Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF
ENGINEERING
COMPUTER SCIENCE
ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Engineering
Theory of Computation (CST-353)

Topic: CNF and GNF DISCOVER . LEARN .

EMPOWER
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Learning Objectives & Outcomes

Objective:
• To understand the concept of CNF and GNF.

Outcome:
• Student will understand the
 CNF
 GNF
 Chomsky Normal Form
• A context free grammar is said to be in Chomsky Normal
Form if all productions are in the following form:
A → BC
A→α
• A, B and C are non terminal symbols
• α is a terminal symbol
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Preliminary Simplifications

There are three preliminary simplifications

1 Eliminate Useless Symbols

2 Eliminate ε productions

3 Eliminate unit productions

 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Eliminate Useless Symbols:

We need to determine if the symbol is useful by

identifying if a symbol is generating and is reachable

* ω for some terminal string ω.

• X is generating if X 
* αXβ
• X is reachable if there is a derivation X 
for some α and β
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example: Removing non-generating symbols

S → AB | a
A→b Initial CFL grammar

S → AB | a
Identify generating symbols
A→b

S→a
Remove non-generating
A→b
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Example: Removing non-reachable symbols

S→a
Identify reachable symbols
A→b

S→a Eliminate non-reachable

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The order is important.

Looking first for non-reachable symbols and then

for non-generating symbols can still leave some
useless symbols.

S → AB | a S→a
A→b A→b
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Finding generating symbols

If there is a production A → α, and every symbol

of α is already known to be generating. Then A is
generating

We cannot use S → AB
S → AB | a because B has not been
A→b established to be generating
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Finding reachable symbols

S is surely reachable. All symbols in the body of a

production with S in the head are reachable.

S → AB | a In this example the symbols

A→b {S, A, B, a, b} are reachable.
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Eliminate ε Productions

• In a grammar ε productions are convenient but

not essential
• If L has a CFG, then L – {ε} has a CFG

* ε
A 

Nullable variable
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

If A is a nullable variable

• Whenever A appears on the body of a production

A might or might not derive ε

S → ASA | aB
A→B|S Nullable: {A, B}
B→b|ε
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Eliminate ε Productions

• Create two version of the production, one with

the nullable variable and one without it
• Eliminate productions with ε bodies

S → ASA | aB S → ASA | aB | AS | SA | S | a
A→B|S A→B|S
B→b|ε B→b
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Eliminate ε Productions

• Create two version of the production, one with

the nullable variable and one without it
• Eliminate productions with ε bodies

S → ASA | aB S → ASA | aB | AS | SA | S | a
A→B|S A→B|S
B→b|ε B→b
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Eliminate ε Productions

• Create two version of the production, one with

the nullable variable and one without it
• Eliminate productions with ε bodies

S → ASA | aB S → ASA | aB | AS | SA | S | a
A→B|S A→B|S
B→b|ε B→b
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Eliminate unit productions

A unit production is one of the form A → B where both

A and B are variables

Identify unit pairs

* B
A 

A → B, B → ω, then A → ω
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:
T = {*, +, (, ), a, b, 0, 1} Pairs Productions
( E, E ) E→E+T
I → a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1 ( E, T ) E→T*F
F → I | (E) ( E, F ) E → (E)
T→F|T*F ( E, I ) E → a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1

E→T|E+T ( T, T ) T→T*F
( T, F ) T → (E)
( T, I ) T → a | b | Ia |Ib | I0 | I1
Basis: (A, A) is a unit pair ( F, F ) F → (E)
of any variable A, if ( F, I ) F → a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
A  * A by 0 steps. ( I, I ) I → a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:
Pairs Productions
… …
( T, T ) T→T*F
( T, F ) T → (E)
( T, I ) T → a | b | Ia |Ib | I0 | I1
… …

I → a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
E → E + T | T * F | (E ) | a | b | la | lb | l0 | l1
T → T * F | (E) | a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
F → (E) | a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Final Simplification
Chomsky Normal Form (CNF)

Starting with a CFL grammar with the preliminary

simplifications performed

1. Arrange that all bodies of length 2 or more to

consists only of variables.
2. Break bodies of length 3 or more into a cascade of
productions, each with a body consisting of two
variables.
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Step 1: For every terminal α that appears in a body

of length 2 or more create a new variable that has
only one production.
E → E + T | T * F | (E ) | a | b | la | lb | l0 | l1
T → T * F | (E) | a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
F → (E) | a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
I → a | b | Ia | Ib | I0 | I1
E → EPT | TMF | LER | a | b | lA | lB | lZ | lO
T → TMF | LER | a | b | IA | IB | IZ | IO
F → LER | a | b | IA | IB | IZ | IO
I → a | b | IA | IB | IZ | IO
A→a B→b Z→0 O→1
P→+ M→* L→( R→)
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Step 2: Break bodies of length 3 or more adding

more variables

E → EPT | TMF | LER | a | b | lA | lB | lZ | lO

T → TMF | LER | a | b | IA | IB | IZ | IO
C1 → PT
F → LER | a | b | IA | IB | IZ | IO
I → a | b | IA | IB | IZ | IO C2 → MF
A→a B→b Z→0 O→1 C3 → ER
P→+ M→* L→( R→)
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Greibach Normal Form

A context free grammar is said to be in Greibach

Normal Form if all productions are in the following
form:

A → αX

• A is a non terminal symbols

• α is a terminal symbol
• X is a sequence of non terminal symbols.
It may be empty.
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:

S → XA | BB S = A1 A1 → A2A3 | A4A4
B → b | SB X = A2 A4 → b | A1A4
X→b A = A3 A2 → b
A→a
B = A4 A3 → a

CNF New Labels Updated CNF

 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:

A1 → A2A3 | A4A4 First Step Ai → AjXk j > i

A4 → b | A1A4
A2 → b Xk is a string of zero
A3 → a
or more variables

A4 → A1A4
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:

First Step Ai → AjXk j > i

A4 → A1A4 A1 → A2A3 | A4A4

A4 → A2A3A4 | A4A4A4 | b A4 → b | A1A4
A4 → bA3A4 | A4A4A4 | b A2 → b
A3 → a
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:

A1 → A2A3 | A4A4 Second Step

A4 → bA3A4 | A4A4A4 | b
Eliminate Left
A2 → b Recursions
A3 → a

A4 → A4A4A4
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:
Second Step
Eliminate Left
Recursions

A4 → bA3A4 | b | bA3A4Z | bZ A1 → A2A3 | A4A4

Z → A4A4 | A4A4Z A4 → bA3A4 | A4A4A4 | b
A2 → b
A3 → a
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:

A1 → A2A3 | A4A4
A4 → bA3A4 | b | bA3A4Z | bZ A → αX
Z → A4A4 | A4A4 Z
A2 → b GNF
A3 → a
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:
A1 → A2A3 | A4A4
A4 → bA3A4 | b | bA3A4Z | bZ
Z → A4A4 | A4A4 Z
A2 → b
A3 → a

A1 → bA3 | bA3A4A4 | bA4 | bA3A4ZA4 | bZA4

Z → bA3A4A4 | bA4 | bA3A4ZA4 | bZA4 | bA3A4A4 | bA4 | bA3A4ZA4 | bZA4
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Example:

A1 → bA3 | bA3A4A4 | bA4 | bA3A4ZA4 | bZA4

A4 → bA3A4 | b | bA3A4Z | bZ
Z → bA3A4A4 | bA4 | bA3A4ZA4 | bZA4 | bA3A4A4 | bA4 | bA3A4ZA4 | bZA4
A2 → b
A3 → a

Grammar in Greibach Normal Form

 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

Summary (Some properties)

• Every CFG that doesn’t generate the empty string
can be simplified to the Chomsky Normal Form and
Greibach Normal Form
• The derivation tree in a grammar in CNF is a binary
tree
• In the GNF, a string of length n has a derivation of
exactly n steps
• Grammars in normal form can facilitate proofs
• CNF is used as starting point in the algorithm CYK
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

FAQ :
1. Convert the following grammar to the Chomsky Normal Form.
S→P
P → aPb | ε
2. Is the following grammar context-free?
S → aBSc | abc
Ba → aB
Bb → bb
3. Prove that the language L = { anbncn | n ≥ 1 } is not context-free.
4. Convert the following grammar to the Greibach Normal Form.
S -> a | CD | CS
A -> a | b | SS
C -> a
D -> AS
 Department of Computer and Science Engineering (CSE)

REFERENCES :
• Martin J.C., “Introduction to Languages and Theory of
Computation”, Tata McGraw-Hill Publising Company
Limited, 3rd Edition.
• Hopcroft J.E. and Ullman J.D., “Introduction to Automata
Theory Languages and Computation”, Narosa
Publications.
• https://www.erode-sengunthar.ac.in/wp-content/
uploads/2019/04/NORMAL-FORMS.ppt