Chapter 5

Turing Machine

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Alan Turing -- 1912 – 1954
• Founder of computer science, mathematician,
philosopher, codebreaker, strange visionary and
a gay man before his time.

• Influential
• development of computer sciences
• provided an influential formalisation
• of the concept of the algorithm
• and computation with the
• Turing Machine
• Turing Test contribute to the debate of AI
• Can machines think?

• http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/

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A Turing Machine

10 01 1 1
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

• A TM consists of an infinite length tape, on which input

is provided as a finite sequence of symbols.

• A head reads the input tape.

• The TM starts at start state s0.
• On reading an input symbol it optionally replaces it
with another symbol, changes its internal state and
moves one cell to the right or left. 3
A Turing Machine…
Tape - No boundaries -- infinite length

...... ......

Read-Write head - The head moves Left or Right

• The head at each transition
Control Unit (time step):
1. Reads a symbol
2. Writes a symbol
3. Moves Left or Right

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Example: Time 0

...... ......
a b a c

Time 1

...... ......
a b k c

1. Reads a
2. Writes
k
3. Moves Left
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 Time 1

...... ......
a b k c

Time 2

...... ......
a f k c

1. Reads
b
2. Writes
f
3. Moves Right
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The Input String

Input string Blank symbol

...... ......
  a b a c   

head

Head starts at the leftmost position

of the input string

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States & Transitions
Write
Read Move Left

q1 a  b, L q2

Move Right

q1 a  b, R q2
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Example:
Time 1

...... ......
  a b a c   

q1
current state

q1 a  b, R q2
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 Time 1

...... ......
  a b a c   

q1
Time 2
...... ......
  a b b c   

q2

q1 a  b, R q2
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Example: Time 1

...... ......
  a b a c   

q1
Time 2
...... ......
  a b b c   

q2

q1 a  b, L q2
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Example: Time 1

...... ......
  a b a c   

q1
Time 2

...... ......
  a b b c g  

q2

q1   g, R q2
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A Turing Machine…
• Turing Machines are deterministic

Allowed
Not Allowed
a  b, R q2 a  b, R q2

q1 q1
q3 a  d, L q3
b  d, L

No lambda transitions allowed

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Partial Transition Function
Example:
...... ......
  a b a c   

q1
Allowed:
a  b, R q2
No transition
q1 for input symbol c
b  d, L q3
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Halting
• The machine halts in a state if there is no transition to follow.

...... ......
  a b a c   

q1

No transition from q1
q1
HALT!!!

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Halting…
Example
...... ......
  a b a c   

q1

a  b, R q2
No possible transition
q
from 1 and symbol c
q1
b  d, L q3 HALT!!!

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 Accepting States

q1 q2 Allowed

q1 q2 Not Allowed

• Accepting states have no outgoing transitions.

• The machine halts and accepts.

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Acceptance…
Accept Input string If machine halts
in an accept state

If machine halts
in a non-accept state
Reject Input string or
If machine enters
an infinite loop

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A Turing Machine… Example

Input alphabet   {a , b }

Accepts the language:

a*
a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 0
  a a a  

q0

a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 1
  a a a  

q0

a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 2
  a a a  

q0

a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 3
  a a a  

q0

a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 4
  a a a  

q1

a  a, R Halt & Accept

  , L
q0 q1

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Rejection Example

Time 0
  a b a  

q0

a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1
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Rejection Example…

Time 1
  a b a  

q0
No possible Transition

Halt & Reject

a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1
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Infinite Loop Example

A Turing machine for language a * b( a  b) *

b  b, L
a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 0
  a b a  

q0

b  b, L
a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 1
  a b a  

q0

b  b, L
a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 2
  a b a  

q0

b  b, L
a  a, R

  , L
q0 q1

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Time 2
  a b a  
q0
Time 3
  a b a  

Infinite loop
q0
Time 4
  a b a  
q0
Time 5
  a b a  
q0 31
Infinite Loop….
Because of the infinite loop:

• The accepting state cannot be reached.

• The machine never halts .

• The input string is rejected.

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 A Turing Machine… Example

n n
Turing machine for the language: {a b }
n 1

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L

y  y , R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 33
A Turing Machine… Example

Basic Idea: Algorithm

Match a’s with b’s:
Repeat:
replace leftmost a with x
find leftmost b and replace it with y
Until there are no more a’s or b’s

If there is a remaining a or b reject

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 Time 0
 a a b b  

q0

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 35
 Time 1
 x a b b  

q1

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 36
 Time 2
 x a b b  

q1

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 37
 Time 3
 x a y b  

q2

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 38
 Time 4
 x a y b  

q2

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 39
 Time 5
 x a y b  

q0

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 40
 Time 6
 x x y b  

q1

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 41
 Time 7
 x x y b  

q1

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 42
 Time 8
 x x y y  

q2

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 43
 Time 9
 x x y y  

q2

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 44
 Time 10
 x x y y  

q0

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 45
 Time 11
 x x y y  

q3

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 46
 Time 12
 x x y y  

q3

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 47
 Time 13
 x x y y  

q4
Halt & Accept

q4 y  y, R y  y, L
y  y, R a  a, R a  a, L
  , L
y  y, R a  x, R b  y, L
q3 q0 q1 q2
x  x, R 48
A Turing Machine: Formal Definition
Input Tape
alphabet alphabet

States

M  (Q, , ,  , q0 , , F )

Transition Accept
function states

Initial
blank
state

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