State Transition Tables Guide

Tutorial 5 of 5

State Transition Tables Guide

1. Introduction

1.1 Brief Explanation of the Tutorial's Goal

The goal of this tutorial is to introduce you to the concept of State Transition Tables, a useful tool in both software development and testing. They allow us to better understand and handle system behavior according to different input sequences.

1.2 What You Will Learn

By the end of this guide, you will be able to:

Understand the concept of State Transition Tables.
Create your own State Transition Tables.
Apply the concept in programming and testing.

1.3 Prerequisites

A basic understanding of software development concepts is helpful but not necessary.

2. Step-by-Step Guide

2.1 Detailed Explanation of Concepts

A State Transition Table is a table that shows what state a system will move to, based on the current state and a given input. In essence, it represents a finite state machine.

The table consists of columns and rows, where each column represents a state, each row represents an input, and each cell shows the resulting state after the input has been applied to the state.

2.2 Clear Examples with Comments

Let's consider a simple example of a light switch that can either be 'on' or 'off'. The input (or event) is the act of 'flipping' the switch. The State Transition Table would look like this:

Current State	Flip Switch
On	Off
Off	On

2.3 Best Practices and Tips

Make sure each possible state and input is accounted for in your table.
Keep your tables as simple and concise as possible.

3. Code Examples

3.1 Example 1

Consider a simple traffic light system with three states - 'Green', 'Yellow', and 'Red'. The event causing the transition is time elapsing. Here's how you might represent this as a python dictionary:

# Define the state transition table
traffic_light_transitions = {
    'Green': 'Yellow',
    'Yellow': 'Red',
    'Red': 'Green'
}

# Function to get the next state
def get_next_state(current_state):
    return traffic_light_transitions[current_state]

# Test the function
print(get_next_state('Green'))  # Output: 'Yellow'

In this code snippet, the traffic_light_transitions dictionary represents our State Transition Table. The get_next_state function returns the next state given the current state.

3.2 Example 2

Let's consider a more complex example - a vending machine with two states, 'Idle' and 'Dispensing', and two inputs, 'Coin' and 'Button'. The Python representation might look like this:

# Define the state transition table
vending_machine_transitions = {
    'Idle': {
        'Coin': 'Idle',
        'Button': 'Dispensing'
    },
    'Dispensing': {
        'Coin': 'Idle',
        'Button': 'Dispensing'
    }
}

# Function to get the next state
def get_next_state(current_state, input):
    return vending_machine_transitions[current_state][input]

# Test the function
print(get_next_state('Idle', 'Button'))  # Output: 'Dispensing'

This example is slightly more complex as it has multiple inputs for each state.

4. Summary

4.1 Key Points Covered

What a State Transition Table is.
How to create a State Transition Table.
How to represent a State Transition Table in Python.

4.2 Next Steps for Learning

Try to implement State Transition Tables in your own projects. They're especially useful when dealing with complex systems with many states and inputs.

4.3 Additional Resources

5. Practice Exercises

5.1 Exercise 1

Create a State Transition Table for a digital clock that displays hours (from 1 to 12) and has two inputs: 'Hour Up' and 'Hour Down'.

5.2 Exercise 2

Implement the above State Transition Table in Python.

5.2 Tips for Further Practice

Try creating State Transition Tables for other systems in your daily life. This will help you understand the concept better and apply it in your programming projects.