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Concept

Finite State Machine

Model

A mathematical model of computation consisting of a finite number of states, one of which is active at any time, with transitions between states driven by input. The formalism traces to Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts's 1943 paper on a logical calculus of neural activity, whose refinement and generalization led to the modern notion of finite automata within the theory of computation. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Disputed
Origin Year
1943 1
McCulloch and Pitts's 1943 neural-network paper is the formalism's traced ancestor, but the finite-state-machine article itself carries no dedicated history section fixing a single founding year for the model as later formalized in automata theory.
Core Principle
A system is always in exactly one of a finite set of states, and moves between states only in response to input, so its entire future behavior is determined by its current state and what it reads next. 1
Connections

Associated With

Regular Expression, Concepts
Source Wikipedia: Regular expression
Turing Machine, Concepts
Source Wikipedia: Finite-state machine

In Field

Embedded Systems, Fields
Source Wikipedia: Embedded system
Theory of Computation, Fields
Source Wikipedia: Finite-state machine
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Finite-state machine
Wikimedia Foundation
  • General description
    It is an abstract machine that can be in exactly one of a finite number of states at any given time.
  • In Group: Models of Computation and Automata, Lead
    In theoretical computer science, a finite-state machine (FSM) or finite-state automaton (FSA, plural: automata), finite automaton, or simply a state machine, is a mathematical model of computation.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Regular expression
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Regular Expression, History sectionView the Source
Wikipedia: Embedded system
Wikimedia FoundationIn Field: Embedded Systems, Tools section
Quote, In Field: Embedded Systems, Tools section
Modeling and code generating tools often based on state machines
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