Editing Finite-state machine (section)

=== Determinism ===
A further distinction is between ''deterministic'' ([[Deterministic finite automaton|DFA]]) and ''non-deterministic'' ([[Nondeterministic finite automaton|NFA]], [[Generalized nondeterministic finite automaton|GNFA]]) automata. In a deterministic automaton, every state has exactly one transition for each possible input. In a non-deterministic automaton, an input can lead to one, more than one, or no transition for a given state. The [[powerset construction]] algorithm can transform any nondeterministic automaton into a (usually more complex) deterministic automaton with identical functionality.

A finite-state machine with only one state is called a "combinatorial FSM". It only allows actions upon transition ''into'' a state. This concept is useful in cases where a number of finite-state machines are required to work together, and when it is convenient to consider a purely combinatorial part as a form of FSM to suit the design tools.<ref>Brutscheck, M., Berger, S., Franke, M., Schwarzbacher, A., Becker, S.: Structural Division Procedure for Efficient IC Analysis. IET Irish
Signals and Systems Conference, (ISSC 2008), pp.18–23. Galway, Ireland, 18–19 June 2008. [http://arrow.dit.ie/engschececon/2/]</ref>