NIST

deterministic finite state machine

(definition)

Definition: A finite state machine with at most one transition for each symbol and state.

Also known as DFA, deterministic finite automaton.

See also nondeterministic finite state machine.

Note: Some fields, like model checking, require (and assume) that there is exactly one transition for each symbol and state. A machine that has at least one transition for each symbol and state is sometimes called "complete".

Author: PEB

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Entry modified 12 December 2005.
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Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "deterministic finite state machine", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed. 12 December 2005. (accessed TODAY) Available from: https://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/determFinitStateMach.html