Step 1: Design Your States
What Are States?
States = what the machine "remembers"
The machine can only see ONE cell at a time. States let it remember what it has seen or what it's doing.
Example: To count if there's an even or odd number of 1s:
EVEN= "So far, I've seen an EVEN number of 1s"ODD= "So far, I've seen an ODD number of 1s"
System States (Always Present):
START
Machine begins here. You'll define rules for this state.
DONE
Machine stops here. Any state can "go to DONE" to finish.
Your Working States:
What does your machine need to remember? Name your states clearly.
You'll define what each state does next.