines, polynomial-time reductions, and NP-completeness.
Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:
(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:
(b.) Additional requirements (all students):
See also Unit timetable information
CSE2303
FIT1029 and 6 points of level 1 (or above) mathematics
Graham Farr
Anuja Dharmaratne
Nathan Companez
Michael Gill
Nhan Bao Ho
Roger Lim
Chris Monteith
Rebecca Robinson (Head Tutor)
Nicholas Smith
Srinibas Swain
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
In response to student feedback, some revisions are being made to the way proofs are taught and the exercises on proofs included in assignments. Some further adjustments will be made to the treatment of Prolog.
Experience with the unit in 2014 indicated that the following changes, made for that offering of the unit, worked well:
there is no longer an assignment in the last week of semester, and the number of assignments has been reduced from five to four. All assignments will now be due at the end of their week, rather than the end of the student's laboratory session, which will allow laboratory sessions to focus on seeking help and exploring Prolog. There will be more tuition on Prolog early in the unit.
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Register for Tutorials and Laboratory classes in Allocate+ | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 |
| 1 | Introduction and Propositional Logic | |
| 2 | Predicate Logic, Introduction to Prolog, Introduction to Proofs | Laboratory 0 (no direct assessment) |
| 3 | Regular Expressions and Finite Automata | Tute 1 (no direct assessment) |
| 4 | Kleene's Theorem and Lexical Analysis | Laboratory 1 (no direct assessment); Assignment 1: Finite Automata |
| 5 | Pumping Lemma and Context Free Grammars | Tute 2 (no direct assessment) |
| 6 | Pushdown Automata and Parsing | Laboratory 2 (no direct assessment); Assignment 2: Lexical Analysis |
| 7 | Chomsky Normal Form and Turing Machines | Tute 3 (no direct assessment) |
| 8 | Computability and Universal Turing Machines | Laboratory 3 (no direct assessment); Assignment 3: Parsing |
| 9 | Decidability and Non-Computability | Tute 4 (no direct assessment) |
| 10 | Undecidability, and Class P and Class NP | Laboratory 4 (no direct assessment); Assignment 4: Computability |
| 11 | Polynomial Reducibility and NP-completeness | Tute 5 (no direct assessment) |
| 12 | Implications and Revision | Tute 6 (no direct assessment) |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
Examination (3 hours): 70%; In-semester assessment: 30%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments | Total of 30% (4 pracs x 7.5%) |
|
| Examination 1 | 70% | To be advised |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see resources and tutorials at http://www.monash.edu/library/skills/resources/tutorials/academic-integrity/
Students must submit/present all of the assignments.
Students are expected to attend tutorials and labs.
Every assignment sheet contains a guide to the assessment criteria used to assess that assignment.
In general the criteria are based on:
M. Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Thomson, 2nd edn (2006) or later.
For Prolog:
Clocksin & Mellish, Programming in Prolog, any edition, Springer. Digitised Chapter 1 is available through the library's reading list for the unit.
Also recommended for Prolog is the WWW resource: www.LearnPrologNow.org
May also be useful:
Sterling & Shapiro, The Art of Prolog, 2nd edn.
For parts of the course other than Prolog, also useful can be:
Daniel I. A. COHEN (1997), "Introduction to computer theory", 2nd Edition, Wiley, New York, ISBN-10: 0471137723.
Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html
Resubmission of assignments is not allowed.
When referencing, students familiar with LaTeX are encouraged to use LaTeX and BibTeX .
See also the Library Guides for Citing and Referencing at http://guides.lib.monash.edu/content.php?pid=88267&sid=656564
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an electronic submission). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.
Students must regularly check Moodle for announcements.
Prolog assignments (in the weeks of Labs 1, 2, 3) must be done in SWI-Prolog under Linux.
The last assignment (associated with Lab 4) will involve the free Turing machine simulator, Tuatara, and may also involve a short Prolog exercise.
M. Sipser. (2012). Introduction to the Theory of Computation. (3rd Edition) (ISBN: 9781133187790).
L. Sterling and E. Shapiro. (). Art of Prolog: Advanced Programming Techniques. (2nd Edition) (ISBN: 9780262691635).
W. Clocksin and C. S. Mellish. (). Programming in Prolog.. () Springer.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Malaysia see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Malaysia, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.