Abstract State Machines

Can any algorithm, never mind how abstract, be modeled by a generalized machine very closely and faithfully? ... If we stick to one abstract level (abstracting from low-level details and being oblivious to a possible higher-level picture) and if the states of the algorithm reflect all the pertinent information, then a particular small instruction set suffices in all cases.

adapted from Yuri Gurevich, "Sequential Abstract State Machines Capture Sequential Algorithms"

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This website was maintained by Jim Huggins from 1994 till 2009. It is no longer being actively maintained but remains available for historical reference.

Yuri Gurevich, September 2016

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