What is the use of finite automata? [closed]

Answer 1

Finite automata are very useful for communication protocols and for matching strings against regular expressions.

Answer 2

The finite automata is a type of state machine (SM). In general SMs are used for parsing formal languages.

You can use as a formal language many entities, not only characters.

And regular language is a type of formal language. There are some theory that show, what type of the SM is better to parse a regular language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_language

Answer 3

Automatons are used in hardware and software applications. Please read the implementation section here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite-state_machine#Implementation

There is also a notion of Automata-based programming. Please check this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automata-based_programming

cheers

Answer 4

Try taking a compilers course. You will very likely make a compiler or interpreter using a finite state automaton to implement a recursive descent parser.

Answer 5

Finite automata are e.g. used to parse formal languages. This means that finite automata are very usefull in the creation of compiler and interpreter techniques.

Historicaly, the finite state machine showed that a lot of problems can be solved by a very simple automate.

Answer 6

For example to manage states of some objects with defined life cycle. As example of this: orders in book shop. An order can have the following states: -ordered -payed -shipping -done

and program of the finite automata knows how one state can be changed by other.