DFA for Recognizing 8-Character Strings

This Java program is part of my coursework in Discrete Structures, where I have to synthesize a deterministic finite automaton (DFA), designed to recognize strings of length 8 that follow a specific pattern.

Language Definition

The DFA accepts only strings that meet the following criteria:

1. The 1st character must be c.
2. The 2nd character must be either a or b.
3. The 3rd character must be c.
4. The 4th to 8th characters must be either b or c (in any order).

Example of Accepted Strings

• cacbbcbc ✅ Accepted
• cccbbccc ❌ Rejected (2nd character is not a or b)
• cacbbcb ❌ Rejected (Length is not 8)
• cacbbcbx ❌ Rejected (8th character is not b or c)

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Figure: DFA state transition diagram (badly drawn).