Abstract

Automata Theory involves the evolution, study and application of abstract machines to solve computational problems. A number of research domains such as Compiler Construction, Robotics, Logic Programming, and Linguistic Computing make extensive use of automata theory. A key component of the 5-tuple that constitute a finite automata is the set of transition functions, which gives rise to an evolutionary design tool called the transition diagram. A transition diagram models the movement of a machine from one state or location to another. Usually, in cases where the number of states covered by the transiting object is minimal, generating a transition diagram may follow sequentially, from entry till acceptance state through separate invocations. However, as the number of states grow from tens to hundreds or thousands, the need for a computational solution becomes very apparent. Suppose the movement of an automata driven refuse collection robot which covers hundreds of locations per day is modelled using a transition diagram, such that each movement represents a transition from one state to another. Traditionally, this would require an invocation of a separate transition function for every singular transition, giving rise to a number of sequential system calls equivalent to the total number of separate transitions. Such a method could be very tedious, time consuming, and error-prone. The aim of this research is to evolve an algorithm that generates a single line of recursive code that drives an unlimited number of transition moves at once, instead of maintaining separate invocations. A new algorithmic technique termed quantum code blocking was also evolved to test the output, to ensure its correctness.