Multi state machine modeling Copy link to clipboard
The behavior of large systems is often too complex to be captured by a single statechart. So if a statechart gets too large you should think about splitting it into two or more smaller parts. Beside the fact that the smaller state machines are easier to handle and maintain there are additional reasons for using multiple state machines instead of single monolithic ones:
- Separation of concerns enables a better software architecture.
- State machines can be reused in different contexts. So if you have identical copies of sub states spread around your state machines then this could be a good starting point.
- If you build a distributed system then you require separate state machines for the different nodes.
This chapter describes how you can use itemis CREATE, formerly known as YAKINDU Statechart Tools, to model and simulate a system which consists of multiple collaborating state machines and how you can embed a statechart as a sub machines into another statechart. This chapter introduces all relevant concepts using an example.
The example is a traffic control of a street crossing using traffic lights. While a single traffic light is not so complex the coordination of different traffic lights on a crossing is a good example to highlight the collaboration between different state machines.
The example consists of a system of three state machine instances. There are two instances of the statechart TrafficLight . Each instance just cares about controlling the different modes of a single traffic light. The TwoWayTrafficControl coordinates both traffic lights and makes sure that the traffic is always safe by making sure that no two traffic lights are green at the same time.