Finite state automata language manual#
If there's a manual for the controller, it may well contain a diagram that looks like a finite state automaton. It might be a long journey back, and you may end up exploring all sorts of modes to get there! To get to the mode you want you have to press just the right sequence, and if you press one too many buttons, it's like getting to the train station you wanted but accidentally hopping on one more train. It might have half a dozen main buttons, and pressing them changes the mode of operation (e.g.
If this occurs, it is an error in the design of the system – and it can be extremely frustrating for the caller!Īnother example is the remote control for an air conditioning unit. Sometimes you are taken round in circles because there is a peculiar loop in the finite state automaton. The dialogue can be quite simple, or very complex.
Your key presses are inputs to a finite state automaton at the other end of the phone line. You may have come across it when you dial a telephone number and get a message saying "Press 1 for this … Press 2 for that … Press 3 to talk to a human operator." People working with formal languages usually use finite state automata, but "FSAs" for short.Īn FSA isn't all that useful for train maps, but the notation is used for many other purposes, from checking input to computer programs to controlling the behaviour of an interface. Sometimes an FSA is called a finite state machine (FSM), or even just a "state machine".īy the way, the plural of "automaton" can be either "automata" or "automatons". "Automaton" is an old word meaning a machine that acts on its own, following simple rules (such as the cuckoo in a cuckoo clock). The "state" is just as another name for the train stations we were using. "Finite" just means that there is a limited number of states (such as train stations) in the map. The name finite state automaton (FSA) might seem strange, but each word is quite simple.
0 kommentar(er)
