What is the role of the pumping lemma for regular languages in automata theory?

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What is the role of the pumping lemma for regular languages in automata theory?

The pumping lemma for regular languages is a fundamental tool in automata theory used to prove that a language is not regular. It states that for any regular language L, there exists a pumping length p such that any string s in L with length greater than or equal to p can be divided into five parts: s = xyzuv, satisfying certain conditions. These conditions allow for the repetition or removal of the y and v parts, while still keeping the resulting string within the language L. If a language fails to satisfy the conditions of the pumping lemma, it is concluded that the language is not regular. Therefore, the pumping lemma helps in the process of proving the non-regularity of languages.