Abstract
We present a new technique to encode a deterministic finite automaton (DFA). Based on the specific properties of Glushkov’s nondeterministic finite automaton (NFA) construction algorithm, we are able to encode the DFA using (m+ 1)(2m+1 + |Σ|) bits, where m is the number of characters (excluding operator symbols) in the regular expression and Σ is the alphabet. This compares favorably against the worst case of (m + 1)2m+1|Σ| bits needed by a classical DFA representation and m(22m+1 + |Σ|) bits needed by the Wu and Manber approach implemented in Agrep.
Our approach is practical and simple to implement, and it permits searching regular expressions of moderate size (which include most cases of interest) faster than with any previously existing algorithm, as we show experimentally.
Partially supported by ECOS-Sud project C99E04 and, for the first author, Fondecyt grant 1-990627.
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Navarro, G., Raffinot, M. (2001). Compact DFA Representation for Fast Regular Expression Search. In: Brodal, G.S., Frigioni, D., Marchetti-Spaccamela, A. (eds) Algorithm Engineering. WAE 2001. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2141. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44688-5_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44688-5_1
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