Abstract machine

Not to be confused with Virtual machine.

An abstract machine, also called an abstract computer, is a theoretical model of a computer hardware or software system used in automata theory. Abstraction of computing processes is used in both the computer science and computer engineering disciplines and usually assumes a discrete time paradigm.

Information

In the theory of computation, abstract machines are often used in thought experiments regarding computability or to analyze the complexity of algorithms (see computational complexity theory). A typical abstract machine consists of a definition in terms of input, output, and the set of allowable operations used to turn the former into the latter. The best-known example is the Turing machine.

Abstract data types can be specified in terms of their operational semantics on an abstract machine. For example, a stack can be specified in terms of operations on an abstract machine with an array of memory.

More complex definitions create abstract machines with full instruction sets, registers and models of memory. One popular model more similar to real modern machines is the RAM model, which allows random access to indexed memory locations. As the performance difference between different levels of cache memory grows, cache-sensitive models such as the external-memory model and cache-oblivious model are growing in importance.

An abstract machine can also refer to a microprocessor design which has yet to be (or is not intended to be) implemented as hardware. An abstract machine implemented as a software simulation, or for which an interpreter exists, is called a virtual machine.

Through the use of abstract machines it is possible to compute the amount of resources (time, memory, etc.) necessary to perform a particular operation without having to construct an actual system to do it.

Other abstract machines

• Abstract Machine Notation
• Categorical Abstract Machine Language
• Finite automata
• Specification and Design Language
• Historical/Simplicity Abstract Machines for Prolog:
  • Vienna Abstract Machine (VAM Prolog)
  • Warren Abstract Machine (WAM Prolog)
  • Berkeley Abstract Machine (BAM Prolog).
• MMIX
• MikroSim
• SECD abstract machine
• Ten15 and TenDRA Distribution Format
• Parallel:
  • Flynn's taxonomy at the conceptual level
  • Parallel random-access machine, the de facto standard model.

See also

• Abstraction (computer science)
• Abstract interpretation
• Discrete time
• State space
• Computability#Formal models of computation

References

This article is based on material taken from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing prior to 1 November 2008 and incorporated under the "relicensing" terms of the GFDL, version 1.3 or later.

Further reading

• Peter van Emde Boas, Machine Models and Simulations pp. 3–66, appearing in:

Jan van Leeuwen, ed. "Handbook of Theoretical Computer Science. Volume A: Algorithms and Complexity, The MIT PRESS/Elsevier, 1990. ISBN 0-444-88071-2 (volume A). QA 76.H279 1990.

• Stephan Diehl, Pieter Hartel and Peter Sestoft, Abstract Machines for Programming Language Implementation, Future Generation Computer Systems, Vol. 16(7), Elsevier, 2000.
• Werner Kluge (2006). Abstract Computing Machines: A Lambda Calculus Perspective. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-27359-2.