Simplifications

of
Context-Free Grammars

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 1

 A Substitution Rule

Equivalent
grammar
S  aB
S  aB | ab
A  aaA
Substitute A  aaA
A  abBc Bb A  abBc | abbc
B  aA
B  aA
Bb
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 2
 S  aB | ab
A  aaA
A  abBc | abbc
B  aA
Substitute
B  aA

S  aB | ab | aaA
A  aaA Equivalent
A  abBc | abbc | abaAc grammar
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 3
In general: A  xBz

B  y1

Substitute
B  y1

equivalent
A  xBz | xy1z grammar
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 4
 Nullable Variables

  production : X 
Nullable Variable: Y  
Example: S  aMb
M  aMb
M 

Nullable variable   production

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 5
 Removing   productions
S  aMb S  aMb | ab
Substitute
M  aMb M  M  aMb | ab
M 

After we remove all the   productions

all the nullable variables disappear
(except for the start variable)
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 6
 Unit-Productions
Unit Production: X Y
(a single variable in both sides)

Example: S  aA
Aa
A B
Unit Productions
BA
B  bb
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 7
 Removal of unit productions:

S  aA
S  aA | aB
Aa
Substitute Aa
A B A B B  A| B
BA
B  bb
B  bb

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 8

 Unit productions of form XX
can be removed immediately

S  aA | aB S  aA | aB
Aa Remove Aa
B  A| B BB BA
B  bb B  bb

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 9

S  aA | aB
S  aA | aB | aA
Aa Substitute
BA Aa
BA
B  bb
B  bb

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 10

 Remove repeated productions

Final grammar
S  aA | aB | aA S  aA | aB
Aa Aa
B  bb B  bb

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 11

 Useless Productions

S  aSb
S 
SA
A  aA Useless Production

Some derivations never terminate...

S  A  aA  aaA    aa aA  
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 12
 Another grammar:

SA
A  aA
A
B  bA Useless Production
Not reachable from S

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 13

In general:

If there is a derivation
S    xAy    w  L(G )
consists of
terminals
Then variable A is useful

Otherwise, variable A is useless

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 14

 A production A  x is useless
if any of its variables is useless

S  aSb
S  Productions
Variables SA useless
useless A  aA useless
useless B  C useless

useless CD useless

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 15
Removing Useless Variables and Productions

Example Grammar: S  aS | A | C
Aa
B  aa
C  aCb

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 16

 First: find all variables that can produce
strings with only terminals or 
(these are possible useful variables)

S  aS | A | C Round 1: { A, B}
Aa (the right hand side of a production
has only terminals)

B  aa
Round 2: { A, B, S }
C  aCb (the right hand side of a production
has terminals and
variables of previous round)

This process can be generalized

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 17
Then, remove productions that use variables
other than { A, B, S }

S  aS | A | C
Aa S  aS | A
B  aa Aa
C  aCb B  aa

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 18

 Second: Find all variables
reachable from S

Use a Dependency Graph

S  aS | A
Aa S A B
B  aa not
reachable

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 19

 Keep only the variables
reachable from S

Final Grammar
S  aS | A
S  aS | A
Aa
Aa
B  aa
Contains only
useful variables

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 20

 Removing All
Step 1: Remove Nullable Variables

Step 2: Remove Unit-Productions

Step 3: Remove Useless Variables

This sequence guarantees that

unwanted variables and production
are removed
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 21
 Normal Forms
for
Context-free Grammars

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 22

 Chomsky Normal Form

Each productions has form:

A  BC or Aa

variable variable terminal

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 23

 Examples:

S  AS S  AS
S a S  AAS
A  SA A  SA
Ab A  aa
Chomsky Not Chomsky
Normal Form Normal Form

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 24

 Convertion to Chomsky Normal Form

Example: S  ABa
Not Chomsky
A  aab Normal Form
B  Ac

We will convert it to Chomsy Normal Form

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 25

Introduce new variables for the terminals:
Ta , Tb , Tc
S  ABTa
S  ABa A  TaTaTb
A  aab B  ATc
B  Ac Ta  a
Tb  b
Tc  c
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 26
Introduce new intermediate variable V1
to break first production:
S  AV1
S  ABTa
V1  BTa
A  TaTaTb
A  TaTaTb
B  ATc
B  ATc
Ta  a
Ta  a
Tb  b
Tb  b
Tc  c
Tc  c
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 27
Introduce intermediate variable: V2
S  AV1
S  AV1
V1  BTa
V1  BTa
A  TaV2
A  TaTaTb
V2  TaTb
B  ATc
B  ATc
Ta  a
Ta  a
Tb  b
Tb  b
Tc  c
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI Tc  c 28
 Final grammar in Chomsky Normal Form:
S  AV1
V1  BTa
A  TaV2
Initial grammar
V2  TaTb
S  ABa B  ATc
A  aab Ta  a
B  Ac Tb  b

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI

Tc  c 29
In general:

From any context-free grammar

(which doesn’t produce  )
not in Chomsky Normal Form

we can obtain:
an equivalent grammar
in Chomsky Normal Form

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 30

 The Procedure

First remove:

Nullable variables

Unit productions

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 31

 Then, for every symbol a:

Add production Ta  a

In productions: replace a with Ta

New variable: Ta
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 32
Replace any production A  C1C2 Cn

with A  C1V1
V1  C2V2

Vn2  Cn1Cn

New intermediate variables: V1, V2 ,  ,Vn2

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 33
 Observations

• Chomsky normal forms are good

for parsing and proving theorems

• It is easy to find the Chomsky normal

form for any context-free grammar

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 34

 Greinbach Normal Form

All productions have form:

A  a V1V2 Vk k 0

symbol variables

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 35

 Examples:

S  cAB
S  abSb
A  aA | bB | b
S  aa
Bb

Greinbach Not Greinbach

Normal Form Normal Form

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 36

Conversion to Greinbach Normal Form:

S  aTb STb
S  abSb S  aTa
S  aa Ta  a
Tb  b
Greinbach
Normal Form
Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 37
 Observations

• Greinbach normal forms are very good

for parsing strings (better than Chomsky Normal Forms)

• However, it is hard to find the

Greinbach normal of a grammar

Fall 2005 Costas Buch - RPI 38