FlashBrighton: State Machine 101 March 9, 2010

Neil Smith awoke to find himself in a plain room, strapped to a chair, facing Seb O'Brien. The room filled with a harsh brightness, and O'Brien waited whilst Smith took it in. Smith had once believed that O'Brien was a comrade, but he could see that O'Brien was part of the state machinery all along.

'You asked me once,' said O'Brien, 'what was in Room 101. You knew the answer already. Room 101 contains the worst thing in the world. That differs from person to person. It may be burial alive, rat attacks, or even something quite trivial.'

A man entered carrying a laptop and placed it opposite Smith. Tapping a few keys, O'Brien opened some files in a text editor. Smith recognised them immediately; they were from apps he had built without a State Machine. He broke out in a cold sweat.

'In your case Smith, the worst thing in the world is an app without a State Machine. Tell me about this code.'

Smith tried to swallow his panic and speak slowly. 'Frameworks make software development simpler, but the possibilities they create increases demand for complexity. State Machines simplify apps by reducing them to discreet states, thus improving development, stability and scaleability. Applications without State Machines are a nightmare.'

'OK Smith, I will spare your pain and not run this app,' said O'Brien, closing the laptop 'but there is a condition. You must come to The Werks on Tuesday 9th March at 7pm and share everything you know about State Machines. And in a general way that all software developers can relate to, not ActionScript specific. OK?'

'Yes' agreed Smith, and breathed again. O'Brien turned, walked out, and quietly ordered a guard outside to free Smith.

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