0

I'm learning about finite automata right now, and struggling with a bit of the math notation. In the explanation here: https://math.stackexchange.com/a/563875/125649, the user explains that the automaton is in state $q$ before the transition, and some state $q'$ after the transition.

I read $q'$ as q-prime from what limited math I know, but I don't know why it's being called that. I've only ever understood prime in the context of calculus, where you have $f(n)$ or $f'(n)$ (read f prime of n), where $f'$ is the derivative of $f$.

Does this mean in the link above, state $q'$ is just a derivative of state $q$?

Community
  • 1
Brandon - Free Palestine
  • 135

1 Answers1

2

Here $q'$ is just being used to denote "another state".

Fairly frequently (outside of calculus), we use primes ($q'$), or tildes ($\tilde{q}$), or carats ($\hat{q}$), etc. over the same letter to signify another object of the same type. This improves readability, because there is a visual identification of that letter with that type of object.

Nick Peterson
  • 32,430