Skip to main content

State Breaks

Scope​

The target is states managed in software where transitions cannot be grasped as a consistent sequence.

Definition​

State breaks refers to a state in which state transitions that should originally be explicitly defined are partially missing, and situations are observed where the current state or transitions that can occur next cannot be identified.

Symptoms​

  • State transition conditions are dispersed across the codebase, making the overall model hard to grasp
  • Flags and temporary variables proliferate, and state is determined by their combinations
  • Displayed content and internal state remain inconsistent over time
  • Processing continues from unanticipated states

Typical Triggers​

  • States continue where existing state definitions were partially extended with screen or feature additions
  • Temporary branches or exception handling have become permanent
  • Reference and update points increase without a defined source of truth for state
  • Transition order becomes implicit due to asynchronous processing or event-driven approaches

Diagnostic Questions​

  • Is it a state where the current state can be explained in a single expression?
  • Is it a state where state transitions that can occur next can be enumerated?
  • Is it a state where inconsistencies between display and internal state can be detected?
  • Is it a state where it can be asserted that unanticipated states do not exist?

What This Is Not​

  • This is not a problem of selecting specific state management libraries
  • This does not discuss the appropriateness of UI framework usage
  • This does not refer to the mere number of conditional branches

Connections​

Last updated on by Hiroshi Kurabayashi