| Turing machine n. A hypothetical computing device capable of storing information and responding to computational questions, used in mathematical studies of computability. [After Alan Mathison Turing, who conceived such a machine.] |
Turing machine
n
(Electronics & Computer Science / Computer Science) a hypothetical universal computing machine able to modify its original instructions by reading, erasing, or writing a new symbol on a moving tape of fixed length that acts as its program. The concept was instrumental in the early development of computer systems
[after Alan Turing (1912-54), English mathematician]
| Turing machine An abstract model of a computing device, used in mathematical studies of computability. A Turing machine takes a tape with a string of symbols on it as an input, and can respond to a given symbol by changing its internal state, writing a new symbol on the tape, shifting the tape right or left to the next symbol, or halting. The inner state of the Turing machine is described by a finite state machine. It has been shown that if the answer to a computational problem can be computed in a finite amount of time, then there exists an abstract Turing machine that can compute it. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  Turing machine - a hypothetical computer with an infinitely long memory tapecomputer, computing device, computing machine, data processor, electronic computer, information processing system - a machine for performing calculations automatically |
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