State Machine Patterns

Concepts: pySessionization

A state machine is a model where a system can be in exactly one of a finite number of states at any time. The system transitions between states based on events or conditions. State machines are powerful because they make complex behavior explicit and predictable. Unlike implicit state tracked through multiple boolean flags, a state machine makes the current state crystal clear. Many real-world systems are naturally state machines: an order goes from "placed" to "paid" to "shipped" to "delivered". A user session transitions from "logged out" to "logged in" to "timed out". A document moves from "draft" to "review" to "approved" to "published". Modeling these as explicit state machines makes the logic clear and bugs easier to find. States and Transitions A state machine has states (the possib