It is often said that Turing machines, unlike simpler automata, are as powerful as real machines, and are able to execute any operation that a real program can. What is neglected in this statement is that, because a real machine can only have a finite number of configurations, this "real machine" is really nothing but a finite state machine. On the other hand, Turing machines are equivalent to machines that have an unlimited amount of storage space for their computations. | It is often said that Turing machines, unlike simpler automata, are as powerful as real machines, and are able to execute any operation that a real program can. What is neglected in this statement is that, because a real machine can only have a finite number of configurations, this "real machine" is really nothing but a finite state machine. On the other hand, Turing machines are equivalent to machines that have an unlimited amount of storage space for their computations. |