The Turing machine is not intended to be a functional computing technology; instead, it is intended as a hypothetical machine that represents a computing machine. The Turing machine can help computer scientists comprehend the boundaries of mechanical computation.

Turing machines mathematically model a device that mechanically runs using a tape. This tape includes symbols, which the machine can write and read, one after the other, with the help of a tape head.

More specifically, a Turing machine includes the following:

• Tape: A tape that is split into cells, one beside the other. Every cell includes a symbol from a certain finite alphabet. The alphabet includes a unique blank symbol as well as one or more other symbols. The volume of tape required for the computation is always included in the Turing machine.


• Head: A head that is able to write and read symbols on the tape. In certain models, the head moves while the tape is fixed.


• State register: A state register to store the Turing machine's state. There is a special start state through which the state register is initialized.


• Finite table: A finite table (sometimes referred to as a transition function or an action table) of instructions, which are generally quintuples, but occasionally quadruples.