computer science//state machine

A state machine models behaviour as a set of states and the transitions allowed between them. An event can trigger a transition, sometimes subject to a condition, and the transition can carry an action. Making those rules explicit prevents the current state from being inferred independently in several places.

A state machine models behaviour as a set of states and the transitions allowed between them. An event can trigger a transition, sometimes subject to a condition, and the transition can carry an action. Making those rules explicit prevents the current state from being inferred independently in several places.

The CRM project uses this kind of reasoning for workflow. A state model describes the permitted sequence; SQL and the application still need to preserve it when concurrent operations reach the same record.