Finite State Machine

Definitions

1. A computational model with a finite number of states, transitions between them triggered by inputs, and defined start/accept states. Used to model parsers, UI workflows, game AI, network protocols, and regular expressions. Tools like XState bring FSMs to frontend development.

   In plain English: A diagram of all possible states something can be in and the events that cause it to switch between them.

   Example: "Model the checkout flow as an FSM — states are cart, shipping, payment, confirmation, and each transition validates the step."

Related Terms

• Webhook vs. Polling
• Event-Driven Architecture
• Circuit Breaker
• Turing machine
• Turing Completeness
• Halting Problem
• Lambda Calculus
• Church-Turing Thesis