Introspection

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.transitions() returns an array of { from, to, event, after? } records that describes the entire transition table of the machine — useful for graph generators, diagram renderers, validators, and for testing the machine definition itself.

The after Ns annotation on a transition records an informative delay in the after field of the record. The runtime does not advance automatically after that time; combine with every/after from the concurrency chapter if you want real-time triggered transitions.

Timed machine with after annotations; inspects the table and filters the "finish" event row.

05-introspection.zolo

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// Feature: `.transitions()` — list every transition the machine knows

// Syntax: returns an array of records `{ from, to, event, after? }`.

// Useful for tooling: graph generators, diagram renderers, validators.

// When to use: render the machine, generate documentation, diff two

// machine definitions, machine-test the machine.


// `after Ns` annotates a transition with a delay, recorded in the

// table but not enforced by the runtime — feed it to a scheduler if

// you need real time.

machine Timed {
  state Idle, Running, Done
  initial Idle
  Idle -> Running on start after 0s
  Running -> Done on finish after 5s
  Done -> Idle on reset
}

let t = Timed.new()
t.send("start")
print(t.state)

// expected: Running


t.send("finish")
print(t.state)

// expected: Done


// Inspect the transition table — print only the "finish" row.

let trans = t.transitions()
for row in trans {
  if row.event == "finish" {
    print(row.event)  // expected: finish

    print(row.from)  // expected: Running

    print(row.to)  // expected: Done

  }
}

Because .transitions() returns plain data — records in an array — you can iterate, filter, and serialize with any language tool, with no dependency on special reflection APIs.