CS 3100 - Models of Computation

This course covers different models of computation and how they relate to the understanding and better design of real-world computer programs. As examples, we will study Turing machines that help define the fundamental limits of computing, Push-down Automata that help build language parsers, and Finite Automata that help build string pattern matchers. This course also covers the basics of designing correctly functioning programs, and introduces the use of mathematical logic through Boolean satisfiability methods. The course will involve the use of hands-on programming exercises written at a sufficiently high level of abstraction that the connections between theory and practice are apparent.