This paper describes educational software for visualization and finite automata simulation. The system was developed in Java programming language, and its main purpose is learning process improvement. Using this software, finite automata can be defined in a graphical editor in the form of a state diagram, or by defining the transition function using the transition table. Upon defining an automaton, it is possible to run a visual simulation of the automaton operation for an arbitrary input string, whereby a textual description of the automaton simulation is also obtained. Furthermore, the system allows for conversion of regular expressions to deterministic finite automata and nondeterministic finite automata. The simulation of Thompson's construction algorithm is implemented, so that transformation of a regular expression to the corresponding NFA can be monitored in a step-by-step process. The quantitative analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of the simulator are based on a survey of undergraduate students at two universities. The majority of students found the tool a useful means for better understanding and mastering of finite automata concepts.

中文翻译：

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使用 ComVis 教授与有限自动机相关的概念

本文介绍了用于可视化和有限自动机模拟的教育软件。该系统是用Java编程语言开发的，其主要目的是学习过程的改进。使用该软件，可以在图形编辑器中以状态图的形式定义有限自动机，或者通过使用转换表定义转换函数。在定义自动机时，可以对任意输入字符串运行自动机操作的可视化模拟，从而也获得自动机模拟的文本描述。此外，该系统允许将正则表达式转换为确定性有限自动机和非确定性有限自动机。实现了Thompson构造算法的仿真，以便可以在逐步过程中监控正则表达式到相应 NFA 的转换。模拟器有效性的定量分析和评估基于对两所大学本科生的调查。大多数学生发现该工具是更好地理解和掌握有限自动机概念的有用手段。