Classic FSM

For the documentation of the new API of this feature and for new projects see fsm.

Dependency

The Akka dependencies are available from Akka’s library repository. To access them there, you need to configure the URL for this repository.

sbt

resolvers += "Akka library repository".at("https://repo.akka.io/maven")

Maven

<project>
  ...
  <repositories>
    <repository>
      <id>akka-repository</id>
      <name>Akka library repository</name>
      <url>https://repo.akka.io/maven</url>
    </repository>
  </repositories>
</project>

Gradle

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
    maven {
        url "https://repo.akka.io/maven"
    }
}

To use Finite State Machine actors, you must add the following dependency in your project:

sbt

val AkkaVersion = "2.10.0+14-bc29c0c3-SNAPSHOT"
libraryDependencies += "com.typesafe.akka" %% "akka-actor" % AkkaVersion

Maven

<properties>
  <scala.binary.version>2.13</scala.binary.version>
</properties>
<dependencyManagement>
  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.typesafe.akka</groupId>
      <artifactId>akka-bom_${scala.binary.version}</artifactId>
      <version>2.10.0+14-bc29c0c3-SNAPSHOT</version>
      <type>pom</type>
      <scope>import</scope>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>com.typesafe.akka</groupId>
    <artifactId>akka-actor_${scala.binary.version}</artifactId>
  </dependency>
</dependencies>

Gradle

def versions = [
  ScalaBinary: "2.13"
]
dependencies {
  implementation platform("com.typesafe.akka:akka-bom_${versions.ScalaBinary}:2.10.0+14-bc29c0c3-SNAPSHOT")

  implementation "com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_${versions.ScalaBinary}"
}

Overview

The FSM (Finite State Machine) is available as a mixin for the an abstract base class that implements an Akka Actor and is best described in the Erlang design principles

A FSM can be described as a set of relations of the form:

State(S) x Event(E) -> Actions (A), State(S’)

These relations are interpreted as meaning:

If we are in state S and the event E occurs, we should perform the actions A and make a transition to the state S’.

A Simple Example

To demonstrate most of the features of the FSM traitAbstractFSM class, consider an actor which shall receive and queue messages while they arrive in a burst and send them on after the burst ended or a flush request is received.

First, consider all of the below to use these import statements:

Scala

copysourceimport akka.actor.FSM
import scala.concurrent.duration._

Java

copysourceimport akka.actor.AbstractFSM;
import akka.actor.ActorRef;
import akka.japi.pf.UnitMatch;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.LinkedList;
import java.util.List;
import java.time.Duration;

The contract of our “Buncher” actor is that it accepts or produces the following messages:

Scala

copysource// received events
final case class SetTarget(ref: ActorRef)
final case class Queue(obj: Any)
case object Flush

// sent events
final case class Batch(obj: immutable.Seq[Any])

Java

copysourcestatic final class SetTarget {
  private final ActorRef ref;

  public SetTarget(ActorRef ref) {
    this.ref = ref;
  }

  public ActorRef getRef() {
    return ref;
  }

  @Override
  public String toString() {
    return "SetTarget{" + "ref=" + ref + '}';
  }
}

static final class Queue {
  private final Object obj;

  public Queue(Object obj) {
    this.obj = obj;
  }

  public Object getObj() {
    return obj;
  }

  @Override
  public String toString() {
    return "Queue{" + "obj=" + obj + '}';
  }
}

static final class Batch {
  private final List<Object> list;

  public Batch(List<Object> list) {
    this.list = list;
  }

  public List<Object> getList() {
    return list;
  }

  @Override
  public boolean equals(Object o) {
    if (this == o) return true;
    if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;

    Batch batch = (Batch) o;

    return list.equals(batch.list);
  }

  @Override
  public int hashCode() {
    return list.hashCode();
  }

  @Override
  public String toString() {
    final StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
    builder.append("Batch{list=");
    list.stream()
        .forEachOrdered(
            e -> {
              builder.append(e);
              builder.append(",");
            });
    int len = builder.length();
    builder.replace(len, len, "}");
    return builder.toString();
  }
}

static enum Flush {
  Flush
}

SetTarget is needed for starting it up, setting the destination for the Batches to be passed on; Queue will add to the internal queue while Flush will mark the end of a burst.

Scala

copysource// states
sealed trait State
case object Idle extends State
case object Active extends State

sealed trait Data
case object Uninitialized extends Data
final case class Todo(target: ActorRef, queue: immutable.Seq[Any]) extends Data

Java

copysource// states
enum State {
  Idle,
  Active
}

// state data
interface Data {}

enum Uninitialized implements Data {
  Uninitialized
}

final class Todo implements Data {
  private final ActorRef target;
  private final List<Object> queue;

  public Todo(ActorRef target, List<Object> queue) {
    this.target = target;
    this.queue = queue;
  }

  public ActorRef getTarget() {
    return target;
  }

  public List<Object> getQueue() {
    return queue;
  }

  @Override
  public String toString() {
    return "Todo{" + "target=" + target + ", queue=" + queue + '}';
  }

  public Todo addElement(Object element) {
    List<Object> nQueue = new LinkedList<>(queue);
    nQueue.add(element);
    return new Todo(this.target, nQueue);
  }

  public Todo copy(List<Object> queue) {
    return new Todo(this.target, queue);
  }

  public Todo copy(ActorRef target) {
    return new Todo(target, this.queue);
  }
}

The actor can be in two states: no message queued (aka Idle) or some message queued (aka Active). It will stay in the Active state as long as messages keep arriving and no flush is requested. The internal state data of the actor is made up of the target actor reference to send the batches to and the actual queue of messages.

Now let’s take a look at the skeleton for our FSM actor:

Scala

copysourceclass Buncher extends FSM[State, Data] {

  startWith(Idle, Uninitialized)

  when(Idle) {
    case Event(SetTarget(ref), Uninitialized) =>
      stay().using(Todo(ref, Vector.empty))
  }

  onTransition {
    case Active -> Idle =>
      stateData match {
        case Todo(ref, queue) => ref ! Batch(queue)
        case _                => // nothing to do
      }
  }

  when(Active, stateTimeout = 1.second) {
    case Event(Flush | StateTimeout, t: Todo) =>
      goto(Idle).using(t.copy(queue = Vector.empty))
  }

  whenUnhandled {
    // common code for both states
    case Event(Queue(obj), t @ Todo(_, v)) =>
      goto(Active).using(t.copy(queue = v :+ obj))

    case Event(e, s) =>
      log.warning("received unhandled request {} in state {}/{}", e, stateName, s)
      stay()
  }

  initialize()
}

Java

copysourcepublic class Buncher extends AbstractFSM<State, Data> {
  {
    startWith(Idle, Uninitialized);

    when(
        Idle,
        matchEvent(
            SetTarget.class,
            Uninitialized.class,
            (setTarget, uninitialized) ->
                stay().using(new Todo(setTarget.getRef(), new LinkedList<>()))));

    onTransition(
        matchState(
                Active,
                Idle,
                () -> {
                  // reuse this matcher
                  final UnitMatch<Data> m =
                      UnitMatch.create(
                          matchData(
                              Todo.class,
                              todo ->
                                  todo.getTarget().tell(new Batch(todo.getQueue()), getSelf())));
                  m.match(stateData());
                })
            .state(
                Idle,
                Active,
                () -> {
                  /* Do something here */
                }));

    when(
        Active,
        Duration.ofSeconds(1L),
        matchEvent(
            Arrays.asList(Flush.class, StateTimeout()),
            Todo.class,
            (event, todo) -> goTo(Idle).using(todo.copy(new LinkedList<>()))));

    whenUnhandled(
        matchEvent(
                Queue.class,
                Todo.class,
                (queue, todo) -> goTo(Active).using(todo.addElement(queue.getObj())))
            .anyEvent(
                (event, state) -> {
                  log()
                      .warning(
                          "received unhandled request {} in state {}/{}",
                          event,
                          stateName(),
                          state);
                  return stay();
                }));

    initialize();
  }
}

The basic strategy is to declare the actor, mixing in the FSM traitby inheriting the AbstractFSM class and specifying the possible states and data values as type parameters. Within the body of the actor a DSL is used for declaring the state machine:

• startWith defines the initial state and initial data
• then there is one when(<state>) { ... } declaration per state to be handled (could potentially be multiple ones, the passed PartialFunction will be concatenated using orElse)
• finally starting it up using initialize, which performs the transition into the initial state and sets up timers (if required).

In this case, we start out in the Idle state with Uninitialized data, where only the SetTarget() message is handled; stay prepares to end this event’s processing for not leaving the current state, while the using modifier makes the FSM replace the internal state (which is Uninitialized at this point) with a fresh Todo() object containing the target actor reference. The Active state has a state timeout declared, which means that if no message is received for 1 second, a FSM.StateTimeout message will be generated. This has the same effect as receiving the Flush command in this case, namely to transition back into the Idle state and resetting the internal queue to the empty vector. But how do messages get queued? Since this shall work identically in both states, we make use of the fact that any event which is not handled by the when() block is passed to the whenUnhandled() block:

Scala

copysourcewhenUnhandled {
  // common code for both states
  case Event(Queue(obj), t @ Todo(_, v)) =>
    goto(Active).using(t.copy(queue = v :+ obj))

  case Event(e, s) =>
    log.warning("received unhandled request {} in state {}/{}", e, stateName, s)
    stay()
}

Java

copysourcewhenUnhandled(
    matchEvent(
            Queue.class,
            Todo.class,
            (queue, todo) -> goTo(Active).using(todo.addElement(queue.getObj())))
        .anyEvent(
            (event, state) -> {
              log()
                  .warning(
                      "received unhandled request {} in state {}/{}",
                      event,
                      stateName(),
                      state);
              return stay();
            }));

The first case handled here is adding Queue() requests to the internal queue and going to the Active state (this does the obvious thing of staying in the Active state if already there), but only if the FSM data are not Uninitialized when the Queue() event is received. Otherwise—and in all other non-handled cases—the second case just logs a warning and does not change the internal state.

The only missing piece is where the Batches are actually sent to the target, for which we use the onTransition mechanism: you can declare multiple such blocks and all of them will be tried for matching behavior in case a state transition occurs (i.e. only when the state actually changes).

Scala

copysourceonTransition {
  case Active -> Idle =>
    stateData match {
      case Todo(ref, queue) => ref ! Batch(queue)
      case _                => // nothing to do
    }
}

Java

copysourceonTransition(
    matchState(
            Active,
            Idle,
            () -> {
              // reuse this matcher
              final UnitMatch<Data> m =
                  UnitMatch.create(
                      matchData(
                          Todo.class,
                          todo ->
                              todo.getTarget().tell(new Batch(todo.getQueue()), getSelf())));
              m.match(stateData());
            })
        .state(
            Idle,
            Active,
            () -> {
              /* Do something here */
            }));

The transition callback is a partial functionbuilder constructed by matchState, followed by zero or multiple state, which takes as input a pair of states—the current and the next state. The FSM trait includes a convenience extractor for these in form of an arrow operator, which conveniently reminds you of the direction of the state change which is being matched. During the state change, the old state data is available via stateDatastateData() as shown, and the new state data would be available as nextStateDatanextStateData().

To verify that this buncher actually works, it is quite easy to write a test using the Testing Actor Systems which is conveniently bundled with ScalaTest traits into AkkaSpecTestKit, here using JUnit as an example:

Scala

copysourceimport akka.actor.Props
import scala.collection.immutable

object FSMDocSpec {
  // messages and data types
}

@nowarn("msg=never used") // sample snippets
class FSMDocSpec extends MyFavoriteTestFrameWorkPlusAkkaTestKit {
  import FSMDocSpec._

  import akka.actor.FSM
  import scala.concurrent.duration._
  class Buncher extends FSM[State, Data] {

    startWith(Idle, Uninitialized)

    when(Idle) {
      case Event(SetTarget(ref), Uninitialized) =>
        stay().using(Todo(ref, Vector.empty))
    }

    onTransition {
      case Active -> Idle =>
        stateData match {
          case Todo(ref, queue) => ref ! Batch(queue)
          case _                => // nothing to do
        }
    }

    when(Active, stateTimeout = 1.second) {
      case Event(Flush | StateTimeout, t: Todo) =>
        goto(Idle).using(t.copy(queue = Vector.empty))
    }

    whenUnhandled {
      // common code for both states
      case Event(Queue(obj), t @ Todo(_, v)) =>
        goto(Active).using(t.copy(queue = v :+ obj))

      case Event(e, s) =>
        log.warning("received unhandled request {} in state {}/{}", e, stateName, s)
        stay()
    }

    initialize()
  }
  object DemoCode {
    trait StateType
    case object SomeState extends StateType
    case object Processing extends StateType
    case object Error extends StateType
    case object Idle extends StateType
    case object Active extends StateType

    class Dummy extends FSM[StateType, Int] {
      class X
      val newData = 42
      object WillDo
      object Tick

      when(SomeState) {
        case Event(msg, _) =>
          goto(Processing).using(newData).forMax(5.seconds).replying(WillDo)
      }

      onTransition {
        case Idle -> Active => startTimerWithFixedDelay("timeout", Tick, 1.second)
        case Active -> _    => cancelTimer("timeout")
        case x -> Idle      => log.info("entering Idle from " + x)
      }

      onTransition(handler _)

      def handler(from: StateType, to: StateType): Unit = {
        // handle it here ...
      }

      when(Error) {
        case Event("stop", _) =>
          // do cleanup ...
          stop()
      }

      when(SomeState)(transform {
        case Event(bytes: ByteString, read) => stay().using(read + bytes.length)
      }.using {
        case s @ FSM.State(state, read, timeout, stopReason, replies) if read > 1000 =>
          goto(Processing)
      })

      val processingTrigger: PartialFunction[State, State] = {
        case s @ FSM.State(state, read, timeout, stopReason, replies) if read > 1000 =>
          goto(Processing)
      }

      when(SomeState)(transform {
        case Event(bytes: ByteString, read) => stay().using(read + bytes.length)
      }.using(processingTrigger))

      onTermination {
        case StopEvent(FSM.Normal, state, data)         => // ...
        case StopEvent(FSM.Shutdown, state, data)       => // ...
        case StopEvent(FSM.Failure(cause), state, data) => // ...
      }

      whenUnhandled {
        case Event(x: X, data) =>
          log.info("Received unhandled event: " + x)
          stay()
        case Event(msg, _) =>
          log.warning("Received unknown event: " + msg)
          goto(Error)
      }

    }

    import akka.actor.LoggingFSM
    class MyFSM extends LoggingFSM[StateType, Data] {
      override def logDepth = 12
      onTermination {
        case StopEvent(FSM.Failure(_), state, data) =>
          val lastEvents = getLog.mkString("\n\t")
          log.warning(
            "Failure in state " + state + " with data " + data + "\n" +
            "Events leading up to this point:\n\t" + lastEvents)
      }
      // ...
    }

  }

  "simple finite state machine" must {

    "demonstrate NullFunction" in {
      class A extends FSM[Int, Null] {
        val SomeState = 0
        when(SomeState)(FSM.NullFunction)
      }
    }

    "batch correctly" in {
      val buncher = system.actorOf(Props(classOf[Buncher], this))
      buncher ! SetTarget(testActor)
      buncher ! Queue(42)
      buncher ! Queue(43)
      expectMsg(Batch(immutable.Seq(42, 43)))
      buncher ! Queue(44)
      buncher ! Flush
      buncher ! Queue(45)
      expectMsg(Batch(immutable.Seq(44)))
      expectMsg(Batch(immutable.Seq(45)))
    }

    "not batch if uninitialized" in {
      val buncher = system.actorOf(Props(classOf[Buncher], this))
      buncher ! Queue(42)
      expectNoMessage()
    }
  }
}

Java

copysourcepublic class BuncherTest extends AbstractJavaTest {

  static ActorSystem system;

  @BeforeClass
  public static void setup() {
    system = ActorSystem.create("BuncherTest");
  }

  @AfterClass
  public static void tearDown() {
    TestKit.shutdownActorSystem(system);
    system = null;
  }

  @Test
  public void testBuncherActorBatchesCorrectly() {
    new TestKit(system) {
      {
        final ActorRef buncher = system.actorOf(Props.create(Buncher.class));
        final ActorRef probe = getRef();

        buncher.tell(new SetTarget(probe), probe);
        buncher.tell(new Queue(42), probe);
        buncher.tell(new Queue(43), probe);
        LinkedList<Object> list1 = new LinkedList<>();
        list1.add(42);
        list1.add(43);
        expectMsgEquals(new Batch(list1));
        buncher.tell(new Queue(44), probe);
        buncher.tell(Flush, probe);
        buncher.tell(new Queue(45), probe);
        LinkedList<Object> list2 = new LinkedList<>();
        list2.add(44);
        expectMsgEquals(new Batch(list2));
        LinkedList<Object> list3 = new LinkedList<>();
        list3.add(45);
        expectMsgEquals(new Batch(list3));
        system.stop(buncher);
      }
    };
  }

  @Test
  public void testBuncherActorDoesntBatchUninitialized() {
    new TestKit(system) {
      {
        final ActorRef buncher = system.actorOf(Props.create(Buncher.class));
        final ActorRef probe = getRef();

        buncher.tell(new Queue(42), probe);
        expectNoMessage();
        system.stop(buncher);
      }
    };
  }
}

Reference

The FSM Trait and ObjectAbstractFSM Class

The FSM trait inherits directly from Actor, when you extend FSM you must be aware that an actor is actually created: The AbstractFSM abstract class is the base class used to implement an FSM. It implements Actor since an Actor is created to drive the FSM.

Scala

copysourceclass Buncher extends FSM[State, Data] {

  startWith(Idle, Uninitialized)

  when(Idle) {
    case Event(SetTarget(ref), Uninitialized) =>
      stay().using(Todo(ref, Vector.empty))
  }

  onTransition {
    case Active -> Idle =>
      stateData match {
        case Todo(ref, queue) => ref ! Batch(queue)
        case _                => // nothing to do
      }
  }

  when(Active, stateTimeout = 1.second) {
    case Event(Flush | StateTimeout, t: Todo) =>
      goto(Idle).using(t.copy(queue = Vector.empty))
  }

  whenUnhandled {
    // common code for both states
    case Event(Queue(obj), t @ Todo(_, v)) =>
      goto(Active).using(t.copy(queue = v :+ obj))

    case Event(e, s) =>
      log.warning("received unhandled request {} in state {}/{}", e, stateName, s)
      stay()
  }

  initialize()
}

Java

copysourcepublic class Buncher extends AbstractFSM<State, Data> {
  {
    startWith(Idle, Uninitialized);

    when(
        Idle,
        matchEvent(
            SetTarget.class,
            Uninitialized.class,
            (setTarget, uninitialized) ->
                stay().using(new Todo(setTarget.getRef(), new LinkedList<>()))));

    onTransition(
        matchState(
                Active,
                Idle,
                () -> {
                  // reuse this matcher
                  final UnitMatch<Data> m =
                      UnitMatch.create(
                          matchData(
                              Todo.class,
                              todo ->
                                  todo.getTarget().tell(new Batch(todo.getQueue()), getSelf())));
                  m.match(stateData());
                })
            .state(
                Idle,
                Active,
                () -> {
                  /* Do something here */
                }));

    when(
        Active,
        Duration.ofSeconds(1L),
        matchEvent(
            Arrays.asList(Flush.class, StateTimeout()),
            Todo.class,
            (event, todo) -> goTo(Idle).using(todo.copy(new LinkedList<>()))));

    whenUnhandled(
        matchEvent(
                Queue.class,
                Todo.class,
                (queue, todo) -> goTo(Active).using(todo.addElement(queue.getObj())))
            .anyEvent(
                (event, state) -> {
                  log()
                      .warning(
                          "received unhandled request {} in state {}/{}",
                          event,
                          stateName(),
                          state);
                  return stay();
                }));

    initialize();
  }
}

The FSM traitAbstractFSM class takes two type parameters:

1. the supertype of all state names, usually a sealed trait with case objects extending itan enum
2. the type of the state data which are tracked by the FSMAbstractFSM module itself.

Defining States

A state is defined by one or more invocations of the method

when(<name>[, stateTimeout = <timeout>])(stateFunction)

The given name must be an object which is type-compatible with the first type parameter given to the FSM traitAbstractFSM class. This object is used as a hash key, so you must ensure that it properly implements equals and hashCode; in particular it must not be mutable. The easiest fit for these requirements are case objects.

If the stateTimeout parameter is given, then all transitions into this state, including staying, receive this timeout by default. Initiating the transition with an explicit timeout may be used to override this default, see Initiating Transitions for more information. The state timeout of any state may be changed during action processing with setStateTimeout(state, duration). This enables runtime configuration e.g. via external message.

The stateFunction argument is a PartialFunction[Event, State], which is conveniently given using the partial function literalstate function builder syntax as demonstrated below:

Scala

copysourcewhen(Idle) {
  case Event(SetTarget(ref), Uninitialized) =>
    stay().using(Todo(ref, Vector.empty))
}

when(Active, stateTimeout = 1.second) {
  case Event(Flush | StateTimeout, t: Todo) =>
    goto(Idle).using(t.copy(queue = Vector.empty))
}

Java

copysourcewhen(
    Idle,
    matchEvent(
        SetTarget.class,
        Uninitialized.class,
        (setTarget, uninitialized) ->
            stay().using(new Todo(setTarget.getRef(), new LinkedList<>()))));

It is recommended practice to declare the states as objects extending a sealed traitan enum and then verify that there is a when clause for each of the states. If you want to leave the handling of a state “unhandled” (more below), it still needs to be declared like this:

Scala

copysourcewhen(SomeState)(FSM.NullFunction)

Java

copysourcewhen(SomeState, AbstractFSM.NullFunction());

Defining the Initial State

Each FSM needs a starting point, which is declared using

startWith(state, data[, timeout])

The optionally given timeout argument overrides any specification given for the desired initial state. If you want to cancel a default timeout, use NoneDuration.Inf.

Unhandled Events

If a state doesn’t handle a received event a warning is logged. If you want to do something else in this case you can specify that with whenUnhandled(stateFunction):

Scala

copysourcewhenUnhandled {
  case Event(x: X, data) =>
    log.info("Received unhandled event: " + x)
    stay()
  case Event(msg, _) =>
    log.warning("Received unknown event: " + msg)
    goto(Error)
}

Java

copysource  whenUnhandled(
      matchEvent(
              X.class,
              (x, data) -> {
                log().info("Received unhandled event: " + x);
                return stay();
              })
          .anyEvent(
              (event, data) -> {
                log().warning("Received unknown event: " + event);
                return goTo(Error);
              }));
}

Within this handler the state of the FSM may be queried using the stateName method.

IMPORTANT: This handler is not stacked, meaning that each invocation of whenUnhandled replaces the previously installed handler.

Initiating Transitions

The result of any stateFunction must be a definition of the next state unless terminating the FSM, which is described in Termination from Inside. The state definition can either be the current state, as described by the stay directive, or it is a different state as given by goto(state). The resulting object allows further qualification by way of the modifiers described in the following:

• forMax(duration) This modifier sets a state timeout on the next state. This means that a timer is started which upon expiry sends a StateTimeout message to the FSM. This timer is canceled upon reception of any other message in the meantime; you can rely on the fact that the StateTimeout message will not be processed after an intervening message. This modifier can also be used to override any default timeout which is specified for the target state. If you want to cancel the default timeout, use Duration.Inf.
• using(data) This modifier replaces the old state data with the new data given. If you follow the advice above, this is the only place where internal state data are ever modified.
• replying(msg) This modifier sends a reply to the currently processed message and otherwise does not modify the state transition.

All modifiers can be chained to achieve a nice and concise description:

Scala

copysourcewhen(SomeState) {
  case Event(msg, _) =>
    goto(Processing).using(newData).forMax(5.seconds).replying(WillDo)
}

Java

copysourcewhen(
    SomeState,
    matchAnyEvent(
        (msg, data) -> {
          return goTo(Processing)
              .using(newData)
              .forMax(Duration.ofSeconds(5))
              .replying(WillDo);
        }));

The parentheses are not actually needed in all cases, but they visually distinguish between modifiers and their arguments and therefore make the code even more pleasant to read.

Monitoring Transitions

Transitions occur “between states” conceptually, which means after any actions you have put into the event handling block; this is obvious since the next state is only defined by the value returned by the event handling logic. You do not need to worry about the exact order with respect to setting the internal state variable, as everything within the FSM actor is running single-threaded anyway.

Internal Monitoring

Up to this point, the FSM DSL has been centered on states and events. The dual view is to describe it as a series of transitions. This is enabled by the method

onTransition(handler)

which associates actions with a transition instead of with a state and event. The handler is a partial function which takes a pair of states as input; no resulting state is needed as it is not possible to modify the transition in progress.

Scala

copysourceonTransition {
  case Idle -> Active => startTimerWithFixedDelay("timeout", Tick, 1.second)
  case Active -> _    => cancelTimer("timeout")
  case x -> Idle      => log.info("entering Idle from " + x)
}

Java

copysourceonTransition(
    matchState(
            Idle,
            Active,
            () -> startTimerWithFixedDelay("timeout", Tick, Duration.ofSeconds(1L)))
        .state(Active, null, () -> cancelTimer("timeout"))
        .state(null, Idle, (f, t) -> log().info("entering Idle from " + f)));

It is also possible to pass a function object accepting two states to onTransition, in case your transition handling logic is implemented as a method:

Scala

copysourceonTransition(handler _)

def handler(from: StateType, to: StateType): Unit = {
  // handle it here ...
}

Java

copysourcepublic void handler(StateType from, StateType to) {
  // handle transition here
}

  onTransition(this::handler);

The handlers registered with this method are stacked, so you can intersperse onTransition blocks with when blocks as suits your design. It should be noted, however, that all handlers will be invoked for each transition, not only the first matching one. This is designed specifically so you can put all transition handling for a certain aspect into one place without having to worry about earlier declarations shadowing later ones; the actions are still executed in declaration order, though.

External Monitoring

External actors may be registered to be notified of state transitions by sending a message SubscribeTransitionCallBack(actorRef). The named actor will be sent a CurrentState(self, stateName) message immediately and will receive Transition(actorRef, oldState, newState) messages whenever a state change is triggered.

External monitors may be unregistered by sending UnsubscribeTransitionCallBack(actorRef) to the FSM actor.

Stopping a listener without unregistering will not remove the listener from the subscription list; use UnsubscribeTransitionCallback before stopping the listener.

copysourcewhen(SomeState)(transform {
  case Event(bytes: ByteString, read) => stay().using(read + bytes.length)
}.using {
  case s @ FSM.State(state, read, timeout, stopReason, replies) if read > 1000 =>
    goto(Processing)
})

copysourceval processingTrigger: PartialFunction[State, State] = {
  case s @ FSM.State(state, read, timeout, stopReason, replies) if read > 1000 =>
    goto(Processing)
}

when(SomeState)(transform {
  case Event(bytes: ByteString, read) => stay().using(read + bytes.length)
}.using(processingTrigger))

Timers

Besides state timeouts, FSM manages timers identified by String names. You may set a timer using

startSingleTimer(name, msg, interval)
startTimerWithFixedDelay(name, msg, interval)

where msg is the message object which will be sent after the duration interval has elapsed.

Any existing timer with the same name will automatically be canceled before adding the new timer.

The Scheduler documentation describes the difference between fixed-delay and fixed-rate scheduling. If you are uncertain of which one to use you should pick startTimerWithFixedDelay.

Timers may be canceled using

cancelTimer(name)

which is guaranteed to work immediately, meaning that the scheduled message will not be processed after this call even if the timer already fired and queued it. The status of any timer may be inquired with

isTimerActive(name)

These named timers complement state timeouts because they are not affected by intervening reception of other messages.

Termination from Inside

The FSM is stopped by specifying the result state as

stop([reason[, data]])

The reason must be one of Normal (which is the default), Shutdown or Failure(reason), and the second argument may be given to change the state data which is available during termination handling.

Scala

copysourcewhen(Error) {
  case Event("stop", _) =>
    // do cleanup ...
    stop()
}

Java

copysourcewhen(
    Error,
    matchEventEquals(
        "stop",
        (event, data) -> {
          // do cleanup ...
          return stop();
        }));

You can use onTermination(handler) to specify custom code that is executed when the FSM is stopped. The handler is a partial function which takes a StopEvent(reason, stateName, stateData) as argument:

Scala

copysourceonTermination {
  case StopEvent(FSM.Normal, state, data)         => // ...
  case StopEvent(FSM.Shutdown, state, data)       => // ...
  case StopEvent(FSM.Failure(cause), state, data) => // ...
}

Java

copysourceonTermination(
    matchStop(
            Normal(),
            (state, data) -> {
              /* Do something here */
            })
        .stop(
            Shutdown(),
            (state, data) -> {
              /* Do something here */
            })
        .stop(
            Failure.class,
            (reason, state, data) -> {
              /* Do something here */
            }));

As for the whenUnhandled case, this handler is not stacked, so each invocation of onTermination replaces the previously installed handler.

Termination from Outside

When an ActorRef associated to a FSM is stopped using the stop() method, its postStop hook will be executed. The default implementation by the FSM traitAbstractFSM class is to execute the onTermination handler if that is prepared to handle a StopEvent(Shutdown, ...).

Testing and Debugging Finite State Machines

During development and for trouble shooting FSMs need care just as any other actor. There are specialized tools available as described in TestFSMRef and in the following.

Event Tracing

The setting akka.actor.debug.fsm in configuration enables logging of an event trace by LoggingFSM instances:

Scala

copysourceimport akka.actor.LoggingFSM
class MyFSM extends LoggingFSM[StateType, Data] {
  override def logDepth = 12
  onTermination {
    case StopEvent(FSM.Failure(_), state, data) =>
      val lastEvents = getLog.mkString("\n\t")
      log.warning(
        "Failure in state " + state + " with data " + data + "\n" +
        "Events leading up to this point:\n\t" + lastEvents)
  }
  // ...
}

Java

copysourcestatic class MyFSM extends AbstractLoggingFSM<StateType, Data> {
  @Override
  public int logDepth() {
    return 12;
  }

  {
    onTermination(
        matchStop(
            Failure.class,
            (reason, state, data) -> {
              String lastEvents = getLog().mkString("\n\t");
              log()
                  .warning(
                      "Failure in state "
                          + state
                          + " with data "
                          + data
                          + "\n"
                          + "Events leading up to this point:\n\t"
                          + lastEvents);
            }));
    // ...
  }
}

This FSM will log at DEBUG level:

• all processed events, including StateTimeout and scheduled timer messages
• every setting and cancellation of named timers
• all state transitions

Life cycle changes and special messages can be logged as described for Actors.

Rolling Event Log

The LoggingFSM traitAbstractLoggingFSM class adds one more feature to the FSM: a rolling event log which may be used during debugging (for tracing how the FSM entered a certain failure state) or for other creative uses:

Scala

copysourceimport akka.actor.LoggingFSM
class MyFSM extends LoggingFSM[StateType, Data] {
  override def logDepth = 12
  onTermination {
    case StopEvent(FSM.Failure(_), state, data) =>
      val lastEvents = getLog.mkString("\n\t")
      log.warning(
        "Failure in state " + state + " with data " + data + "\n" +
        "Events leading up to this point:\n\t" + lastEvents)
  }
  // ...
}

Java

copysourcestatic class MyFSM extends AbstractLoggingFSM<StateType, Data> {
  @Override
  public int logDepth() {
    return 12;
  }

  {
    onTermination(
        matchStop(
            Failure.class,
            (reason, state, data) -> {
              String lastEvents = getLog().mkString("\n\t");
              log()
                  .warning(
                      "Failure in state "
                          + state
                          + " with data "
                          + data
                          + "\n"
                          + "Events leading up to this point:\n\t"
                          + lastEvents);
            }));
    // ...
  }
}

The logDepth defaults to zero, which turns off the event log.

The contents of the event log are available using method getLog, which returns an IndexedSeq[LogEntry] where the oldest entry is at index zero.