Informational Methods - Teoria (2008/2009)

Learning outcomes

The course intends to present discrete structures and related algorithms, by emphasizing their role in the definition of
mathematical and computational models which are biologically relevant. In the first part, after briefly introducing the basic discrete structures, the standard concepts of formal languages and automata are presented. Then, structural induction is presented, and the basic combinatorial schemata are analyzed. Finally the biological relevance of strings is addressed, and trees with graphs are considered in the conext of biological modeling.

Numbers and numerical induction: the numerical systems and their basilar algebraic and algorithmic properties. Basic discrete mathematics: sets, sequences, functions, relations, and standard combinatorial schemata (binomial coefficients, Stirling, Bell, and Catalan numbers). Trees and graphs: principal concepts and examples of representation of biological information. Strings and languages: formal languages, finite automata, recognizing and computing automata. Codes: basic definitions and properties, information measures, and information entropy.

Written and oral examination