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State Machine Table

A State Machine table is one of two variants of a State Machine (the other is the State Machine diagram). It displays the information of the State Machine in table form, and is a method of specifying the discrete behavior of a finite state-transition system; that is, what state the State Machine moves to and the conditions under which the transition takes place.

You can display the state transition as one of two different relationships:

Display Type

Description

See also

State - Trigger

The rows indicate the current states and the columns indicate trigger events (or the other way around if you prefer, in a Trigger - State format).

The cell at the intersection of a row and column identifies the target state in the transition if the trigger occurs, and the condition (or guard) of the transition.

 

Example State-Trigger Table

State - Next State

The rows and columns both indicate states, and the cell at the intersection of a row and column indicates:

•The event that triggers a transition from the current (row) state to the next (column) state
•The condition (or guard) of the event, and
•The effect of the transition

 

Example State-Next State Table

You can display a State Machine as a diagram or table, and as a table in one of three relationship formats.

How to

To select the display format

Step

Action

1

Right-click on the diagram background and select the Statechart Editor context menu option.

 

2

Select the appropriate display option:

•Diagram
•Table (State-Next State)
•Table (State-Trigger)
•Table (Trigger-State)
 

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