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1. Introduction, Finite Automata, Regular Expressions

MIT OpenCourseWare · lecture · Watch on YouTube

Computability & complexity theoryUniversity lectures & courses

What it is

The first lecture of Michael Sipser's MIT 18.404J Theory of Computation course, covering course mechanics, finite automata, regular languages and regular expressions. It proves closure of regular languages under union and begins concatenation.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends Sipser's free lectures as the companion to the standard theory of computation textbook and a path to understanding how computers fundamentally work.

  • 4 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2021, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “Sipser also has corresponding lectures that are available for free on YouTube here”

    Free Sipser lectures matching the standard intro textbook

    sky2224, 2024-06 · Recommendation · in “Recommended Books on Computational Complexity Theory”

  2. “it provides a true understanding of how computers actually work which is sorely lacking in the youth of today”

    MIT course giving real understanding of how computers work

    trod123, 2024-06 · Recommendation · in “Making AI better at math tutoring”

  3. “As someone who has only recently learned the formal definition of regular language”

    Course teaches the formal definition of regular languages

    eterm, 2025-06 · Recommendation · in “The Princeton INTERCAL Compiler's source code”

  4. “the instructor also explains Finite Automata which is the basic mechanism that does all the stuff”

    One-hour lecture covering finite automata behind regular expressions

    skydhash, 2025-08 · Recommendation · in “Traps to Developers”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: finite automata, regular expressions, regular languages, michael sipser, mit ocw

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