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57 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
> ⚗️ **Research Repository**
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>
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> This is an experimental/research repository. Code here is exploratory and not production-ready.
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> For production systems, see [BlackRoad-OS](https://github.com/BlackRoad-OS).
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---
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# Universal Computer
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This repository contains an implementation of a **universal Turing machine** in Python. A universal Turing machine is a theoretical device capable of simulating any other Turing machine. In other words, it can compute anything that is computable. The implementation here is simple and educational; it demonstrates the principles of universality and emulation in a compact form.
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## Overview
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The core of the project is a Turing machine simulator that reads a description of another machine and an input tape, then executes that machine's transition function step by step. The simulator supports tapes of unbounded length in both directions and maintains a set of states, including a halting state. The universal machine itself accepts programs encoded as tables of transitions.
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### Features
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- **Tape representation:** The tape is implemented as a Python dictionary mapping integer positions to symbols. Positions not present in the dictionary are assumed to hold a blank symbol (`'_'`).
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- **Transition function:** Each transition is a mapping from `(current_state, current_symbol)` to `(next_state, write_symbol, move_direction)`, where `move_direction` is `'L'`, `'R'`, or `'S'` (stay).
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- **Machine description format:** Machine descriptions are loaded from JSON files. A description includes the set of states, the input alphabet, the blank symbol, the transition function, the start state, and the halting state.
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- **Simulation:** The simulator runs the machine until it reaches the halting state or exceeds a configurable step limit. It yields the final tape contents and the number of steps executed.
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### Running the simulator
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To use the universal Turing machine, first prepare a JSON file describing the machine you want to simulate (see `machines/` for examples), then run:
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```
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python3 utm.py machines/your_machine.json --tape "your input tape here"
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```
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For example, to run a binary incrementer:
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```
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python3 utm.py machines/incrementer.json --tape "1101"
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```
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This will increment the binary number `1101` (13) to `1110` (14).
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## Directory structure
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- `utm.py` – the universal Turing machine simulator.
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- `machines/` – sample machine descriptions in JSON format.
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- `README.md` – this file.
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## Sample machines
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The repository includes a few sample machine descriptions:
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- `incrementer.json` – a machine that increments a binary number.
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- `even_odd.json` – a machine that decides whether a unary number has an even or odd number of symbols.
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Feel free to add more machines to the `machines/` directory to explore the power of Turing machines!
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## License
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This project is released under the MIT License. See `LICENSE` for details.
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