AFL 2023
16th International Conference on Automata and Formal Languages
September 5-7, 2023, Eger, Hungary
Thanks!
Thanks to all the participants and the committee members for making ALF 2023 successful.
This group photo was taken on the top of the Observatory Tower of the Eszterházy Károly Catholic University of Eger.
General Information
The AFL conferences cover all aspects of automata and formal languages, including theory and applications.
The conference series was initiated by Prof. István Peák (1936-1989). He organized the AFL conferences in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988 and started the organization of AFL’90. These conferences were all held in the hills around Salgótarján. In 1986 and 1988, the title of the conference was Automata, Languages and Programming Systems.
Since the untimely death of Prof. István Peák, the AFL conferences have been organized in every third year. Professors András Ádám and Pál Dömösi took the lead in the continuation of the series. In 1990, 1993, and 1996, three more “Salgótarján conferences” took place. Nowadays a Steering Committee takes care of the continuation of the AFL series.
The last conferences of the series were held in Vasszécsény (1999), Debrecen (2002), Dobogókő (AFL'05), Balatonfüred (AFL 2008), Debrecen (AFL'11), Szeged (AFL 2014) and Debrecen (AFL 2017). The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 event.
In 2023, the conference is organized by the Institute of Informatics of the University of Szeged, and the Faculty of Informatics of the Eszterházy Károly Catholic University of Eger.
Topics
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following.
- Grammars, acceptors and transducers for strings, trees, graphs, arrays, etc.,
- algebraic theories for automata and languages,
- combinatorial properties of words and languages,
- formal power series,
- decision problems,
- efficient algorithms for automata and languages.
- complexity theory and logic,
- picture description and analysis,
- quantum computing,
- cryptography,
- concurrency.
- biology,
- natural language processing,
- and other fields.
Venue
The conference will be held at the "C" Building of the Eszterházy Károly Catholic University.
Address: H-3300 Eger, Leányka str. 4.
Location: 47.9028368, 20.3866987
Eger, the city of culture and wine
Filled with beautifully preserved Baroque buildings, Eger is a historical town with lots of things to see and do. You can explore the bloody history of Turkish occupation and defeat at the hilltop castle, climb an original Ottoman minaret, or relax in a renovated Turkish bath.
The town of Eger was built around a former cathedral, founded in the 10th century by St. Stephen, the first Hungarian king. Eger flourished during the Middle Ages when winemaking became a main source of income, but in the 16th century, under the Turkish occupation, the town changed radically. Most churches were converted into mosques and public baths, and minarets were built.
When talking about Eger, the first thing that comes to nearly all Hungarians' mind is Eger Castle, and "The Eclipse of the Crescent Moon" or "The Stars of Eger", known as Hungary's favourite novel, written by Géza Gárdonyi in 1899. The novel tells the story of two young Hungarian children, an orphan boy and a young noble girl, who are kidnapped by a Turkish slave trader, although, thanks to the cleverness of the boy, they are able to escape. Years later, the young boy must again defend the girl, already his sweetheart, from the Turks. Besides the tales of several battles, the novel details the extraordinary 1552 siege of Eger, during which Captain István Dobó's 2,000 Hungarian men, women and children inside the county's castle, defeated a Turkish force of 80,000 men. About 45 years later Eger was eventually captured by the Turks and they ruled the city for almost a century. The book provides fantastic history, entertainment and romance for kids (and grown ups) of all nationalities. To date the novel is also part of the national curriculum.
Bull's Blood
Apart from the history and architecture, there is another reason to visit Eger. Eger wine region is a Hungarian wine region in North-Eastern Hungary, on the southern slopes of the Bükk Mountains. It is famous for its red blend, Egri Bikavér (Eger Bull's Blood) and for some white wines, like Egri Leányka, Debrői Hárslevelű or Egerszáláti Olaszrizling.
The residents of the town of Eger and its surroundings have been involved in grape and wine production for almost thousand years. At the beginning of the 90s the Eger wine region went through an extraordinarily fast development. The place to visit is "Szépasszony-völgy" (the Valley of Beautiful Women), a valley just south of the city, which has many wine cellars. Visitors are welcome and wine tasting is offered in several locations. Shuttle service is available from the main square (Dobó tér).
In 2017, Eger Bull's Blood became a Hungaricum, meaning that is unique to Hungary and therefore represents great value for the Hungarians.
City under the city
One of the seven building wonders of Hungary. When the Turks left Eger in 1687 bishop György Fenessy returned to the city but no longer wanted to live in the castle. He purchased two lands to build a palace. To build it the stone required was mined from the hill behind the palace. So came this enormous cellar-system into being, where the tithe on the wines and the tax of the church was kept. The system runs 4km under the city. Its most beautiful part is the pillar room, where 7x7 cellar-branches meet in a chessboard-like pattern.
Lyceum
In the 1760s, Bishop Károly Eszterházy started to build the Lyceum for a university with faculties of philosophy, theology, law and medicine, which he called domus universitatis, university house. The Lyceum was built in the late Baroque style. The interior was designed by Jakab Fellner and was the work of craftsmen from Eger and abroad who had settled in the city. The Rococo and tufted stoves were commissioned from the master potter Károly Magner from Győr. The chapel is decorated with a monumental Baroque fresco by Franz Anton Maulbertsch.
The astronomical tower of the Lyceum was designed by the renowned astronomer Miksa Hell under the direction of Károly Eszterházy. The observatory was one of the best equipped observatories in Europe at the end of the 18th century.
Observatory and Science Experience Center
The observatory in the Lyceum has the world's rarest Camera Obscura, Europe's oldest working periscope. Visitors can admire the sights of Eger from the Panorama Terrace, the highest observation tower in the city.
The Museum of Astronomy houses original instruments acquired by Miksa Hell, a Hungarian-born royal astronomer from Vienna. Interactive tools in the Magic Room help you understand physical phenomena in a "hands-on" way. Visitors can learn about basic physical phenomena through interesting experiments they can carry out themselves, and play scientific "games". The experiments range from mechanics, through optical instruments, to electromagnetic curiosities. The interactive experiments are suitable for all ages. The room is also home to spectacular exhibitions on astronomy, a display case on the history of space travel, a giant illuminated wall showing the most spectacular galaxies in the Universe, and a 3D Barringer grid.