xTuringMachine

xTuringMachine is built as an accessible and easy-to-use turing machine simulation that's been written in the Java programming language.

Turing Machines are extremely simple calculating devices. A Turning machine remembers only one number, called its state. It moves back and forth along an infinite tape, scanning and writing symbols and changing its state.

xTuringMachine's action at a given step in the calculation is based on only two factors: its current state number and the symbol that it is currently scanning on the tape. It continues in this way until it enters a special state called the halt state.

In spite of their simplicity, Turing machines can perform any calculation that can be performed by any computer. In fact, certain individual Turing machines, called universal Turing machines, can actually execute arbitrary programs, just as a computer can.

You won't see any universal Turing machines in this lab, but you will experiment with Turing machines that can perform non-trivial calculations.