Finite state automata in Lucene, theory and applications

Finite state automata are an undeservedly underestimated data structure because most people think they are complex to build. Recent additions to Lucene show that FSAs (and transducers) are very efficient and are applicable to many problems with great results. This talk will introduce FSAs, quickly glance over their construction algorithms and physical automaton representation in Lucene and proceed with practical examples of where FSAs are used with success.