Abstract
A nondeterministic finite automaton with ε-transitions(εNFA) accepts a regular language. Among the εNFA accepting a certain language some are more compact than others. This essay treats the problem of how to compactify a given εNFA by reducing the number of transitions. Compared to the standard techniques to minimize deterministic complete finite automata (complete DFA) two novel features matter in compactifying εNFA: the principle of transition partition and the principle of transition union. An algorithm for compactifying εNFA is presented that exploits the union principle. This algorithm has the following property: if the algorithm returns an unambiguous automaton, then this automaton is the transition minimal εNFA.
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John, S. (2005). Minimal Unambiguous εNFA. In: Domaratzki, M., Okhotin, A., Salomaa, K., Yu, S. (eds) Implementation and Application of Automata. CIAA 2004. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3317. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30500-2_18
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