Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

A Web App for Teaching Finite State Automata

Christopher William Schankula, Lucas Dutton

TL;DR

The conceptual background on which the tool is based is described, followed by a description of features and preliminary evaluation of the tool based on use spanning multiple years and hundreds of student users.

Abstract

We present the open-source tool finsm.io, a tool for creating, simulating and exporting deterministic and non-deterministic finite state automata (DFA/NFA). We first describe the conceptual background on which the tool is based, followed by a description of features and preliminary evaluation of the tool based on use spanning multiple years and hundreds of student users. Preliminary evaluation found that instructors and students overwhelmingly recommend the tool to others and agree that it has improved their learning and teaching. The authors invite interested educators to use the tool in their finite automata courses.

A Web App for Teaching Finite State Automata

TL;DR

The conceptual background on which the tool is based is described, followed by a description of features and preliminary evaluation of the tool based on use spanning multiple years and hundreds of student users.

Abstract

We present the open-source tool finsm.io, a tool for creating, simulating and exporting deterministic and non-deterministic finite state automata (DFA/NFA). We first describe the conceptual background on which the tool is based, followed by a description of features and preliminary evaluation of the tool based on use spanning multiple years and hundreds of student users. Preliminary evaluation found that instructors and students overwhelmingly recommend the tool to others and agree that it has improved their learning and teaching. The authors invite interested educators to use the tool in their finite automata courses.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 14 sections, 4 equations, 6 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Example
  4. Features
  5. Build
  6. Simulate
  7. Export
  8. Evaluation
  9. Instructor Perspective
  10. Teaching Assistant Perspective
  11. Student Perspective
  12. Threats to Validity
  13. Related Work
  14. Conclusions and Future Work

Figures (6)

  • Figure 1: An example DFA created from finsm.io.
  • Figure 2: An example NFA created from finsm.io.
  • Figure 3: A step-by-step illustration on creating transition arrows in Build mode.
  • Figure 4: A collection of screenshots displaying different features of the finsm.io application in a web browser.
  • Figure 5: Histogram of student responses to peer recommendation question. [n = 34]. The mean response was 4.59/5.
  • ...and 1 more figures

Theorems & Definitions (2)

  • Definition 2.1
  • Definition 2.2