Finite state machine
Okay kiddo, let me explain what a finite state machine (FSM) is in a simple way.
Imagine you have a toy car that can only move in one direction at a time, forward or backward, and it has only two buttons, one for moving forward and one for moving backward. Now, to make the game interesting, you decide to add some rules to your toy car. For example, if you press the forward button twice, the toy car will change direction and start moving backward. If you press the backward button twice, it will change direction and start moving forward.
This set of rules that you just created is an example of a finite state machine. The machine has a finite number of states, which are the possible directions the toy car can move, forward or backward. Each time you press a button, the machine changes state according to the rules you set. So, depending on the current state of the toy car and the button you press, the machine transitions to a new state.
Here's another example for you to understand better: Let's say you're playing a game where you have to choose one of three doors to open. Behind each door, there is either a teddy bear, a toy car or nothing. To create a finite state machine for this game, you can define three states: "Door 1", "Door 2", and "Door 3". Each state represents the current door the player chooses. If the player chooses a door that has a teddy bear behind it, the machine will transition to the "Teddy Bear" state. If the player chooses a door that has a toy car behind it, the machine transitions to the "Toy Car" state. If the player chooses a door with nothing behind it, the machine transitions to the "Empty" state.
So, basically, a finite state machine is a set of rules that determine how an object or system transitions from one state to another based on certain conditions. It's a way of modeling processes and predicting how they'll behave under different circumstances.
Imagine you have a toy car that can only move in one direction at a time, forward or backward, and it has only two buttons, one for moving forward and one for moving backward. Now, to make the game interesting, you decide to add some rules to your toy car. For example, if you press the forward button twice, the toy car will change direction and start moving backward. If you press the backward button twice, it will change direction and start moving forward.
This set of rules that you just created is an example of a finite state machine. The machine has a finite number of states, which are the possible directions the toy car can move, forward or backward. Each time you press a button, the machine changes state according to the rules you set. So, depending on the current state of the toy car and the button you press, the machine transitions to a new state.
Here's another example for you to understand better: Let's say you're playing a game where you have to choose one of three doors to open. Behind each door, there is either a teddy bear, a toy car or nothing. To create a finite state machine for this game, you can define three states: "Door 1", "Door 2", and "Door 3". Each state represents the current door the player chooses. If the player chooses a door that has a teddy bear behind it, the machine will transition to the "Teddy Bear" state. If the player chooses a door that has a toy car behind it, the machine transitions to the "Toy Car" state. If the player chooses a door with nothing behind it, the machine transitions to the "Empty" state.
So, basically, a finite state machine is a set of rules that determine how an object or system transitions from one state to another based on certain conditions. It's a way of modeling processes and predicting how they'll behave under different circumstances.
Related topics others have asked about: