Advanced State Modeling: Or: "Derek Zoolander Strikes Back"

Reminders from State Modeling
Advanced State Modeling Concepts
In-Class Exercises
Advanced State Modeling

Or: Derek Zoolander Strikes Back
Jonathan Sprinkle1
University of Arizona
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
PO Box 210104, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Jonathan Sprinkle
In-Class Exercises
Abstract
Abstract
This lecture continues discussion of state modeling and state
diagrams. Specific details to be discussed include concurrent
models, and various instance models of states.
Jonathan Sprinkle
In-Class Exercises
Previously, on ECE373. . .
State models give the behavior of a particular class.
States are an abstraction of the current value(s) of an object
and its links
Events are instantaneous (when they happen), and unique.
Kinds of events can be classified
Transitions can fire when an event occurs, and guard
conditions are satisfied (recall event[guard]).
Jonathan Sprinkle
In-Class Exercises
Outline

Definitions
Sending Signals

Nested State Diagrams
Concurrency and States
Concurrency within an Object
Synchronization of Concurrent Activities
In-Class Exercises
Jonathan Sprinkle
In-Class Exercises
Definitions
Transitions happen.
State1
entry/action
do/activity
exit/action
event/action(arguments)
Jonathan Sprinkle
event[guard]
State2
entry/action
do/activity
exit/action
In-Class Exercises
Definitions
Activities happen.
State1
entry/action
do/activity
exit/action
event/action(arguments)
Jonathan Sprinkle
event[guard]/action
State2
entry/action
do/activity
exit/action
In-Class Exercises
Definitions
Completion transitions
When an activity is complete, or no activity exists, an unlabeled
transition called the completion transition can be taken when
activity is done. This is in response to the completion event, which
fires only once.
State1
State2
entry/action
do/activity
exit/action
However, it may be possible get a state stuck if guard conditions

prevent taking the transition, and no more completion transitions
fire. Completion transitions should be used with careor not
at all!! You will be heavily penalized on exams and homework
assignments for state models with ambiguous completion
transitions.
Jonathan Sprinkle
In-Class Exercises
Sending Signals
Race conditions
An object can send a signal to another object, or objects.
Generally, if a signal is directed at a group of objects, then each
object received a unique signal, and they are processed
concurrently. If an object can receive signals from more than one
object, then it may be possible for the order of receipt to affect the
final state of the object. This effect is called a race condition.
Definition
A race condition is a design consequence, wherein a particular
objects final state is nondeterministic when considering the order
of receipt of messages from more than one source.
It is interesting to note that race conditions are not necessarily
design flaws, but that many real-time of concurrent systems prefer
that race conditions do not exist.
Jonathan Sprinkle
In-Class Exercises
Outline

Definitions
Sending Signals

In-Class Exercises
Jonathan Sprinkle
In-Class Exercises

Previously discussed concepts for state modeling are sufficient for
toy examples, but systems which are deployed frequently require
more advanced concepts. This information is from Chapter 6 of
the text.
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In-Class Exercises
Flat state diagrams can become unwieldy, and are often so large
that they cannot be readily understood as a documentation tool.
Furthermore, it may be the case that the complexity of a flattened
state diagram may hide design flaws in the same way that the
complexity of textual code, for a sufficiently large example.
Enter, then, nested state diagrams, which allow subdiagrams to
hide complexity, or refactor tasks. Consider a vending machine,
with 10 different selections. The act of dispensing an item can be
refactored as a single state, even though it may require several
sub-states to complete its task.
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In-Class Exercises
Example (From Figures 6.2, 6.3 in Chapter 6)

Consider a vending machine, with more that one selectable item.
Vending Machine
start
cons in(amount) / set balance
Collecting money
coins in(amount) / add to balance
Idle
cancel / refund coins
[item empty]
select(item)
[change < 0]
do / test item and compute change

[change = 0]
dispense : DispenseItem
[change > 0]
do / make change
Figure: The Vending Machine state diagram

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In-Class Exercises
A submachine: DispenseItem
Example (The DispenseItem submachine)
DispenseItem
start
do / move arm( item.getRow( ) )
end
pushed
arm ready
do / move arm( item.getCol( ) )
do / push item off shelf
arm ready
Figure: The DispenseItem subdiagram
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In-Class Exercises
Aggregation Concurrency
State models by their appearance and definition support

concurrency well; however, it is entirely possible that certain
objects may require interdependence at certain points in their life.
The aggregate state refers to the combined state of all state
diagrams in a collection.
Definition
Aggregation Concurrency is an and relationship between
concurrent states. Two state which employ aggregation
concurrency are both active at the same time.
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In-Class Exercises
When employing Aggregation Concurrency, it is most interesting

for contained states to interact (e.g., transitions for one object may
depend on the state of another object).
Example (Car example.)

Car
Transmission
Jonathan Sprinkle
Accelerator
Brake
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In-Class Exercises
Aggregations Concurrent State Diagram

start
Transmission
Park
select(reverse)
select(park)[v=0]
Reverse
select(park)[v=0]
select(drive)
Drive
when( v > v_max )
First
when( v < v_min )
Accelerator
Idle
do / decrease v
Second
push down
Depressed
do / increase v
release
Brake
Idle
push down
Depressed
do / decrease v
release
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In-Class Exercises
When modeling an object which may have a concurrent set of

states, it is possible to partition the state with a dotted line, to
show that the state of the object is a tuple of single states from
each concurrent region.
State
State1
State2
StateA
StateB
The state can be State1 and StateB, for example, but not
StateA and StateB since exactly one state from each partition
must be active.
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In-Class Exercises
Example (Tennis Game)
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In-Class Exercises
For atomic synchronization, it is possible to use splitting and

merging.
Definition
Splitting control requires that all following activities occur
concurrently. A splitting fork (heavy bar with one input and 2..*
outputs) denotes splitting of control.
Definition
Merging control is the collection of completion of all incoming
activities before continuing. A merging (or joining) fork (heavy bar
with 2..* inputs and one output) denotes merging of control.
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In-Class Exercises
A few notes...
Merge and split are themselves transitions, and fire based on

events, guards, and can produce actions.
It is not necessary for concurrent states (after splitting
control) to occur simultaneously.
Implicit merges and simple splitting can cause headaches if
states (and substates) do not contain default states. You
should specify a default state for all concurrent substates to
avoid confusion.
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In-Class Exercises
Outline

Definitions
Sending Signals

In-Class Exercises
Jonathan Sprinkle
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In-Class Exercises
Example (Completion Confusion)

Create 2-3 example state models where completion transitions are used to
describe a specific design of your choosing. Have some be clear, and others be
unclear. Create sequence diagrams for unclear state models.
Example (Current Concurrent)

Create a state model using concurrent substates, to describe how capacitors in
an example circuit are charging. Make sure to show the example circuit, but no
specific equations need be given.
Example (Substate Mate)

Create a state model with explicit substates, that describe a chess game, and
various strategies that either player will use as parts of each substate. Be
general in your algorithms, not specific.
Jonathan Sprinkle
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Reminders from State Modeling

Advanced State Modeling Concepts