Chomsky normal form
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A context-free grammar in which the right hand side of any production rule consists of either one terminal symbol or two non-terminal symbols. uncountable
"Any ε-free Context Free Grammar can be converted (through an algorithm) into one in Chomsky Normal Form, and there is an algorithm that can parse formulas in the language of such a grammar in polynomial time; it is called the CYK algorithm."
- 2 A context-free grammar in which the right hand side of any production rule consists of either one terminal symbol or two non-terminal symbols (neither of which is the start symbol) or the epsilon (i.e. null string) symbol, but only if the left hand side is the start symbol. (Note: this is the full-fledged version, whereas the previous definition may be said to be defining Chomsky reduced form.) uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Any ε-free Context Free Grammar can be converted (through an algorithm) into one in Chomsky Normal Form, and there is an algorithm that can parse formulas in the language of such a grammar in polynomial time; it is called the CYK algorithm."
Etymology
Named after Noam Chomsky (b. 1928), American linguist and philosopher, who first described it.