State Machines
Definition
State machines are computational models that consist of a set of states and transitions between those states. They are used to represent systems that change from one state to another based on inputs or events.
Analogy
Think of a vending machine as a state machine. It has different states (e.g., idle, accepting money, dispensing product) and transitions between those states based on user actions (e.g., inserting coins, pressing buttons).
Related terms
Finite Automaton: A type of state machine with a finite number of states and transitions.
Mealy Machine: A type of state machine where outputs depend on both the current state and input.
Moore Machine: A type of state machine where outputs depend only on the current state.
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