Structural Representation of Automata | Block Diagram of Finite Automata

Ø  An automaton with a finite number of states is called finite automaton or finite state machine.

Ø  The block diagram of finite automaton consist of falling three major components

·       Input tape
·       Read/write head
·       Finite control

I] Input Tape:

Ø  The input tape is divided into squares, each square contains a single symbol from input alphabet ∑

Ø  The end squares of each tape contain end markers ₵ at left end and $ at right end.

Ø  Absence of end markers indicates that tape is of infinite length.

Ø  The left-to-right sequence of symbols between end markers is the input string to be processed.

 II] Read/Write Head:

Ø  The R/W head examines only one square at a time and can move one square either to the left or the right.

Ø  For further analysis, we restrict the movement of R/W head only to the right side.

III] Finite State Control:

Ø  The finite state control is responsible for controlling total functioning of finite automata machine.

Ø   It will decide the which input symbol is read next and where to move either to the left or right.

Ø  The input to the finite control will be usually

·       Input symbol from input tape

·       Present state of machine

Ø  The output may be

·       Movement of R/W head along the tape to the next square or to null move

·       The next state/new state of FSM