Recursive language: Difference between revisions

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{{About|a class of formal languages as they are studied in mathematics and theoretical computer science|computer languages that allow a function to call itself recursively |Recursion (computer science)}}

{{Format footnotes|reason=Parenthetical referencing has been [[WP:PARREF|deprecated]]; convert to [[Help:Shortened footnotes|shortened footnotes]].|date=June 2022}}

In [[mathematics]], [[logic]] and [[computer science]], a [[formal language]] (a [[set (mathematics)|set]] of finite sequences of [[symbol (formal)|symbol]]s taken from a fixed [[alphabet (computer science)|alphabet]]) is called '''recursive''' if it is a [[recursive set|recursive subset]] of the set of all possible finite sequences over the alphabet of the language. Equivalently, a formal language is recursive if there exists a Turing machine that, when given a finite sequence of symbols as input, always halts and accepts it if it belongs to the language and halts and rejects it otherwise. In [[Theoretical computer science]], such always-halting Turing machines are called [[total Turing machine]]s or '''algorithms''' (.{{sfnp|Sipser |1997).}} Recursive languages are also called '''decidable'''.

The concept of '''decidability''' may be extended to other [[models of computation]]. For example, one may speak of languages decidable on a [[non-deterministic Turing machine]]. Therefore, whenever an ambiguity is possible, the synonym used for "recursive language" is '''Turing-decidable language''', rather than simply ''decidable''.

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The class of all recursive languages is often called '''[[R (complexity)|R]]''', although this name is also used for the class [[RP (complexity)|RP]].

This type of language was not defined in the [[Chomsky hierarchy]] of .{{Harvsfnp|Chomsky|1959}}. All recursive languages are also [[recursively enumerable language|recursively enumerable]]. All [[regular language|regular]], [[context-free language|context-free]] and [[context-sensitive language|context-sensitive]] languages are recursive.

== Definitions ==

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is context-sensitive and therefore recursive.

Examples of decidable languages that are not context-sensitive are more difficult to describe. For one such example, some familiarity with [[mathematical logic]] is required: [[Presburger arithmetic]] is the first-order theory of the natural numbers with addition (but without multiplication). While the set of [[First-order_logic#Formulas|well-formed formulas]] in Presburger arithmetic is context-free, every deterministic Turing machine accepting the set of true statements in Presburger arithmetic has a worst-case runtime of at least <math>2^{2^{cn}}</math>, for some constant ''c''>0 .{{harvsfnp|Fischer|Rabin|1974}}. Here, ''n'' denotes the length of the given formula. Since every context-sensitive language can be accepted by a [[linear bounded automaton]], and such an automaton can be simulated by a deterministic Turing machine with worst-case running time at most <math>c^n</math> for some constant ''c'' {{citation needed|date=March 2015}}, the set of valid formulas in Presburger arithmetic is not context-sensitive. On positive side, it is known that there is a deterministic Turing machine running in time at most triply exponential in ''n'' that decides the set of true formulas in Presburger arithmetic .{{harvsfnp|Oppen|1978}}. Thus, this is an example of a language that is decidable but not context-sensitive.

== Closure properties ==

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== References ==

{{reflist}}

* {{Cite book | author = Michael Sipser | year = 1997 | title = Introduction to the Theory of Computation | publisher = PWS Publishing | chapter = Decidability | pages = [https://archive.org/details/introductiontoth00sips/page/151 151–170] | isbn = 978-0-534-94728-6 | author-link = Michael Sipser | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/introductiontoth00sips/page/151 }}

* {{cite journal | last = Chomsky | first = Noam | year = 1959 | title = On certain formal properties of grammars | journal = Information and Control | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 137–167 | doi = 10.1016/S0019-9958(59)90362-6 | doi-access = }}

* {{cite journal | first1=Michael J. | last1=Fischer | authorlink1=Michael J. Fischer | first2=Michael O. | last2=Rabin | authorlink2=Michael O. Rabin | date=1974 | title=Super-Exponential Complexity of Presburger Arithmetic | url=http://www.lcs.mit.edu/publications/pubs/ps/MIT-LCS-TM-043.ps | journal=Proceedings of the SIAM-AMS Symposium in Applied Mathematics | volume=7 | pages=27–41 }}

*{{cite journal | last1 = Oppen | first1 = Derek C. | year = 1978 | title = A 2^{2^{2^''pn''}} Upper Bound on the Complexity of Presburger Arithmetic | journal = J. Comput. Syst. Sci. | volume = 16 | issue = 3| pages = 323–332 | doi = 10.1016/0022-0000(78)90021-1 | doi-access = free }}

* {{Cite book |last=Sipser author| first = Michael Sipser | year = 1997 | title = Introduction to the Theory of Computation | publisher = PWS Publishing | chapter = Decidability | pages = [https://archive.org/details/introductiontoth00sips/page/151 151–170] | isbn = 978-0-534-94728-6 | author-link = Michael Sipser | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/introductiontoth00sips/page/151 }}

{{Formal languages and grammars}}