State Transition Diagram
A State Transition Diagram is a graphical diagram of a computation system in terms of its system states.
- Context:
- It can range from being a Partial State Diagram to being a Complete State Diagram.
- It can (typically) have a Start State.
- It can (typically) have an End State.
- Example(s):
'- a UML State Machine.
- a state diagram for a Finite State Machine.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Process Diagram, Activity Diagram, Mealy Machine, Decision Table.
References
- Google Images http://www.google.com/images?q="State+Diagram"
2017
- (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/state_diagram Retrieved:2017-1-27.
- A state diagram is a type of diagram used in computer science and related fields to describe the behavior of systems. State diagrams require that the system described is composed of a finite number of states; sometimes, this is indeed the case, while at other times this is a reasonable abstraction. Many forms of state diagrams exist, which differ slightly and have different semantics.
2017
- (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/state_diagram#Overview Retrieved:2017-1-27.
- State diagrams are used to give an abstract description of the behavior of a system. This behavior is analyzed and represented as a series of events that can occur in one or more possible states. Hereby "each diagram usually represents objects of a single class and track the different states of its objects through the system".
State diagrams can be used to graphically represent finite state machines. This was introduced by C.E. Shannon and W. Weaver in their 1949 book "The Mathematical Theory of Communication". Another source is Taylor Booth in his 1967 book "Sequential Machines and Automata Theory". Another possible representation is the State transition table.
- State diagrams are used to give an abstract description of the behavior of a system. This behavior is analyzed and represented as a series of events that can occur in one or more possible states. Hereby "each diagram usually represents objects of a single class and track the different states of its objects through the system".
2017
- (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_diagram#State_diagrams_versus_flowcharts Retrieved:2017-5-9.
- Newcomers to the state machine formalism often confuse state diagrams with flowcharts. The figure below shows a comparison of a state diagram with a flowchart. A state machine (panel (a)) performs actions in response to explicit events. In contrast, the flowchart (panel (b)) does not need explicit events but rather transitions from node to node in its graph automatically upon completion of activities.
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You can compare a flowchart to an assembly line in manufacturing because the flowchart describes the progression of some task from beginning to end (e.g., transforming source code input into object code output by a compiler). A state machine generally has no notion of such a progression. The door state machine shown at the top of this article, for example, is not in a more advanced stage when it is in the "closed" state, compared to being in the "opened" state; it simply reacts differently to the open/close events. A state in a state machine is an efficient way of specifying a particular behavior, rather than a stage of processing.
- Newcomers to the state machine formalism often confuse state diagrams with flowcharts. The figure below shows a comparison of a state diagram with a flowchart. A state machine (panel (a)) performs actions in response to explicit events. In contrast, the flowchart (panel (b)) does not need explicit events but rather transitions from node to node in its graph automatically upon completion of activities.