State Machine
A state machine is a computational model used to design systems that can be in one of a finite number of states at any given time, with transitions between states triggered by events or inputs. It provides a structured way to manage complex behavior by defining clear states, transitions, and actions, making systems predictable and easier to debug. This concept is widely applied in software engineering, hardware design, and various domains like game development, user interfaces, and network protocols.
Developers should learn state machines to handle systems with distinct modes or behaviors, such as workflow engines, game character AI, or UI state management (e.g., loading, error, success states). They are particularly useful when you need to ensure deterministic behavior, avoid spaghetti code with nested conditionals, and improve testability by modeling all possible states and transitions explicitly. In practice, state machines help reduce bugs in stateful applications by enforcing a clear, finite set of states.