CS 251: Great Ideas in Theoretical Computer Science - Course Notes

This repository contains my personal notes for the course CS 251: Great Ideas in Theoretical Computer Science, an introductory course to the fundamental concepts of Theoretical Computer Science offered by Carnegie Mellon University.

About This Repository

I took this course and created these notes to solidify my understanding and to serve as a quick reference for anyone interested in the subject. The notes are designed for revision and to provide a high-level understanding of each lecture’s core concepts.

Repository Status

The official course is divided into three parts. Currently, this repository only contains notes for Part I.

• Part I: Automata, Formal Languages, and Computability
• Part II: Complexity Theory
• Part III: Advanced Topics

I plan to update this repository with notes for Part II and Part III as soon as the lectures are made available on the official course website.

Covered Lectures (Part I)

This repository currently includes comprehensive notes for all lectures in Part I. The lectures are grouped by modules as presented on the course website.

Module 1: Introduction

1. Introduction
2. Mathematical Reasoning and Proofs
3. What Is Information

Module 2: Finite Automata

1. Deterministic Finite Automata 1
2. Deterministic Finite Automata 2

Module 3: Formalizing Computation

1. Turing Machines
2. Universality of Computation

Module 4: Limits of Computation

1. Limits of Computation, Part 1
2. Limits of Computation, Part 2
3. Limits of Computation, Part 3

Module 5: Limits of Human Reasoning

1. Limits of Human Reasoning

About The Notes

Each note is structured to be a concise summary of the lecture, focusing on the key definitions, theorems, and proofs. My goal is to make them perfect for a quick review before an exam or for anyone looking to get a rapid understanding of a specific topic.

At the end of each note, I have also included:

• Suggested Exercises: Problems to help you test your understanding.
• Suggested Reading: References to external materials for deeper exploration.

Contribution & Feedback

This project is a personal endeavor, and there might be errors or typos in the notes. If you find any mistakes or have suggestions for improvement, please feel free to:

• Open an Issue: Report an error or suggest an enhancement.
• Create a Pull Request: If you’ve fixed something yourself, I would be happy to review and merge your changes.

Alternatively, you can reach out to me directly at manish.dev2060@gmail.com.

Disclaimer

These are personal notes created for my own learning and are not official course materials from Carnegie Mellon University. They are meant to supplement, not replace, the official lectures and resources provided by the course instructors. Always refer to the official course website for the most accurate and up-to-date information.