[comp.software-eng] State Diagrams

swonk@ccicpg.UUCP (Glen Swonk) (06/30/89)

I would like utility to generate state transition diagrams
(in Postscript file format) from a ASCII text input specification.
This resultant output file is used to provide documentation
for SW/HW designs.

The utility should be able to show states (as circles) with the
appropriate state name inside with arrows showing next state and
the condition which causes the state change. Alternatively, It
would put the comment at the bottom of the document as a footnote.


An example input file may be like:

# /// cut-here ///////////////////////////////////////////////////
#
#
# <state>	<next_state>	<condition>	<comment>
@InitState:
	@StartState		1		# always procede

@StartState:
	@CaptureState		DataReady	# if data available
	@SaveState		DataToSave	# if save data available
	@ExitState		ExitFlag	# time to exit
	@IdleState		1		# default if no processing

@CaptureState:
	@StartState		1

@SaveState:
	@StartState		1

@IdleState:

@ExitState:
	@ExitState		1	# loop forever

# /// cut-here ///////////////////////////////////////////////////

Questions:

	Does anyone know of such a tool that exists?

	If I were to implement this myself, how do I go about
	sorting the paths to eliminate as much overlap as possible?

	Are there any extensions to this that may be useful to others?

	What are some good references for designing state diagrams?


Thanks for any help.


-- 
Glenn L. Swonk		CCI Computers 
(714)458-7282		9801 Muirlands Boulevard
			Irvine, CA 92718
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