Software Engineering,
CSC221,
Lecture 7 : Design III
Behaviour : Stat Chart
7/13/2017
1
Review of Last Lecture

Class Diagram





Association Class, Reification
N-Ary Association
Qualified Association
Interface
Interactions diagrams





Collaborations, classifier and association roles
Interaction diagrams, object creation and destruction
Role multiplicity and iterated messages
Multi-objects
Conditional messages, messages to self
7/13/2017
2
Overview of This Lecture

Statechart



7/13/2017
State-dependent behaviors, events, transitions
Initial and final states, guard conditions
Actions, activities, composite states, history states
3
Where are we now?
Requirement
Analysis

Topic Covered:

Design


Implement

Detailed Class Diagram
Object Diagram
Collaboration Diagram
Sequence Diagram
Test
7/13/2017
4
Object Behavior


The behavior of an object is defined by its reaction to
messages at any point in execution.
Some object behaviors can be studied by:



Object Diagram, OR
Interaction Diagram.
Not sufficient:



7/13/2017
Cannot model all possible scenarios, e.g., only specific
sequence of messages are studied.
Only model some legal (possible) states - show how an
object behaves in particular interactions.
We need to know about illegal or impossible states to plan for
them.
5
Specifying Behaviour in UML



A different notation is needed to summarize the
overall behaviour of objects.
UML defines a statechart for this purpose.
Complement interaction diagrams for understanding
the dynamic behaviour of the system:

Interaction Diagram:


Models some inter-object messages with well defined order
during a short duration.
Statechart:

7/13/2017
Models the entire lifetime of a single object, specifying all
possible sequences of messages and responses.
6
State-dependent Behaviour


Objects respond differently to the same
stimulus/events at different times.
Can be modelled by defining a state machine:

It has a set of states:



It has a set of transitions:

7/13/2017
an object can be in one state at any time;
the state it is in determines how it responds to events.
an event can cause the object to move from one state to
another.
7
CD Player: An Example

Behaviour of a simple CD player:


A drawer to hold the CD;
Control interface with 3 buttons:



7/13/2017
Load button: the drawer will open if it was shut and will
shut if it was open;
Stop button: the player will stop playing. If there is no
CD, there is no effect;
Play button: the CD will be played. If the drawer is open,
the drawer shuts before playing starts.
8
UML Statechart Semantics


A statechart defines the behaviour of instances of a
given class.
It shows:




The possible states of an object;
The events it can detect;
Its response to those events.
An object is in one active state at a time:


7/13/2017
Events may be received at any time, which can trigger a
transition to the next active state;
If an Event only causes a loop on a state (i.e., no change of
an active state), the transition is known as self-transition.
9
Statechart: Deciding States

Identifying separate states:

Informal principle:


Syntax:


States S1 and S2 are separate if an object in state S1
responds differently to at least one event from the way it
responds to that event in state S2.
States: rounded rectangles with the name of the
state ( StateName ).
Example:

There are 3 states for the CD player:

7/13/2017
Closed, Playing, Open.
10
Statechart: Identifying Events

Events are usually external stimulus:



Events usually cause an object to change state:




Moving from one state to another is known as transition;
Events that causes transition are known as trigger;
Events can optionally carry data (similar to message
parameter).
Syntax:


E.g., messages that can be sent to an object;
Internal stimulus will be covered later in the lecture.
An arrow with the trigger attached (
trigger
).
Example:

7/13/2017
There are three events for the CD Player: load, play, stop.
11
CD Player: Statechart Ver. 1
Transition:
From Closed state
to Open state
triggered by load
event.
State:
The Open state.
Statechart
7/13/2017
12
Initial and Final States

To specify the first active state when an object is
created/initialized:

Use Initial State:




A transition leading from the initial state indicates the first active
state.
No event should be written on a transition from an initial state.
Syntax: a black disc ( ).
To model the destruction of an object:

Use Final State:



7/13/2017
Represent the end of flow, i.e., the object no longer exists.
May correspond to actual destruction for software object.
Syntax: a circled black disc (
).
13
CD Player: Statechart Ver. 2
Initial State:
CD Player
switched on
Final State:
Switched Off
the CD
Player
Statechart
7/13/2017
14
Non-Deterministic System

When two or more transitions leading from a
state share the same trigger:





No way to distinguish between them;
Randomly choose one of them;
The same history of events may end up in a
different state;
Known as non-deterministic system.
Can be removed by adding information to
distinguish between transitions with the same
trigger.
7/13/2017
15
CD Player: Non Deterministic Example



In real-life, a CD player will not play if there is no CD
inside.
Statechart Ver. 2 does not describe this.
Correct Behaviour:


When the play event is detected, the CD Player should
remain in the Closed state if there is no CD inside.
Resulting Statechart (partial):
This transition
should be
used when
there is a CD
inside.
This transition
should be for
no CD inside.
Statechart
7/13/2017
16
Guard Condition




Although the two transitions are meant for different
scenarios, the statechart does not distinguish among the
two, resulting in a non-deterministic behavior.
The non-determinism can be removed if we can specify the
condition that determine the correct transition to use.
Syntax:
trigger [guard_condition]
Semantics:
 If a transition has a guard condition, it can only fire if that
transition is evaluated to true;
 If all guard conditions are false and there is no unguarded
transition, the event will be ignored.
 Usually, only one condition is true (determinism).
7/13/2017
17
CD Player: Statechart Ver. 3
Guard
Condition
Statechart

Note that guard conditions are also added to transitions
leading from the Open state. What do they represent?
7/13/2017
18
Actions


A state can have actions triggered.
There are three ways an action can be triggered:




By an event;
By entering a state;
By leaving a state.
An action triggered by an event takes place in
response to that event:

Syntax:
Trigger [Guard_Condition] /action

Example:

7/13/2017
The CD drawer will be closed when play is detected in the
Open state.
19
CD Player: Statechart Ver. 4
Statechart
Action triggered
by Event
7/13/2017
20
Action: Entering/Exiting a State



An action can be triggered as soon as the state is
entered.
Useful to capture actions that must be performed
regardless the transition used to arrive at the state.
Syntax:



Write in a compartment in the state box: entry/action
Similarly, an action can be performed just before
leaving a state.
Syntax:

7/13/2017
Write in a compartment in the state box: exit/action
21
CD Player: Statechart (partial)
Action triggered
by entering a
state.
Action triggered
by leaving a
state.
Statechart
Question:
What happened when the
play button is pressed
during CD playing?
7/13/2017
22
Action and Activity

Properties of Actions:





An “action” that does not conform to the above is
termed as activity instead.
Property of Activities:




Short, self-contained processing;
Finished “instantaneously”;
Cannot be interrupted by events.
Performed during a state;
Carry out for an extended period of time;
Can be interrupted by events.
Syntax:

7/13/2017
Write in a compartment of the state box: do/activity
23
CD Player: Activity Example
Activity performed
during the Playing
state.
Statechart (Partial)

Question: When the play track activity is being
performed, what happen if the stop button is pressed?
7/13/2017
24
Completion Transition


As well as being interrupted by events, some
activities will come to an end of their own accord.
If an activity completes uninterrupted, then it can
trigger a completion transition.



these are transitions without event labels.
Multiple completion transitions can be distinguished
by guard conditions.
Example:

When the play track activity is completed:


7/13/2017
If it is the last track, go to Closed state;
If it is not the last track, play the next track.
25
CD Player: Completion Transition
Example
Completion
Transition:
Play the next track
Completion
Transition:
No more track. Stop
playing
Statechart (Partial)
7/13/2017
26
Internal Transition




There are transitions that leave the object in the same
state but does not trigger the entry and exit actions:
A self-transition is not appropriate. Why?
Use an Internal Transition which does not trigger the
entry and exit actions.
Syntax:


Write in a compartment of the state box: event/action
Example:

7/13/2017
Suppose we add an info button for the CD Player to display
the remaining playing time for current track.
27
CD Player: Internal Transition
Info /display time
Statechart – Self- transition(Partial)

Statechart – Internal Transition (Partial)
Compare the two different ways to model the info
button.
7/13/2017
28
Composite State


States that share similar behavior can be grouped
into a Composite State to simplify the statechart.
Composite State:





Syntax similar to simple state;
Contains a number of substates;
When a composite state is active, exactly one of the
substate must be active;
Transitions can lead away from a composite state as well as
any of its substates.
Example:

7/13/2017
CD Player: the response to the play event is similar during
the Open or Closed states.
29
CD Player: Composite State
Composite
State
Transition
shared by all
substates
Sub-State
Transition
specific to one
substate
Statechart
7/13/2017
30
Composite State: Additional Property

A composite state is just like a simple state:



A composite state is also like a mini-statechart:



Can have Entry/Exit actions;
Can have extended activity.
Can have an Initial State to indicate the default substate if a
transition terminates at boundary of a composite state;
Can have a Final State, which is triggered when ongoing
activity within the state has finished.
Transitions:



7/13/2017
Leading away from a composite state apply to all substates;
Arrive at composite state go to the default state;
Can cross composite state boundaries.
31
CD Player: pause button


Pressing the pause button causes playing to be interrupted;
When the button is pressed again, playing continues from the
position where it was paused.
Only triggers if
the Composite
State is entered.
As there is no entry
action, reentering
the Playing
substate will not
restart the track.
7/13/2017
Statechart
32
History State





When a composite state is entered, it begins at the initial
state or directly transits into one of the substates.
Sometimes, it is useful to re-enter a composite state at a
point at which it was left.
 Re-enter the last active substate.
Indicate this using the History State.
 Transitions arriving at the History State activate the last
active substate.
If there is no last active substate, a default state can be
indicated by an unlabelled transition from History State.
Syntax:
 A circled ‘H’ ( H )
7/13/2017
33
CD Player: History State

Suppose re-pressing the play button:


During Playing: restart and play the current track;
During Paused: restart the current track but remain paused.
Make use of
History State to
model the behavior
correctly.
Statechart
7/13/2017
34
CD Player: Final Version Statechart
Statechart
7/13/2017
35
Statechart Notation Summary
State Name
Entry /action
Exit /action
Do /activity
Event /action
Event(param) [condition] /action
Transition and Trigger
State
H
Initial
State
7/13/2017
Final
State
History
State
36
Steps for Constructing Statechart
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Identify the objects that have complex behavior;
Determine the initial and final states of the object;
Identify the events that affect the entity;
Working from the initial state, trace the impact of
events and identify the intermediate states;
Identify any entry and exit actions on the states;
Expand states into a composite state if necessary;
Check which actions in the state are supported by
operation (method);
Refine the class if necessary.
Another example of constructing Statechart: “Ticket
Machine”.
7/13/2017
37
Creating a Statechart



How information from interaction diagrams
can be used to derive statecharts?
It can be hard to identify all necessary states.
Statecharts can be developed incrementally:




7/13/2017
consider individual sequences of events received
by an object;
these might be specified on interaction diagrams;
start with a statechart for one interaction;
add states as required by additional interactions.
38
Ticket Machine

Consider a ticket machine with two events:



Basic interaction is to select a ticket and then enter
coins.


select a ticket type;
enter a coin.
model this as a ‘linear’ statechart.
Problems:


7/13/2017
It defines only one transaction, whereas the ticket machine
is able to carry out repeated transactions;
It shows only 3 coins, but this number should be arbitrary.
39
Refining the Statechart

This can be improved by adding ‘loops’:



the number of coins entered will vary: entry will
continue until the ticket is paid for;
the whole transaction can be repeated.
State ‘Idle’: no transaction is in progress.
7/13/2017
40
Adding Another Interaction


Suppose the requirements allow the user to
enter a coin before selecting a ticket.
A ‘coin’ transition from the ‘Idle’ state is
needed to handle this event.



this transition can’t go to the ‘Paying for Ticket’
state as the ticket is not yet selected.
so a new state ‘Inserting Coins’ is required.
The statechart is thus built up step-by-step.
7/13/2017
41
Adding a Second Interaction

If all coins are entered before ticket selected:
7/13/2017
42
Integrating the Interactions


Suppose the requirements allow the user to enter some
coins before selecting a ticket and the rest after that.
In fact, events can occur in any sequence:
7/13/2017
43
Time Events

Suppose the ticket machine times out after 30
seconds.



7/13/2017
We need to fire a transition that is not triggered by a
user-generated event;
UML defines time events to handle these cases.
Example: a transition will fire 30 seconds after the
‘no ticket selected’ state is entered.
44
Activity States



Both ‘No Ticket Selected’ and ‘Ticket Selected’
should check if the machine is able to return
any change that is required.
Efficient solution: activity states!
Activity states define periods of time when the
object is carrying out internal processing.



7/13/2017
unlike normal activities, these cannot be interrupted
by external events;
only completion transitions leading from them;
useful for simplifying the structure of complex
statecharts.
45
Returning Change


Note that activity as a property of state (slide
23) is not the same as activity states.
Use an activity state to calculate change.
7/13/2017
46
Ticket Machine Statechart



It incorporates
‘Pressing Cancel’ in
the middle of a
transaction.
The composite state
‘Transaction’ reduces
the number of
statechart transitions.
Still room for refining:
When ‘cancel’ event
occurs, the machine
should give the
money back 
7/13/2017
Statechart
47
Comparison between statecharts and
activity diagrams



There are many similarities between state diagrams and
activity diagrams (Chapter 3 of [Bimlesh, Andrei, Soo;
2007]), as activity diagrams are state diagrams extended
with some extra notation.
The main difference between activity diagrams and state
diagrams is that activity diagrams do not normally include
events.
Moreover, an activity is intended to proceed without
getting stuck, whereas for state diagrams it is perfectly
acceptable for an object never to reach some of its
potential states.
7/13/2017
48
Where are we now?
Requirement
Analysis

Topic Covered:

Design


Implement


Detailed Class Diagram
Object Diagram
Collaboration Diagram
Sequence Diagram
Statechart
Test
7/13/2017
49
Summary

Statechart



7/13/2017
State-dependent behaviors, events, transitions
Initial and final states, guard conditions
Actions, activities, composite states, history states
50
Thank you for your attention!
Questions?
7/13/2017
51